Indigenous people of Africa have been using countless types of traditional beautification products for centuries. Such products are still in use by the people. For example, among the various nations and nationalities of Ethiopia people used traditional beautification products to color their skins, tattoos, fragrance, hair beatification… etc.
Both the ingredients and methods of processing are local. While maintaining the traditional products and their features, it is also important to introduce modern features so as to add value, variety etc.
“Beauty industry is not like other businesses.” Says Rex Chan, China’s African General Chamber of Commerce Vice-president. “You cannot sell the same product in different countries. African countries have different sense of beauty though they share some similarities,’’ he added.
The first thing China does is to identify the color, skin, culture, and sense of beauty of the Africans. Within African countries there are peoples with different background. Thus, China needs to understand more about Africa, as to Chan.
Chan said China International Beauty Expo is one of the China Africa developments Project. Thus, in 2019 China’s African Guangzhou Business Association (AGBA) has launched a new business project.
The company has started the project in countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. However, to achieve the intended purpose of the project, the industry needs to familiarize itself with the culture of Africa. It needs to know the concept of beauty in the eyes of Africans, said Chan.
Chan added that the project has started a new forum called China- Africa Beauty Expo. It is a cosmetics company based in Guangzhou with the intention to replenish Africa with cosmetic products.
The vice-president mentioned that China is going to organize a show called African International Show which would be run by makeup artists, models, and fashion designers from Africa. The show will open for three consecutive days starting from March 10. And the show is expected to reveal the sense beauty of Africans to the people of China, he said.
China has been investing in Africa. However, the year 2000 opened new era for China-Africa investment relationship. Chinese entrepreneurs have understood the potential of Africa for investment, according to the investor.
The Addis Ababa Women Entrepreneur’s Association(AAWEA) President, Achamyelesh Ashenafi, told The Ethiopian Herald that the Chinese beauty industry is interested investing in our country. AAWEA accepted the request since it believes this as a way out to the development of the industry in our country, as to her.
Achamyelesh told that AAWIA needs to work with the Chinese cosmetics industry because Addis Ababa entrepreneurs know less about cosmetics. They need direct exposure. And this could be an opportunity for them. After identifying the where and how, we need to bring that to our country. The aim of the AAWEA, in the long run, is base beauty industry in the country, as to her.
The president added that expo would be a stepping stone to establish a local cosmetics industry. Thus, our entrepreneurs would benefit a lot from this business. It is a beginning to make Ethiopia a hosting country in the future.
At the occasion, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between AGBA and AAWEA to work in collaboration to enhance the trade between the countries.
As to John Hi Fun, the Sales Person at AGBA, 52 percent of their product is professional beauty care supplies, 18 cosmetics, 15 packaging materials, label machines, and raw materials, 10 percent neo-products and equipment, and 5 percent is software application and intellectual property products.
Fun added that, 80 percent of the buyers of their product is still the Chinese people whereas 20 is from Europe, America and Asia. They have few number of buyers from Africa, thus, need to promote to attract African traders.
Girma Gadissa, a high school teacher, said that his students have been making various perfumes from natural resources in the environment. These students were using different flowers to produce pleasing fragrance, as to him.
The only thing that matters is the ingredients needed to produce the chemicals that make up the cosmetics. We need to produce the ingredients of the cosmetic materials from the plants and animals in our country, as to the teacher.
The project is to change natural resources to produce beauty supplies. It is to produce cosmetic materials from the natural resources that are found in our environment, as to the experts.
The Ethiopian Herald March 16/2019
BY GETAHUN LEGESSE
