Gisela Mudumbi Van Houcke is undoubtedly one of Africa’s most successful entrepreneurs, running an international brand. Originally from DRC, the proud mother of two is the founder of Zuri Luxury Limited, an internationally recognized hair extension and beauty brand that provides top quality virgin human hair to women and salons around the world. Gisela is also the founder of Reform DRC, a social enterprise that supports innovative projects with positive impact on the socio-economic lives of people in Congo.
In 2018, she was listed on Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ for her work on Zuri where the company was described as “growing fast and claiming a share of Africa’s big hair industry”. Other globally recognized platforms such as BBC News Africa and CNBC Africa have also recognized her work.
In this interview with GLIM, she talks running an international brand, leading her team through crisis, among other things. Be inspired!
Please tell us about Zuri Luxury Hair and what inspired you to start it.
I founded Zuri Luxury Ltd in 2016, when I returned to Africa. Zuri was created after I noticed a gap in the market for Hair Extensions and cosmetics, especially for people with dark complexions. I was having trouble finding someone to apply my Hair Extensions or finding a store that specialized in selling it. I found this gap almost inconceivable and I wasn’t the only one with this problem. People around me were always asking me to bring back extensions and cosmetics when I traveled. So, I decided to create Zuri Luxury Ltd.
What are some of the trends you have noticed in the hair and beauty industry in Africa?
Growing use of online channels or social media platforms by brands, and partnership of vendors with other brands to gain visibility and new customers.
Let’s talk about leadership. What’s your approach? What do you think it’s like to work for you?
I would say that I am more of a democratic leader. I give my employees a lot of autonomy and I listen to their insights, but I also think my strength as a leader is communication. I try to communicate clearly about what needs to be done, and why. This eliminates back-and-forth, mistakes, and needing to re-do tasks.
How do you encourage creativity? What is the key to developing people, so they are creating the ideas?
I encourage creativity by interacting with my employees. I try to create the right kind of environment for collaboration and knowledge sharing, which allows employees to share their feedback and suggestions without any problem.
What happens when someone in your team fails to meet targets?
When it happens, I try to have a conversation with the person and outline what has been happening so we can figure out together the problems, causes and the solutions.
What is the one mistake you frequently witness female leaders making?
I could not say such is a mistake and such is not because we all have different backgrounds and experiences. I would rather say that the mistake to avoid above all is not to have self-confidence and for mothers, I would add that it is possible to be an entrepreneur and a mother at the same time, do not doubt your ability.
Adaptability is critical for company growth. What are some of the strategies Zuri Luxury Hair has put in place to adapt to the Covid19 pandemic?
We focused on changing and enhancing our digital marketing strategies and we tried to stay in the game with Search Engine Optimization so that it is easy for customers to find you when they search Zuri Luxury on Google or another search engine. As for the budget, we tracked our expenses buy doing a proper assessment of our expenses as well as our revenues so we can have a clear picture of where a company stands financially, and we can plan in this current disconcerted market.
Zuri Luxury Hair has branches in different African countries. Building an efficient team while running an international brand is no walk in the park. What’s your secret?
I always say that communicating regularly is the key. I keep it simple when I describe the expectations and the objectives. Another thing is listening to my employees, which I believe it contributes to the achievement of our goals.
What’s your approach to brand visibility?
We use social media to strengthen and expand our brand presence and influencers who share our products with their followers.
What are some of the opportunities women entrepreneurs can tap into in the hair and beauty industry?
There’s plenty of opportunity, especially if your niche is the black woman. This niche has been neglected for years and as a result, there are gaps in the market. So, I would suggest that anyone who wants to get involved in this industry should do a good market study and surround themselves with good people to advise them.
What have been the driving forces behind your success?
Discipline, passion and perseverance.
What does the future hold for Zuri Luxury Hair?
We have several ongoing projects. We have finished updating our website (www.zuriluxhair.com), for a better service. This website will make it easier for our customers in Europe and elsewhere to order our products and discuss with our experts in real time. We have a new collection of lipsticks and of lace wig adhesive glue + remover.
We also have a new range of products that will soon be released specially designed to ensure the longevity not only of the extensions, but also to take care of the natural hair underneath the extensions and a new range of cosmetics.
