Rahama Wright is the Founder and CEO of Shea Yeleen Health and Beauty a social impact company she created after serving in the Peace Corps. The DC-based enterprise develops shea butter creams, balms, and soaps that create living wage jobs for women in Ghana.
Her entrepreneurial journey spans bootstrapping to securing her first round of venture capital investment from Ron Lauder and Dick Parsons, and landing deals with Whole Foods Markets & MGM Resorts International. The products have been featured in a variety of media outlets including O, The Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Washington Business Journal, MSNBC, and CNBC Africa.
A leading voice on African women’s economic and business development she has completed 150+ speeches and panels globally including the United Nations Thematic Debate on Entrepreneurship for Development, the U.S. Secretary of State Global Diaspora Forum, the World Bank Africa Region Growth Dialogue, and the Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
In 2014, she was appointed to the Presidential Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa and is currently serving her third term on the council. Rahama received her BA in International Relations from the State University of New York at Geneseo. An avid traveler she has visited and worked in 36 countries.
