An Africa-inspired health/beauty brand and social business called Aduna (which was co-founded by Saïd Business School alumnus Andrew Hunt) has entered Virgin’s ‘Pitch to Rich’ competition for a chance to win a £250k marketing campaign.
Aduna’s mission is to create demand for under-utilised natural products from small-scale producers in Africa, starting with the superfruit ‘baobab’. The business, which is scaling both domestically and internationally, is a runner-up for three Guardian Sustainable Business Awards.
The marketing campaign would help transform the business – and with it the lives of the thousands of additional rural women it will be able to source from. If enough votes are cast for Aduna, Andrew will have the opportunity to pitch his business directly to Richard Branson for a £250k investment in their Make Baobab Famous campaign.
“Aduna’s baobab value chain directly connects communities in some of the driest, remotest and poorest regions of rural Africa with the high-value, fast-growing global health and beauty market,” says Hunt. “For households who are surviving almost completely without income, the money earned from harvesting and processing baobab is transformational – allowing women to provide the basic needs for their families. A vote for us to win Pitch to Rich is a vote to make baobab famous and transform lives across the entire continent.”