Nigerian author Tara Fela graces Building Beyond You Forum in Nairobi

The premium business forum convened an elite audience of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and ecosystem changemakers on July 15.

Fela-Durotoye, a lawyer by training, is widely credited with pioneering Nigeria's professional makeup industry.

She founded House of Tara International from her living room at the age of 20, scaling it into a pan-African powerhouse featuring the country's first makeup academy and a national chain of specialty stores.

"Legacy is not makeup for me. Legacy is not beauty for me. Legacy is the impact of the lives that I developed, that I built in the institution," Fela-Durotoye remarked during the event.

Fela’s House of Tara International serves as a formal corporate case study taught at the prestigious Stanford Graduate School of Business, highlighting the strategic viability of structured indigenous African brands.

Speaking at the forum, Centum CEO Dr. James Mworia shared his growth journey.

“When I became CEO of Centum in December 2008, we were a small team of about ten people. My ambition was never simply to build a successful investment company. It was to build an institution that would continue creating value long after any individual leader had moved on,” said Mworia.

Following the successful launch in Nairobi, the high-level Forum moves swiftly across the continent. It is scheduled to host corporate sessions at the Serena Hotels in Kampala, followed by Kigali, and concluding in Dar es Salaam.

"East Africa is building at extraordinary speed, and the question every founder here is asking is how to build something that lasts," stated Cynthia Nyamai, the Convener and Chief Executive Officer of CN Communications.