Founder of Beauty in the Motherland (BITML), Beatrice Nnadili Eneh, has called for greater investment in local manufacturing, industrial development, and cross-border trade in Africa’s beauty and personal care industry, describing CANEX WKND 2026 as an important platform for advancing the continent’s economic integration.
Eneh said African countries must move beyond celebrating creativity and entrepreneurship to establishing production systems, trade partnerships, and industrial infrastructure capable of transforming the beauty sector into a globally competitive industry.
She urged policymakers, development institutions, and international investors attending CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos to recognize the potential of beauty and personal care manufacturing to stimulate African enterprise, create jobs, and strengthen regional trade.
Beatrice Eneh 2BI Africa
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The four-day event, organised by Afreximbank, will take place from November 5 to 8, bringing together investors and creative economy stakeholders from across Africa and beyond under the theme “One People, United in Culture, Creating for the World.”
Eneh maintained that Africa’s beauty industry has the raw materials, entrepreneurial capacity, and consumer demand necessary to become a significant manufacturing and export sector but continues to face limited financing and inadequate institutional support.
According to her industry assessment, Africa’s beauty and personal care market is valued at approximately $66 billion, with Nigeria accounting for $10.3 billion.
She argued that greater investment in local manufacturing would enable African businesses to retain more value within the continent rather than relying extensively on imported finished products.
Eneh disclosed that she has embarked on a three-year investment initiative aimed at establishing one of Africa’s major beauty and personal care manufacturing hubs, beginning in Nigeria.
The proposed initiative, she said, forms part of a broader ambition to develop the industry’s production capacity and create economic opportunities for entrepreneurs across the continent.
Drawing from her engagement with international beauty industry platforms, including Cosmoprof, Beautyworld, Egypt Beauty, and Cosmetista in Morocco, Eneh said Africa must adopt a more coordinated approach to industry development.
She noted that economies such as South Korea and Turkey have demonstrated how investment in product innovation, manufacturing, and brand development can support the international expansion of beauty businesses.
Through the Beauty in the Motherland pavilion at CANEX, Eneh is seeking to draw attention to opportunities for industrial partnerships, market access and stronger commercial linkages among African beauty businesses.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) also provides an important framework for expanding regional trade, although manufacturers must still navigate product standards, regulatory requirements, logistics, and market-entry challenges.
Eneh further drew attention to the importance of recognizing smaller enterprises as drivers of economic transformation.
Reflecting on First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s remarks about paying attention to the “little things,” she disclosed that she had expanded her investment support from 24 to 72 entrepreneurs.
“We are the lion in the jungle, yet we are not given the attention we deserve,” she said, while urging financial institutions to accord the sector greater consideration.
She maintained that a stronger African beauty economy would require coordinated investment in production facilities, innovation, entrepreneurship, and international market access.
Eneh expressed confidence that with deliberate industrial policies and sustained private-sector participation, Africa could build a beauty and personal care industry capable of exceeding $100 billion in market value within the coming years.
