On Centre-stage: Some enterprising women entrepreneurs from Senegal
#SenegalEmpowers #WomenWhoHustle #GrassrootsGrit #SheMeansBusiness #AfricaRisingWomen
In the heart of West Africa, Senegalese women entrepreneurs are quietly driving economic activity, often from behind market stalls, home-based businesses & informal networks. Operating primarily in the informal sector, these women are engaged in personal services, trade, street vending, and small-scale manufacturing fields where their deep knowledge of local markets & resourceful use of available products give them a strategic edge.
For many of these women, entrepreneurship is not just a career choice – it is a necessity born of resilience. Motivated by the desire to support their families, they create businesses that are deeply rooted in the social fabric of their communities. These ventures are typically lean, low-cost, and highly adaptive – offering practical solutions to everyday problems, from food preparation to clothing and essential household services.
Senegal, known as “The Lions” is often celebrated for its vibrant culture and resilient people.
Unsung Entrepreneurs of Resilience and Ingenuity
What sets Senegalese women apart? It is their strong spirit of solidarity. Women often rely on mutual aid, community networks, and women’s associations to share knowledge, pool resources, and support each other’s growth. These informal support systems play a critical role in business sustainability, especially in a society where formal credit access remains limited.
While Senegal’s patriarchal norms continue to shape expectations around women’s roles, a quiet transformation is underway. More and more women are stepping into entrepreneurial leadership – balancing traditional responsibilities with ambitions for financial independence and social impact.
Let us now explore the lives of these enterprising women, who are not only sustaining their households, but they are reshaping Senegal’s economic landscape from the grassroots up.
- Salamba Diene is the Founder of BIOSENE SARL
Salamba Diene is the Founder of BIOSENE SARL in Senegal, and she is a cosmetics and food supplement champion there. BIOSENE SARL a business processing agri-food and cosmetic products that are made in Senegal.
The company offers a range of “caring” products and food supplements in the form of – powders, leaves, capsules or various solutions, but also cosmetic products in the form of creams, oils or butters, for a single leitmotif: health – beauty for a “better life” and the “well-being” of consumers.
BIOSENE collaborates with – groups of women producers of baobab fruit, Shea butter, or cultivating exotic fruits (Hibiscus, mango etc.) and establishes direct links with source producers throughout Africa.
- Siny Samba, Founder, Le Lionceau
Siny Samba, a food processing engineering graduate from Montpellier SupAgro, France, exquisitely blends her double passion for cooking & supporting children in Senegal. Motivated by a commitment to contribute to her country’s development, she returned to Senegal and in 2018, founded “Le Lionceau” – a social enterprise producing nutritiousbaby food to build an inclusive, high impact food value chain in Senegal.
She is a Senegalese social entrepreneur combatting malnutrition. Through collaborations with smallholder farmers and women’s groups, the company’s objective is – to build a sustainable and inclusive food value chain. She actively advocates for the importance of the first 1,000 days in a child’s life – by conducting awareness campaigns on maternal and infant nutrition. Her journey reflects a deep dedication to making a positive impact on children’s well-being and fostering community development.
- Mariama Dia, Founder, Delices Casamançaises
Mariama Dia is the Founder of Delices Casamançaises in Senegal. She is a Senegalese entrepreneur – transforming local fruits into natural retail products.
Being from Casamance, which is a forest region located in the south of Senegal, she used to witness every day the destruction of fruits resulting from overproduction. This is what led to her decision to launch her business – Delices Casamançaises with the aim of transforming the fruits to allow consumers to enjoy 12 months of the previously only seasonally available fruits.
- Nogaye Ndiaye Mourgaye, Head, Ongle Mania Senegal & Fantaisika
Nogaye Ndiaye Mourgaye is a leading nail and beauty institute entrepreneur in Senegal. Fantaisika is a leading professional nail and beauty training academy in Senegal. She is an entrepreneur driving the beauty industry.
Today, she heads a business which includes Ongle Mania Senegal, a leading nail shop chain in the country, and Fantaisika, a renowned nails and beauty academy, her specialist training school in professional makeup and nail styling.
Her achievements in the field of professional make-up are quite outstanding, for their finesse and artistic rendering. She has built up a reputation as a specialist business services builder in ceremonial make-up such as artistic make-up for cinema or music videos.
- Safietou Seck, Founder of SARAYAA
Safietou Seck, Founder of SARAYAA is a fashion entrepreneur from Senegal, blending African and Western cultures in her designs.
There is a growing interest among textile lovers around the world in discovering handwoven fabrics from the African continent. And this particular interest is something that this Founder of SARAYAA, is tapping into with her business. Her clothing line effortlessly blends contemporary design with the inspiration of beautiful handwoven fabrics from the African continent.
- Victorine Sarr Awuah, Founder, Lyvv Cosmetics
Victorine Sarr Awuah’s startup has a rich foundation. After a 8-year corporate experience, Victorine Sarr Awuah worked as a marketing executive for industrial giants Apple & Loreal. Plus, she was selected by President Barack Obama to be a Mandela Washington Fellow in 2015 under his flagship program YALi. It was after this that she decided to start her own beauty company – Lyvv Cosmetics.
Lyvv Cosmetics is a leading natural cosmetics brand for women of colour.
She has a Master in Management, with Specialisation in Strategy Marketing from ISG school of Management in Paris. With a passion to share and train young people, she has been volunteering as a mentor for programs like TEEP, AWEC. Besides, she loves to travel and has visited 156 countries.
Avtar Madan
Shree Lahiri
Himanshu
