UAE: This Congolese couple is changing the haircare game with fair-priced luxury products

They find Dubai to be a business-friendly destination

By Sandhya D’Mello

Ethical Sourcing and Fair Pricing

Candice was always on the lookout for products and accessories that could embellish her look. “When I moved to the UAE I started searching for products for me to use, mainly wigs and hair extensions. I found that I could find a wide offering of products, but only the low range was accessible to me in Congo. I started researching the industry, I interviewed stylists in Dubai, hair resellers in Deira, hair factory owners in China and Vietnam,” said Candice.

She discovered other players were handpicking cheap products and were adding a huge margin, sometimes reaching 300 percent. Some of them would also brand synthetic hair (fake hair) as real human hair as a way to increase the price.

“In a pursuit to put an end to the unfairness of prices, I decided to source real hair from ethical factories in Vietnam and Russia, and resell them across Africa. Today, my product offering can be classified as premium yet I’m 30 to 50 percent cheaper than the competition,” she said.

Shared Values: Path to Entrepreneurship

Candice draws her entrepreneurial aspirations from her mother, who worked in the mining industry, petrol industry, and farming. “Apart from the various industries my mother worked, at some point she had a hair salon, too. She didn’t hesitate to re-invent herself to feed her family.”

Similar views were echoed by Fabrice. “When I was young, my parents told us that one takes care of his family with a job but one becomes financially free with a successful business,” he explained. “I have seen them try and start multiple ventures — from selling shoes and running a farm to having a small construction business — despite dad having a stable job. Today, they own and run a profitable school and a construction business.”

Both Fabrice and Candice are established professionals with strong academic backgrounds. At 32, Fabrice has a degree in computer science and has worked in many tech organisations in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and South Africa. He has been a tech leader in the UAE since 2017.

Candice, who is 29, has a degree in Human Resources and has worked in the fields of education and government administration in DRC before moving to the UAE in 2021.

The couple met in 2012 briefly and went to the same university. “It is only later in 2016 that we considered starting a romantic relationship, but it didn’t work out. At the beginning of 2020, we gave it another go, and one year later we were married,” said Fabrice. The couple today have two kids — a 2.5-year-old boy and a five-month-old girl.

Embracing the UAE

The ambitious couple endorse the UAE’s business- and investment-friendly policies, which have contributed to their success. “Registering a business here has been very easy and very fast. In a couple of days, we had the licence, the bank account, and the online payment set up. Also, because the UAE is such a central place, shipping products to and from other countries is fast and affordable,” said Candice.

Fabrice added, “Living in the UAE makes everything predictable and approachable. It made us confident that we could run the business, knowing that we will always find the help we need.

“It was clear for us that the UAE is a land of opportunities not just for people in the UAE but also for people in other countries in the world. We found that it was very easy to access products that were considered luxury in other countries. We decided we would help more people internationally have access to products that are ubiquitous in the UAE,” he added.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com