Social Entrepreneur: Conscious Companies | Benefit Corporations | Impact Investing

You may have seen shea butter as an ingredient, especially in high-end beauty products. But did you know that in Africa, shea butter is called “women’s gold”? Funlayo Alabi and her husband share a common problem, dry skin. They have a son who had kidney problems, and he also had very dry skin. Their second son had a severe case of eczema. After trying several over the counter and prescription remedies, they found no relief. So, they thought back to their childhood in Nigeria and remembered their parents and grandparents using shea butter to remedy dry skin. Funlayo’s husband experimented with different formulations over a two-year period until they developed their first product. Eventually Funlayo and her husband traveled to Nigeria, where they partnered with women’s cooperatives, an NGO and the Nigerian government to create a supply chain of shea butter. Funlayo’s company, Shea Radiance, provided equipment and training. By the middle of 2012, Shea Radiance had acquired more than 12 metric tons of shea butter