Establishing a strong foothold in Africa is a key part of our strategy at Godrej Consumer Products, both in terms of business size today, as well as for the future. We are excited about the tremendous potential that Africa offers; it has one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world, with a young population. This provides significant opportunities for both driving penetration and increasing consumption across our core categories.

One of the largest global players in the exciting hair care market for women of African descent, we are also the only company to serve both dry hair and wet hair needs. We have bold ambitions of building on this to create a leading beauty, home and personal care player across the sub-continent.

We forayed into Africa in 2006 with the acquisition of the Rapidol hair care business, a leading ethnic and caucasian hair colour player in South Africa. We added Kinky, a leading brand in dry hair care, to our portfolio in 2008. Later, in 2010 we acquired Tura, a popular personal care brand.

In 2011, we entered into a partnership with Darling Group Holdings, a leading pan-African hair care company, and acquired a 51% stake in the business. Darling is a market leader in hair extensions, a category which it has pioneered in the sub-continent. Over the next few years, we increased our stake in this business.

To further consolidate our leadership position in South Africa, we acquired Frika, a leading premium hair extensions brand, in 2015. Canon Chemicals, a popular home and wet hair care company in Kenya, was added to our portfolio in 2016.

The 2016 acquisition of Strength of Nature in the USA, a leading player in ethnic wet hair care, catapulted us to become one of the largest players globally, serving the hair care needs of women of African descent. Its compelling portfolio of leading hair care brands and innovative products also complements our leadership position in dry hair care and hair colour in Africa.

Our Corporate Center of Excellence for this business cluster, based out of Dubai, synergies efforts from across the different countries.

We believe that brands and businesses should be local. So, we are investing in local manufacturing set ups. Building strong local talent, with a particular focus on fostering diversity and inclusion, is a key priority for us. For example, we are proud to employ over 16,000 team members in Africa, 72 percent of whom are women. We continue to innovate and disrupt with new products, build consumer engagement and advocacy, and establish footholds beyond hair care.