The capital of Angola, Luanda, has often been referred to with endearing nicknames as “the city that never sleeps”. Whereas the hidden backyard restaurants, beauty salons and barber shops are usually filled with Portuguese chatter and vibrant energy, they remain silent these days. It is these beauty shops that shaped the beginning of Wilma’s entrepreneurial journey in 2017.
Wilma found that in the market for beauty and health treatments, getting and interacting with potential customers is one of the major challenges for health/beauty salon owners and freelance stylists. On the other hand, customers do not have an effective channel that allows them to find and compare available beauty services. After mapping out the beauty treatment market, Wilma found a large market with growth potential and founded KUJINGA: an app that serves as an intermediation platform for beauty services and customers. As a result, prices are made competitive and quality among providers rises.
In response to CO-VID19, The KUJINGA team now collaborates with the Otchiva Project and AmbiRicelo Indústria, a company that is dedicated to recycling and producing ecological products. Wilma has used her network, both providers and clients, to collect (cosmetic- and cooking) oils which are being used to produce soaps. These sustainably produced soaps are distributed throughout the community for free to facilitate hygiene and health measures that are being promoted and enforced in the light of the corona virus. This creative business solution contributes to several of the SDG’s, enhancing health and circularity.
In addition to this, Wilma has rapidly made an appeal to her wide network and has set up free consultancy sessions for small business owners and freelancers in the health and beauty industry. As the pandemic poses huge challenges to them, advice on how to navigate their way through this crisis is essential.
Wilma’s entrepreneurial mindset clearly shows in her response to COVID-19. As Wilma puts it: “Identify the problem you want to solve, and start with the resources you have. Those resources can be used to different end goals than your usual business, which can serve the community in challenging times”. Wilma adds: “Never wait for the right time because the journey is long and quite challenging, the sooner you start, the stronger you become”.
Wilma has been featured and acknowledged by several entrepreneurial forums, programmes and media. Examples include Junior Achievement, Women Entrepreneurs, FAJE – Angolan Young Entrepreneurs Forum, Femtech, leadingladiesAfrica.org and Wilma is currently a participant in the Orange Corners programme in Angola.
Keep up the great work KUJINGA team!
#health #hygiene #SDG’s #foodsecurity
Theme: Healthy & Hygiene, SDG’s 3, 6, 11 & 12
Creative response: The beauty/health APP KUJINGA is an intermediate platform connecting beauty services in Angola to customers. In response to COVID-19 Wilma has cleverly used her resources to another end: collecting waste (cosmetic & cooking) oil from the KUJINGA network that is turned into sustainable soaps which are freely distributed to communities in need. In addition, the team provides free consultancy to small businesses.
