Startup Story
Rachel Kobo, founder of The Fro Avenue in South Africa, is a devoted natural hair care lover. With a background in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, her brand, The Fro Avenue, was born from her love for and interest in natural hair care. This led her to start up her business in 2020 which is aimed at natural hair care education and product manufacturing. She truly enjoys learning and sharing her knowledge base about natural hair with fellow naturalists and anyone starting out on their natural hair journey. Her aim is to promote a community that embraces their natural hair while learning to understand and love it for the beauty it is.
LoA chatted to founder Rachel Kobo to learn more about this passion driven natural hair care brand builder.
What does your company do?
The Fro Avenue provides a solution for natural hair care needs by manufacturing natural hair care products aimed at nourishing, moisturizing, and promoting hair growth… the three main areas of concern for most naturalists. The business also runs an online blog aimed at sharing natural hair care advice, growth retention tips and styling technics. It does this to educate fellow naturalists, inspire them, honor natural hair creatives by featuring them on the blog, and to support healthy hair care practices.
“The Fro Avenue was born to support the many other people out there who are on a journey of discovering their natural hair but lack the knowledge to do so.”
What inspired you to start your company?
Heading to a salon to get a monthly relaxer was the only "hair care" routine I knew growing up. It was during 9th grade, June Holidays when I told my late sister (who also had silky long relaxed hair), that I'd like to switch up my look for my return to school. I asked her for some ideas and recommendations, and she said to me: "Why don't you go natural? Just cut your hair off and grow an afro. I mean, you've never had an afro before, so that would be a different look for you."
I don't really know the look I gave her, but I know my response had a tone of distastefulness: "Iyoh! Nna ga ke batle gonna maswe!" translated: "Iyoh! I don’t want to be ugly!" were the words that came out of my mouth, respectfully so.
So instead, I decided to cut my hair and immediately relax it into an s-curl. It was only in university 2016 when I decided to try out natural hair, because I'd grown extremely tired of having my scalp burned each time I relaxed. So, I grew my afro hair out, but came across many struggles with maintaining it, styling my hair, and even retaining length. Which was a huge surprise for me because my hair used to grow really long during my relaxer days. It was through this new journey that I came to realize that most of us embarking on embracing our natural hair have very limited knowledge on afro hair care. I also had a moment of reflection throughout my journey where I recalled the response I'd given my sister in 9th grade. I reflected on what beauty means to me and started to re-define it. It is being my true self, embracing who I am and everything I was born with, it's celebrating the way my coils naturally grow from my follicles. It is celebrating my God given Crown and its choice to grow towards the sun. It was at that pivotal point that The Fro Avenue was born. To support the many other people out there who are on a journey of discovering their natural hair but lack the knowledge to do so. And so, I started with creating my blog to educate and walk with those who require guidance on this journey. Early this year I started developing hair care products that are targeting the root of most naturalists struggles: Moisture, nourishment, and growth.
“The Fro Avenue products are made from natural ingredients grown from our very own rich African soil. They are gentle on our delicate scalp and skin, while delivering the much-needed moisture and nourishment for our crowns.”
Why should anyone use your service or product?
The Fro Avenue products are made from natural ingredients grown from our very own rich African soil. They are gentle on our delicate scalp and skin, while delivering the much-needed moisture and nourishment for our crowns. The Fro Avenue is also a unique brand in that it does not only create products, but it also has an integrated educational blog aimed at sharing practical advice on natural hair care practices. The blog also has a ‘Featured’ page that honors and celebrates natural hair creatives every month. The page shares the stories of the names behind the creative work and, it also shares how their craft was born. This was a unique idea that the business developed with the aim of uplifting the creative work being done in the natural hair community.
Tell us a little about your team
Currently the team consist of myself as the founder, a qualified electrical engineer who is very knowledgeable in natural hair care and a self-taught hair product formulator. As the business starts growing I aim to employ people in various areas of the business. These would be reliable, passionate, and enthusiastic individuals with skillset in areas including social media management, brand ambassadors and product photographers amongst others.
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My journey has been a truly exciting one. I started the brand with the aim of taking things one step at a time, and I can say that approach has been working for me. I come from a technical background, and this has been my first endeavor towards entrepreneurship.
“My goal is to become the leading solution for natural hair care across Africa.”
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
My goal is to become the leading solution for natural hair care across Africa, and I plan to do this by transforming the blog and expanding the business’s digital footprint. I would like to see The Fro Avenue blossoming into a brand that people can relate to. So, in future, the blog will evolve into an online forum and community where fellow natural hair enthusiasts can gather, share tips/advice and network. They would also be able to share natural hair events hosted by other brands and by The Fro Avenue on the platform.
The business will also develop more products and extend its reach to make products available in retail stores. This will ensure that The Fro Avenue’s products are easily reachable and accessible to customers.
I also aspire to launch a hair care spa which specializes in natural hair treatment and styling. I would like to see the business collaborating with small businesses, where they can offer their services/showcase their products at the spa. These would be products/services that align with The Fro Avenue’s mission and goals. In future I also aspire to equip myself with the required qualifications so I can establish a laboratory for the business that formulates for other small and large companies.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Knowing that my business is contributing towards African women embracing and celebrating their natural hair. Another critical thing that gives me satisfaction is the businesses ability to create employment in future and to support other small entities.
I feel that small business need the exposure that they can get to keep flourishing, so by playing a part in giving them the exposure they need through my featured blog page, this gives me the satisfaction that I’ve supported and helped elevate a fellow small enterprise.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
“All it takes is a vision strong enough it’s impossible to ignore.” I came across this quote just as I was about to start my business, and it was literally all I needed to read at that point. When you already have a vision, the next step is to think of an execution plan, and then start. You’re going to do great, trust yourself.
Contact or follow The Fro Avenue
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | EMAIL koborachel@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
At Lionesses of Africa, we love to see new passion driven brands emerging to find their place in exciting and ever changing sectors such as the beauty and hair care business. Natural hair care is big business and consumers are constantly on the look out for great quality products that are also kind to the environment. Rachel Kobo understands this need and is building a brand that harnesses the best of nature’s ingredients to create a range of natural hair care products that are kind to hair and to the planet. We look forward to seeing The Fro Avenue grow and thrive in this growing industry sector over the coming months and years. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa