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In late October, Senegalese cosmetics entrepreneur and Trade Hub client Mame Diene won a prestigious award from the Cartier Women’s Initiative, an international business plan competition by Cartier and the Women's Forum with support from consulting firm McKinsey & Company and INSEAD business school. The honor, which includes a $20,000 grant and a full year of business coaching, comes only three years after Diene launched her own natural-products company, Karistal, which produces high quality cosmetics using natural ingredients – primarily shea butter (a West African nut-based moisturizer), but also mango butter, neem oil, pumpkin oil and other native African plants. Diene was inspired to start her business in 2005 after assisting another company participating in the West Africa Trade Hub’s shea butter pavilion at the Natural Products Expo West tradeshow. She maintained her relationship with the Trade Hub – a USAID project managed by CARANA Corporation – learning from technical and export-oriented trainings, reading its export guides and other research, and participating in other Hub trade show pavilions. This year, the Hub helped Diene attend the New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists and a meeting with CVS, one of the largest pharmacy chains in the US – as well as nominating her for the Cartier award. Karistal works with women’s cooperatives that collect shea nuts and process them into butter – providing incomes for 320 families. “In Africa, we have a great opportunity to process raw materials here,” Diene explained. “It is better than selling the raw materials at very low prices without any value added. … I am trying to promote the central role that business plays in initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life.” Watch the video of Diene accepting her award. Published December 2008
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