Mrs. Tara Fela-Durotoye

Mrs. Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian beauty entrepreneur and trained lawyer who single-handedly pioneered the professional makeup industry in Nigeria. She started House of Tara International in 1998 at just 20 years old, right from her living room while still an undergraduate at Lagos State University, and what began with a passion and a small amount of startup capital grew into one of Africa’s most respected beauty empires. She launched Nigeria’s first bridal directory in 1999, facilitated the first-ever bridal seminars in 2000, and established the country’s first professional makeup school in 2004. Today, her brand boasts over 270 products, 23 stores, 14 beauty schools, and a network of 10,000 representatives spread across Africa. She is also the creator of the Tara Orekelewa Beauty Range, Inspired Perfume, and the H.I.P Beauty Range, product lines crafted specifically with the African woman in mind. She sits on the advisory board of Awesome Treasures Foundation and Bridge International Academies, and is a member of the African Leadership Network. She also founded the TFD Series, TFD Mentoring Programmes, and the TFD Bride Grooming Academy, all geared toward grooming the next generation of female entrepreneurs.

Her awards are numerous and well-earned, from being named Most Outstanding Business Woman of the Year 2018 at the African Economy Builders Awards in Abidjan, to receiving the Leadership Award for Entrepreneurship by the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria, and earning national recognition from Nigeria’s Vice President for Social Impact and Job Creation in 2019. Forbes featured her in 2013 as one of 20 Young Power Women in Africa, and again in 2020 among Africa’s 50 Most Powerful Women. She is an alumna of some of the world’s finest institutions including Yale University, INSEAD Abu Dhabi, the Stanford SEED Transformation Programme, and the Harvard Kennedy School. On the personal side, she is married to Adetokunbo Olufela Durotoye, a business strategist and motivational speaker, and together they are blessed with three sons.