By Prosper Mene
In a bid to boost women-led entrepreneurship in Nigeria’s booming beauty sector, digital finance platform Busha has awarded a total of ₦6 million in equity-free grants to three innovative female founders.
The funding was disbursed through the second edition of the Beauty Hut Africa Women’s Grant Initiative, which wrapped up with a high-energy live pitch event on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Ecobank Pan-African Centre in Lagos.
Five shortlisted female entrepreneurs took the stage before a distinguished panel of judges, pitching their business models with passion and precision. The judges—Subuola Oyeleye (Founder of Beauty Hut Africa), Bobe Badaki (Head of West Africa at Uncover), Omolara Dada (Product Marketing Manager at Busha Business), and Abimbola Akerele (Founder of The Nail Boutique)—evaluated entries based on innovation, scalability, market impact, and overall potential.
The winners are:
1st Place – Inveo Labs, founded by Magdalene Ekanem
2nd Place – Tulivu Fragrance
3rd Place – SavedSkin Cosmeceuticals
The grants will fuel product development, research and development (R&D), market expansion, and operational scaling for these beauty brands, helping them move from early-stage growth to sustainable, continent-wide impact.
Subuola Oyeleye, Founder of Beauty Hut Africa, said: “This grant initiative was created to bridge a real gap for women in the beauty industry—access to funding, visibility, and the right support systems to grow. The level of innovation and resilience we have seen from these founders is incredibly inspiring, and we are proud to have partnered with Busha to help bring their vision to life. This is just the beginning of what we believe will be a new wave of scalable, women-led beauty businesses in Africa.”
First-place winner Magdalene Ekanem of Inveo Labs added: “Winning this grant is a milestone for Inveo Labs. Beyond the funding, this platform has given us valuable visibility and affirms the relevance of our work. This support will be directed toward advancing our R&D, expanding our testing infrastructure, strengthening claim substantiation, and further expanding our already existing foundation for high-performance product development.”
The Beauty Hut Africa Women’s Grant Initiative, now in its second year, is designed specifically for women founders or co-founders in the beauty space across Nigeria. With a total grant pool of ₦6 million, it provides not just capital but also mentorship, industry exposure, and strategic support, resources many female entrepreneurs have historically struggled to access.
For Busha, the partnership aligns with its Social Impact Initiative under the Empowerment Pillar. The company, Nigeria’s first SEC-licensed digital asset exchange with over one million users across Nigeria and Kenya, continues to expand its footprint in financial inclusion. Through Busha Business, it offers digital financial tools and infrastructure that help SMEs and high-potential founders scale faster.
Nigeria’s beauty industry remains one of the continent’s most dynamic sectors, driven by rising consumer demand, e-commerce growth, and global interest in African beauty solutions. Yet, access to early-stage capital continues to be a major barrier for women founders. Initiatives like the Beauty Hut Africa Women’s Grant are helping close that gap, one empowered business at a time.
Busha and Beauty Hut Africa have signalled that this is only the start of deeper collaboration aimed at nurturing Africa’s next generation of beauty entrepreneurs. Applications for future editions are expected to open later in the year.
