SheaMoisture Dream Fund – Empowering female entrepreneurs to make choices and have a greater say in their financial lives

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

It all started in 1912 when a widowed mother of four started selling Shea Butter, African Black Soap and her homemade hair and skin preparations all over the countryside. At the age of 19, Sofi Tucker began her entrepreneurial experience, uncertain of what was to come, but with a determination that to this day is admired by anyone who knows of her legacy.

She became known as a healer who shared the power of shea and African Black Soap, and years later handed down her recipes to grandson Richelieu Dennis, who founded SheaMoisture and incorporated her wisdom into the brand’s hair and skin care innovations.

We now know SheaMoisture as a premier luxury hair and skin care line with a range of natural hair care products designed to tame curls, restore hydration levels, improve hair texture and leave hair looking and feeling healthy.

Some of their bestselling products include the SheaMoisture Coconut and Hibiscus to enhance curls, Raw Shea Butter to add essential moisture into dry and dehydrated hair, Jamaican Black Castor Oil to strengthen the hair and restore its natural state, and Superfruit Complex 10 to help restore color vibrancy and protect sensitized hair. Each of these products are infused with a blend of active botanicals and natural ingredients including shea butter, coconut oil, mango seed butter and silk proteins. It also has a range of bath and body products designed for soothing, hydrating, illuminating and energizing the skin.

In honor of Sofi Tucker (Grandmother of SheaMoisture) and in support of her entrepreneurial legacy, SheaMoisture Canada continues its dedicated support to help empower Black communities across Canada.

In 2021, SheaMoisture launched the Salon Relief Fund to help female business owners survive the challenging tides brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated the significant wealth gap between black people and white people in Canada, a phenomenon not unique to Canada but observed in many other countries. The wealth gap is a result of historical and systemic factors that have contributed to economic disparities among different racial and ethnic groups.

Canada, like many other countries, has a history of systemic racism, including policies and practices that have disadvantaged black communities. Discrimination in areas such as housing, employment, entrepreneurship and education, which has limited opportunities for wealth accumulation for black Canadians for generations. Unequal access to quality education has hindered economic mobility and limited career prospects for black Canadians, further exacerbating the wealth gap.

With an impressive $10,000 grant, generous salon gift baskets and educational workshops, SheaMoisture’s newest initiative Dream Fund is providing Black female-owned businesses with the tools, workshops, financial aid, and visibility they need to thrive.

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Maureen Kitheka – Brand Lead for SheaMoisture. Speaking with her gave me some fantastic insight on the power of this initiative, and how impactful it has been even though it is only in its second year.

“We have existed for four years in Canada. What was clear was that despite the fact that America and Canada are different, our intentions remain the same; we want to serve the underserved community. One of our main questions was, how do we elevate our communities through wealth creation?

It is about building generational wealth. It is figuring out in our business model, how every sale we make will be invested into the community. This is how the brand is being launched into other markets.

When we talked to Black entrepreneurs, they provided insightful feedback that we were able to use to craft a program that was targeted to smaller businesses. In 2022, we launched the Dream Fund. There was a lot of research that was put into this initiative, and we said that if we are going to do it, we have to do it and talk about it, not just to build the brand, but for the community to know.

We want to expand the program, not just give them grants to walk away, but provide coaching for six months. One thing that was important to us was getting the community involved, and we did this by having them help pick the winners. We put together a panel of eight Black entrepreneurs and we had them help decide from our 300 hundred applicants.

I want to note that we are proud of the fact that last year we only had 60 applicants. We wanted to engage more entrepreneurs, so we put paid media behind it, we used social media, all because we wanted people to be aware. It was about getting the word out. We asked the community to vote via social media. It was about having the community speak. The community owns this decision; they picked the winners.

The beautiful thing about entrepreneurship is resilience. When someone starts a business, it is their bread and butter. When we were picking our winners, we looked beyond what is obvious, and focused on what the businesses were thinking about the community. We did some investigation, research to see how community oriented they were.

Winners last year were asked to choose from a series of workshops; because they had to choose, we can’t tell how much value it added. What is clear to us this year is that it is not a monolith. There are different aspects of business that the entrepreneurs want to dive into, so we are going to tailor the winner’s packages to their needs.

Once we announce the winners, we celebrate them, learn their business needs and by September 15^th, we can start their personalized sessions.”

I am happy to announce that we have the names of the winners:

IncluSV Beauty Solutions

IncluSV Beauty Solutions is a Black owned Beauty Supply and Natural Hair Services store located in Windsor, Ontario since August 2020. It is a one stop shop with a variety of products, stylists, and barbers.

Their mission is to provide a transformative experience for women, men, and children by empowering them to embrace natural hair styles. They are dedicated to breaking down barriers and normalizing natural hairstyles as professional choices.

By celebrating the beauty of diverse hair textures and promoting inclusivity, they strive to redefine beauty standards and create a world where everyone can feel proud and empowered in their natural hair.

RÓUN Beauty

RÓUN Beauty is an early-stage bio-cleantech company that is creating Canada’s first plant-based braiding hair extensions for Black and afro textured-hair women.

Established in January 2023, RÓUN Beauty was born out of a frustration with the hidden costs of synthetic braiding hair, scalp irritation from exposure to harsh chemicals and plastic waste as these products end up in landfill after use.

Currently in the final stages of product development, RÓUN Beauty is on a mission to provide women with the gift they deserve; biodegradable and nontoxic hair extensions that help them look great, increase comfort and eliminate environmental harm.

Hello Hair

There comes a time in every girl’s life when they inherit the responsibility of washing, detangling and styling their own hair. Without the correct education, tools and resources, this transition can be painful, and a hit to one’s self-esteem.

Hello Hair, a children’s consumer brand, is on a mission to rewrite the Black hair experience and support the next generation through visual representation, education and showcasing the importance of self-love through hair care and self-acceptance.

Gyallivant

Gyallivant’s mission is to provide innovative services, products, and events, and transformative spaces where Black women can play, explore, and embrace their wellness journeys through entertainment, recreation, and therapy in a holistic and culturally relevant way.

They are dedicated to empowering Black women and offering them a comprehensive platform for growth and self-discovery. Their transformative spaces serve as safe havens, fostering mental, emotional, and physical well-being. With a blend of entertainment, recreation, and therapy, we strive to encourage holistic healing. Their community celebrates the diversity and richness of Black heritage, creating a space that thrives on positivity, empowerment, and personal transformation.

Arbre

Arbre is a sustainable sun care brand on a mission to develop innovative and inclusive sun protection products. Their debut product, Spruce, is a tinted powder dry shampoo with SPF 20. It’s specifically formulated to provide optimal sun protection to the scalp without making your hair greasy. It contains reef-safe ingredients and comes in recyclable and sustainable packaging.

Their goal is to develop sunscreen products that will work for everybody, by creating a range of sun protection products. Arbre is also focused on raising awareness for the importance of wearing sunscreen in preventing skin cancer.

Entrepreneurs bring new perspectives, ideas, and skills to the table. By encouraging and supporting their ventures, we tap into a pool of untapped talent, which can lead to increased innovation, productivity, and economic growth. SheaMoisture is on the cutting edge of entrepreneurial support providing opportunities to build successful businesses and gain economic independence, empowering female entrepreneurs to make choices and have a greater say in their financial lives.