UK
B L A C K B U S I N E S S G U I D E 2022-23
How a holiday inspired the launch of a business Advice given to Patricia Monney in Ghana, that helped her daughter to walk properly, inspired her to start a new business
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ost people wouldn’t expect a holiday to inspire them to start a new business. But that’s what happened to Patricia Monney after she travelled to Ghana with her family to visit some relatives. At the time, she was worried that her twoyear-old daughter had not starting walking yet. Her relatives also shared their concerns. “My GP in the UK said she was ok, but when in Ghana, I decided to check it out” she recalls. Monney visited a local doctor who then referred her to a bone specialist. “The bone specialist looked at her ankle and asked me if I knew about shea butter” she says. “I was surprised and told him ‘Of course I do, I come from the region in Ghana where it is produced’. “He then told me to massage her ankle in shea butter for two weeks before deciding if my daughter needed surgery or not.” Monney was sceptical about the advice, thinking it was a waste of time, but she agreed to follow it. However, just a few days later, she was amazed at what happened. “All of a sudden, we just saw this little girl stand up and start walking. Nobody could believe it. Two weeks later I returned to see that specialist. I asked him how was shea butter able to help my daughter to walk. He said it looked like her ankle was very stiff so when she tried to walk she could feel a lot of pain. Because shea butter has a lot of vitamin
NATURAL: Aviela’s products use the highest grade shea butter to treat a range of dry skin conditions
BRAINWAVE: Patricia Monney (left) was inspired to launch her skincare company Aviela
A, minerals, and other anti-inflammatory properties it helped to soften the cartilage in the ankle.” Monney decided to do some research into the health properties of shea butter. In Ghana, it is known for its use in cooking. Typically the women of the household will gather up the shea nuts and turn them into butter in their kitchens.
butter to others despite having no business background. Her company, Aviela Skincare, offers natural skincare products such as creams and lotions which use shea butter as their main ingredients. From her kitchen table she researched a range of possible products, tested them and designed the packaging. It was hard work on top of her day job but Monney was determined. “Africa has something very good” she says. “Something that the West can’t steal from us. We can make our own thing and sell it. I have no business background but I thought rather than sit down for some big foreign company to chance on this I will.” The initial launch of the Aviela Skincare range was in 2008. But after some rebranding and further product development it was re-launched in May 2021. “We want to see our products in in the hands of everyone who is experiencing the kind of skin problems that shea butter can help with. Our big target is high street stores like Selfridges, Holland and Barret and a return to Whole Foods Market. It takes a lot of time and negotiation but we already also contacting stores in the US.” n
“Africa has something very good, something that the West can’t steal from us” However she soon discovered that the highest grade, unrefined shea butter contains several valuable minerals, proteins and essential fatty acids that not only helped her daughter but could also treat dry skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. It was then that Monney, an NHS IT specialist, decided to launch a business that would bring the health benefits of shea
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