Peini is the Dagbaani word for “Gift”
When the language barrier deterred him from pursuing his dream to study Electrical Engineering in Germany, Yaw Adu Gyamfi Poku opted for Chemical Engineering; a decision that birthed a whole new range of natural cosmetic products.
The 31 year old budding entrepreneur took up the challenge to do something different after his admissions supervisor advised he used his strong chemical background to change the status quo.
“I got some Golden Tree Chocolates for my MSc admissions supervisor [in Clarkson, Albany] and she was pleased with it. She said something in passing but it had a huge effect on me. She said “you are coming from a strong chemical engineering background, you build factories and understand this so why don’t you do something with it?”
Yaw then decided to go for a project that would have the quickest social impact in his native country, Ghana.
“Ghana is one of the world’s leading exporters of Shea nuts however, very little is done with the fruits in-country. I saw this as something different and went into it because no one else was doing it. It is sad when Shea butter is mentioned and people think of Bodyshop instead of something made in Ghana.”
The KNUST alumnus checked himself into a college for fats and oils in Boston and came out with a product four months later.
Coming back to Ghana, Yaw, along with his small team installed shea-butter extraction plants and employed the services of a few rural women to begin the project because “the biggest players apart from the manufacturing industries were the rural women because it was their source of income.”
In 2010, Peini was perfected and put out in the market to test feedback, which was good.
Now, Yaw can boast of a product that can rival any top cosmetic brand in the world.
Mr. Adu Gyamfi Poku currently employs and pays for the services of approximately 600 women who hand-make Shea-butter, the main ingredient he used in his products, from scratch.
The Achimota School alumnus has also put structures in place for these women, who cannot access loans from banks because of the high risk they pose to the lending institutions, to use him as collateral when it came to borrowing.
“These women can walk to a bank and borrow money and can provide me with raw materials for which after I have sold, I can pay back the bank. So I am in a way, their collateral because they know I have a product which is selling.
The product, which comes in the form of lotions, hand creams, hand sanitizers, shower gels and hair food is targeted at the Afrocentric woman.
Science has proved that whatever is put on the skin, goes into the brain, liver and bloodstream therefore if harmful chemicals are used, the results would be fatal.
“If there is a product which is 100% natural and you can vouch that all ingredients are edible, I am sure that is the product any health conscious person will want to use. All the ingredients are oils in their natural state so all the vitamins are maintained which is good for the skin as a vitamin supplement.
We are not selling fragrance or mineral oils or petroleum but the good stuff which goes a long way to help out the rural women. If you have damaged skin, Peini is the product for you. It will heal and reverse the damage”
With Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama encouraging the patronage of made in Ghana goods, Yaw and his team see a bright future for Peini.
“We see Peini in the next five years like coca cola; in every part of the world. Ghana is a leading exporter of Shea-nuts so we might as well own it,” he concluded.