The banker fixing the beauty industry supply chain

Fatuma Dabassa is the Founder of Urembo Hub, an E-commerce web-based start-up business on the B2B and B2C platform. PHOTO|POOL

What you need to know:

What you need to know:

  • Fatuma Molu Dabassa, 38, the Founder of Urembo Hub, beat the odds growing up in Marsabit County
  • The banker by profession, set up the e-commerce platform to fix the beauty industry supply chain

It's known as the Wild North—nothing good comes from here except harrowing tales of civil strife, famine, ethnic conflicts, gender-based violence, and illegal guns. That is the picture that popular opinion paints of Kenya's largest county of Marsabit on the northern border with Ethiopia.


However, many great people have been born here like Fatuma Molu Dabassa who is among those who have achieved despite the challenges.


"I've always been a fighter. Growing up in Marsabit, I was so ambitious, playful, and keen on things," Fatuma, a second-born in a family of six, says.

Fatuma went to school and faced off the odds that face the girl-child from her community and today she holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the Kenya Methodist University. Armed with a degree the 38-year-old started in the banking and financial sector, working as a financial consultant with Equity Bank where she gained a wealth of experience in entrepreneurship financing and sustainability that pushed her to start her own business.


In 2011, she set up Fatuma Beauty parlor in Eastleigh. It did so well that in 2013, she founded La Femme Salon, Gym, and Spa at Highway Mall.

"My passion for beauty grew immensely and I felt that I had to do more. Unfortunately, I sold La Femme salon after six months because I felt overwhelmed and decided to focus on the Fatuma Beauty parlor. The parlor was doing so well that many clients told me to open different branches in different towns. I felt that I had to come up with a solution that could help sort the client's beauty needs no matter where they were in Kenya," says a beaming Fatuma.


She got her "Aha" moment when she decided to establish Urembo Hub (Urembo means beauty in Swahili) in February 2020. Urembo Hub is an e-commerce mobile and web application that seeks to bridge the gap between consumers and suppliers of beauty products and services in Kenya. It is an online marketplace. She says that it took a year to actualise.


She is in the process of recruiting suppliers for the products before officially launching the application.


"To sustain my investment in the beauty and fashion industry especially for the African woman, I have invested in beauty research to understand the demographics and consumer needs before I assembled the products for my clientele. This investment in research was the key stimulus in the establishment of Urembo Hub," Fatuma states.


With her creative and innovative mind, Fatma challenged herself more to gain knowledge on ICT. She would then secure an opportunity to join the 'Future Females Business School-UK-Kenya Tech Hub' where she completed the training and incubation programme. "I am a proud alumni of the UK-Kenya Tech Hub programme. With this knowledge, I can comfortably transfer it to Urembo Hub," she adds.

Apart from business, Fatuma wanted to do more.

She is currently the director of Women in Business Kenya where she helps more women, especially from the Muslim community to be able to navigate the business world.

In 2018, she also set up an NGO, Nomads Path Development Organisation (NOPADO). As the Founder and Executive Director, she aims to bring socio-economic programmes to alleviate poverty from the grassroots.

Fatuma is also the Co-Founder of the Galle Women Development Initiative, a community-based organisation that was formed in 2013. In both organisations, she has played a major role in peace restoration in Marsabit county by offering community services.

"When I am not running Urembo Hub, I am busy with my civic duty of giving back to the community. I also love spending time with my husband and son who are both incredibly supportive of my work," Fatuma offers.

As for Urembo Hub, the immediate plan is to allow it to run locally before opening doors to the rest of Africa. She aspires to bring a breakthrough in the beauty industry.


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