World
First-hand Account of American Businesswoman at US-Africa Leaders’ Summit
By Robin Tolkan-Doyle and Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
On December 14, Rahama Wright, founder/CEO of Shea Yeleen Enterprises (Shea Yeleen and the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace), took part in the Prosper Africa Deal Room at the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC to address leading US and African businesses, investors, and government leaders about fostering economic and community development between both nations through the beauty ingredient supply chain in Africa, and the positive environmental impact of social enterprise.
Her beauty brand, Shea Yeleen, makes premium natural shea butter skincare products that nourish the skin and empower its producers in northern Ghana. Since 2003, Rahama has worked at the intersection of beauty, business development, and policy and is passionate about creating opportunities for women in the United States and Africa.
Wright is currently developing the Yeleen Beauty Makerspace, a co-manufacturing space for early-stage beauty entrepreneurs in Washington, DC. The Makerspace will create 200 jobs in an underserved area of the nation’s capital and provide a platform for a new wave of business owners to develop skills and scale production, disrupting an industry in which Black-owned brands generate revenue less than a quarter of what Black consumers spend. This manufacturing facility will be the first commercial shared facility designed to support women and founders of colour in the beauty industry in the United States.
Wright has served on the President’s Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa since 2014. She previously served in the Peace Corps and has been a guest speaker at the United Nations, State Department State, World Bank, Global Entrepreneurship Summit, and the Sustainable Brands Conference.
During the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit held here in Washington, Robin Tolkan-Doyle and Kestér Kenn Klomegâh had the chance to talk with her about the changing Africa’s business landscape and how she has uniquely positioned herself as a change-maker through the multi-billion dollar beauty industry. Here are the excerpts from the snapshot interview:
Why is the Prosper Africa Deal Room at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington important for you?
The Deal Room is an incredible opportunity to amplify our work to create inclusive African supply chains in the US beauty industry. We are joined by one of our cooperative partners, Gladys Petey and Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio. The summit offers us an opportunity to promote business and forge new connections with African leaders. It is also a platform for gauging and setting a goal of empowering African women through the production and sale of natural beauty products. Our company already sources its shea butter from women-owned cooperatives in Burkina Faso and uses a portion of its profits to fund education and entrepreneurship programs for women.
By the way, what are the driving reasons and motivating factors for starting women’s beauty brands?
Women in Africa have been contributing to the global beauty industry as raw material suppliers. By helping them develop value-added ingredients and connecting those ingredients to beauty manufacturing in DC, we will increase their wages and create better jobs. Additionally, working with early-stage beauty businesses led by founders of colour creates opportunities for residents in DC. It’s a win-win partnership that propels more investment in underserved communities and increases market share for women entrepreneurs in the $60 billion US beauty industry.
Building a successful business requires certain qualities. What challenges do you envisage in the landscape? Can you share a bit of these with our audience or readers?
Our goal is to address inequality in the beauty industry by creating better jobs for African suppliers and supporting new and growing beauty brands in DC. We know, of course, there are existing challenges to overcome. Our biggest challenge is how to create jobs in an underserved area across Africa, connect with a new wave of business owners to develop skills and scale production, and raise an industry in which Black-owned brands generate revenue. We are passionate about helping businesses succeed in Africa.
Ensuring you have the endurance and persistence to build a successful business is very important because success often does not happen overnight. Staying powerful requires a true commitment and passion for the solution you are bringing to market. This challenge requires the visionary to make sure they have balance and the right support network and systems around them.
Another challenge is access to the right capital to invest in growing your business. Money flows through people, so it’s key to have trusted relationships that create the right networks to access the right sized capital for your business. The last challenge I will touch on is hiring the right team and talent. Finding the people who have both the skill set and the commitment to help grow a business can sometimes feel impossible. It requires having a clear recruiting and onboarding process and effectively vetting each candidate.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
For the first time in its history, the World Public Summit will be held on the African continent. On 29–30 July 2026, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, will host the World Public Summit. Africa — “A New World: Africa in Shaping a Shared Future.”
The Summit is organised by the World Peoples Assembly in cooperation with African partner organisations. It will bring together leaders of public diplomacy, representatives of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations, academics, experts, representatives of the education and cultural sectors, youth leaders, socially responsible businesses, media professionals, and civil society institutions from across Africa and other regions of the world.
The World Public Summit. Africa continues the work initiated during the First World Public Assembly “A New World of Conscious Unity,” held in Moscow in September 2025, and serves as one of the key milestones in preparation for the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite,” which will take place in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
Today, Africa is emerging as one of the principal centres of global development. Rapid demographic growth, expanding entrepreneurship, strengthening regional integration, rich cultural heritage, and the growing role of civil society institutions make the continent an increasingly important contributor to the future architecture of international cooperation.
The Summit will focus on issues of genuine sovereignty and sustainable development, public diplomacy, preservation of cultural and historical heritage, international cooperation in education and science, youth engagement, innovation-driven development, creative industries, and the formation of new partnerships among countries and peoples.
The main business programme of the Summit will take place on 30 July 2026 at the headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Holding the Summit at UNECA highlights its pan-African dimension and creates opportunities for broad international dialogue on humanitarian cooperation and public diplomacy.
The programme will include plenary sessions, strategic dialogues, and expert panels dedicated to values-based development, education, culture, youth leadership, innovation, and international cooperation.
Participation has already been confirmed by Professor Saidou Madougou, Director of the Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of the African Union; Rita Bissoonauth, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office to the African Union and UNECA in Addis Ababa; Zuzana Schwidrowski, Director of the Macroeconomics, Finance and Governance Division of UNECA, as well as ministers, leaders of public organisations, and representatives of the business community from a number of African countries.
On the same day, the ADWA Victory Memorial Museum—Ethiopia’s national memorial complex dedicated to the Victory of Adwa and an important centre for preserving the historical memory of the Ethiopian people—will host the award ceremony of the regional stage of the V International Competition “Leader of Public Diplomacy”, followed by a large-scale cultural programme.
One of the key outcomes of the Summit will be the adoption of the African Communiqué, reflecting proposals and recommendations aimed at strengthening humanitarian, educational, cultural, and public cooperation between African countries and other regions of the world.
The outcomes, initiatives, and recommendations were developed during the World Public Summit. Africa will be presented at the Second World Public Assembly “A New World: Values That Unite”, to be held in Moscow on 18–19 September 2026.
According to Andrey Belyaninov, General Secretary of the World Peoples Assembly, “the Addis Ababa Summit is an important step toward building a new world founded on mutual respect, cultural diversity, dialogue and sustainable development.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Kingdom will get its seventh Prime Minister in 10 years as Mr Keir Starmer announced his resignation on Monday.
The Minister said he is stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks, scarcely two years after being elected in a landslide.
Mr Starmer says he will remain caretaker prime minister until a new Labour leader is chosen by the party.
Mr Starmer made the announcement after facing growing pressure to hand over to a new leader who can try to revive the government’s flagging fortunes.
He led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024, but since then, his popularity and that of the party have plummeted.
His departure was triggered by the victory of Mr Andy Burnham in a special election last week. The popular ex-mayor of Greater Manchester planned to challenge the existing PM for the Labour leadership.
Mr Starmer made the announcement outside the prime minister’s 10 Downing St. residence with a brief statement on Monday.
“The question my party is asking now is whether I am best placed to lead us into the next general election,” Mr Starmer said. “I have heard the answer of my parliamentary party to that question, and I accept that answer with good grace.
Mr Starmer is the sixth prime minister in a decade to stand outside 10 Downing Street and announce a premature departure.
It comes the day before Britain marks the 10th anniversary of its vote to leave the European Union, a decision that still affects the country’s economy and politics.
Over the past decade, 10 Downing Street has had six occupants, including Mr David Cameron, who left office in 2016 after the Brexit referendum and was succeeded by Ms Theresa May. She was followed by Mr Boris Johnson, whose tenure covered Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. After Mr Johnson came Ms Liz Truss, whose 49-day premiership was the shortest in British history. Mr Rishi Sunak then took office before being succeeded by Mr Starmer, the outgoing occupant of Number 10.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A financing facility of up to $60 million has been secured by AXIAN Energy, the energy division of the AXIAN Group.
The funding package was provided by MCB, one of the leading financial institutions in the Indian Ocean region.
It comprises a $40 million revolving credit facility with a three-year tenor and extension option, and $20 million in unfunded instruments, providing AXIAN Energy with enhanced financial flexibility, enabling the company to rapidly mobilise resources and seize development opportunities across its target markets.
The energy firm is expected to use the capital to deliver large-scale energy infrastructure projects across Africa.
Over the past two years, AXIAN Energy has significantly accelerated its growth by expanding its renewable energy project pipeline, with solar projects currently under development in Senegal, Benin, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Burkina Faso.
Building on this momentum, AXIAN Energy now operates a portfolio comprising 350 MW of installed renewable energy capacity, supported by 77 MWh of energy storage capacity, positioning the AXIAN Group as a major contributor to Africa’s energy transition.
The chief executive of AXIAN Energy, Mr Benjamin Memmi, said, “This transaction marks a key milestone in AXIAN Energy’s growth trajectory. It provides us with the financial capacity to sustain the momentum we have built over the past two years, further strengthening our renewable energy portfolio and expanding our presence across new African markets.”
Also commenting, the Global Head of Structured Finance at MCB, Mr Mathieu Delteil, said, “We are proud to support AXIAN Energy in structuring this facility, reaffirming our commitment to enabling transformative projects across Africa.
“By leveraging our sector expertise and deep understanding of regional markets, we have delivered a tailored financing solution that aligns with AXIAN’s long-term renewable energy ambitions.
“This partnership highlights our role as a strategic financial partner, mobilising capital towards investments that drive sustainable growth and accelerate the energy transition across the continent.”
The financing agreement between the two organisations strengthens their long-standing relationship because it is driven by a shared commitment to supporting infrastructure development and economic growth across Africa.
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