1. What is Beauty West Africa
Beauty West Africa is the largest exhibition focussed primarily on the beauty and cosmetics industry across the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. The exhibition provides a once a year opportunity for the global beauty and cosmetics industry to come together under one roof, here in Lagos, in order to promote, educate and demonstrate some of the latest products and trends both regionally and internationally.
The exhibition, which will be held on November 20th to 22nd 2019 at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, will host over 200 exhibitors and over 4,500 beauty professionals – the products on show will be a sophisticated suite of cosmetics and aesthetics, including international makeup, nail art, hair care, skin care, spa products, and salon equipment. Visitors can get up close and personal with state-of-the-art products on the market and have the opportunity to meet established beauty importers and distributors to source and distribute goods going forward. The range of show attendees and participants will include professionals from across the board such as makeup artists and retailers or importers and salon and spa owners. It is a professional exhibition, which means that it is only open for people who work in the beauty sector, although, on the last day we will open our doors to the general public who may be looking to get their hands on a bargain or a new product exclusively from overseas.
We believe that knowledge and education are fundamental to a successful industry which is why we have partnered with Compass Consulting, to effectively offer a conference that provides educational and business empowering content to underpin the commercial nature of the exhibition. We will be hosting key business leaders, Governmental representatives, and celebrities who can really offer our delegates exclusive insight into making yourself a success within the industry.
2. Where did the Beauty West Africa Exhibition and Conference emanate from?
Personally, I was previously involved in organising a beauty exhibition in Nigeria between the years 2014 and 2016 for my previous employer. The event was always well attended and created a real meeting point for the industry leaders. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, the event didn’t live up to its full potential. I truly believed in the potential of the West African beauty sector, and Nigeria in particular – that is why I set up BtoB Events and launched Beauty West Africa, to give the global sector a platform to engage with the knowledgeable, exciting and lucrative West African market.
An exhibition is a representation of a local market being placed together under one roof for a period of time and the sheer value, estimated at over $3billion by Euromonitor, highlights that Nigeria needs a globally recognised event of this nature. Beauty West Africa goes some way to promoting the brand Nigeria and we have specific areas set up to support the export of local products, and with such a wealth of exclusive natural resources relevant in the beauty sector, this really is important. An exhibition is a representation of a local market being placed together under one roof for a period of time and the sheer value, estimated at over $3billion by Euromonitor, highlights that Nigeria needs a globally recognised event of this nature.
3. What is the aim of Beauty West Africa?
The main aim of Beauty West Africa is to help promote and support Brand Nigeria. We have specific SME zones set up throughout the exhibition enabling smaller local companies the opportunity to showcase their products amongst some of the leading companies from across the world. With such a wealth of natural resources here in Nigeria, shea butter and moringa oil, which have their own amazing properties exclusive to the region which need to be exported to the world. The increased exportation of such products and resources can really help grow the Nigerian economy. We will also invite our international exhibitors here to sample the market and learn about the amazing opportunities offered here. In this our short term focus is to bring new products to the market and long term we hope to promote local manufacturing here in Nigeria to our international exhibitors.
4. Is there a gap in the Beauty Industry that the Exhibition and Conference is looking to bridge?
I feel that there are always gaps that need bridging in irrelevant of the industry you work in, especially with all industries constantly evolving and growing. With the local beauty industry, we hope to empower our attendees through first-class knowledge sharing and insight. Typically it would be restricting financially for some of Nigeria’s beautypreneurs to be able to witness demonstrations and presentations of this nature – that is why Beauty West Africa is free to attend as we want to do what we can to bridge the gap from the leading business professionals to the start-ups and aspiring celebrity stylists of tomorrow.
The conference is designed to offer important insight into key business areas which will really empower those looking to establish – covering areas such as finance, registration, social media and more…
5. What was the experience of last year’s BWA and How is this year’s event going to be different?
Last year’s Beauty West Africa was a huge success. Huge.
So much so that we have expanded the exhibition to encompass both halls of the Landmark Centre due to increased demand for exhibitors and a significantly higher number of attendees. Many of our local exhibitors forged new partnerships across the country and we have a number of success stories from our international brands such as Naturally Tribal and Botelux France who managed to sign lucrative deals with big local players onsite. It is fantastic to also see that a number of our SME exhibitors from 2018 have moved up the food chain to take full-size exhibition booths this year, highlighting the growth that the exhibition has provided to the businesses.
The conferences were also really well received, so we have invested more time and resources to bring some of the most exciting names from overseas, such as Dione Smith, and local superstars, such as Banke Meshida Lawal to present this year.
6. When will the registration end?
Pre-registration will be open up until 5 pm on the day before the exhibition (November 19th) and you can register your attendance for absolutely free on our website at, www.beautywestafrica.com/pre-register. If you do not get a chance to register beforehand you can always turn up on the day and again entrance will continue to be free. Our opening times are 10 am until 6 pm daily from November 20th to 22nd at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
7. Are there any incentives for registering for the event?
We have 2 competitions running currently. You can recommend a colleague, and should yourself and your recommended colleague attend then you will be entered into a daily draw to win $500 onsite at the exhibition. You can do this via www.beautywestafrica.com/register-a-colleague. Furthermore, we also have a WhatsApp group. If you join the WhatsApp group on +447857568069 again you will be in with a chance to win $500 onsite.
In both competitions, if you do not attend and you are not on site then we will draw another winner! Get registering today and good luck!
8. As a guest registering for the event, what do I stand to gain?
The opportunities are endless. We have thousands of new brands arriving in Nigeria for the first time who are looking to find local partners to represent them across the region. Furthermore, you could become the first stockist of some of these amazing brands from haircare to make up to skincare which could propel your salon, spa or beauty service to the top. Furthermore, the opportunity to lead from industry panels, Nollywood stylists and internationally renowned celebrity stylists – for free – is one that only comes around once a year, at Beauty West Africa.
9. Are there any particular segments of the events that guests should look out for?
I have referenced the conference on numerous occasions, so you already know about that. On top of that, we have the exciting made in Nigeria SME zone, which is housing over 20 local startups showcasing the best products from across the country. These guys will be offering some great deals on site and have some unbelievably exciting products on display. We also have country pavilions from across the world – countries such as Egypt, Indonesia, China, and Pakistan will be showcasing the best that they have to offer the cosmetics and beauty sector.
10. What does the future look like for Beauty West Africa?
It takes a huge amount of effort to host an exhibition and I would hope that as long as we continue to meet the needs of the sector then we can continue to grow and bring more people together year on year. We will continue to invest as much time and resource into the event to make sure that it continues to be the number one beauty event across sub-Saharan Africa. We cannot do that without the support of our amazing partners, exhibitors, visitors, speakers, and sponsors – so we will continue to listen to them and put together an event that meets the requirements and demands of the region. There are some amazing beauty shows across the world be it Cosmoprof of Beauty World Middle East and we dream that one day Beauty West Africa can be positioned in the same level of prestigiousness, becoming the gateway for African beauty to expand across the world.
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