Online event
Building the Future of Beauty: Investing in A-Beauty Innovation
Thursday 27 November at 10:00AM
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Unlock A-Beauty's billion-dollar potential. Learn how strategic investment, ethical sourcing, and innovation are redefining the global beauty landscape.
What you’ll learn
- Identify Strategic Investment Opportunities: Understand the size and growth rate of the A-Beauty market and identify specific strategies to bridge the venture capital gap for high-impact brand innovation.
- Implement Ethical Supply Chain Models: Outline a roadmap for building equitable sourcing pathways and overcoming logistical barriers to help A-Beauty brands meet global export standards.
- Champion Product Safety & Sustainability: Articulate A-Beauty's crucial role in offering a safer, sustainable alternative, confronting the industry's "toxic legacy".
Description
The "Black Beauty Market" is valued as a significant economic force, yet a critical funding and logistical gap prevents African beauty brands from achieving their global potential. This exclusive 45-minute panel, perfectly aligned with British Beauty Week’s focus on future-proofing the industry, challenges the status quo and demands strategic investment in this vital movement.
Join our panel of Founders, Investors, and Industry Experts as we move beyond tokenism to explore the enormous growth opportunity A-Beauty represents. You will gain insight into the movement rooted in indigenous knowledge, authentic storytelling, and innovation—all of which are driving strong consumer demand for ethical products.
This session will confront the industry’s blind spots, addressing the lack of venture capital funding and the logistical hurdles—such as export challenges and meeting international standards—that limit the availability of high-quality African products outside the continent. The discussion will outline a clear roadmap for creating equitable sourcing pathways and scaling these heritage brands.
Crucially, we will highlight how investment in A-Beauty is not just an economic necessity but an ethical one. These brands are leading a revolution by championing product safety and offering safe, sustainable alternatives to counter the "toxic legacy" of harmful chemicals often found in products marketed to Black women. Learn how you can champion A-Beauty and become part of a movement that is truly redefining the future of beauty.
Speakers
Sabrina Elba
Founder & CEO, Sable Labs
Sabrina Dhowre Elba, a Canadian-born CEO, actor, and activist of Somali descent, is a UN Goodwill Ambassador for IFAD and a strong advocate for gender equality, human rights, and food security. She works with organisations like Farm Africa, Global Citizen, and Conservation International, and co-founded the inclusive skincare brand S’ABLE Labs with her husband Idris Elba. Her efforts in sustainability and empowerment have earned her a TIME100 Impact Award, The Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum, and recognition from the UN SDG Action Campaign.
Mariam Abdillahi
Founder & CEO, Black Flamingo Beauty
Mariam Abdillahi is an award-winning communications expert and founder of Black Flamingo Beauty, a natural skincare brand inspired by Somali heritage. Based in the UK, she supports underrepresented founders through initiatives like the British Beauty Council and Eagle Labs Black Founders Accelerator.