PR TIMES AFRICA PR TIMES AFRICA Magazine june 2015 | Página 27

TARA FELA The gift that keeps on giving
DUROTOYE “What drives me is living purpose.
I think my business is a vehicle
to change lives.”
L knowledge and skills to become entrepreneurs after
graduation. So Tara has become a gift that keeps on
giving, by mentoring many young men and women
across Africa.
awyer turned beauty entrepreneur, Tara has
moved beyond using her gifts to render
service to society, she has also made it her
life's mission to help others discover and turn their
gifts into a source of income. Having created an
industry which was hitherto nonexistent, and
moved on to sharing insights gained with others,
Tara is without doubt a first among African women.
Born and brought up in the Nigerian coastal city of
Lagos, Tara had her first encounters with make-up
as a child under the tutelage of her stylish step
mother who brought her up. From those humble
beginnings of what was a mere hobby she has built
an empire in a field many never would have even
thought existed in Africa before her entry. Today,
the House of Tara has franchises spread across the
length and breadth of Nigeria, while extending
tentacles into the rest of Africa beginning with the
West African coast, the first of its kind.
Tara's career of almost two decades is littered with
a series of firsts in a field of endeavour that she
almost single handedly pioneered. Today Tara has
over 14 makeup schools in Nigeria, also a first in
Africa, that teach a series of short courses in make-
up while preparing students with the right
PR TIMES AFRICA
VOL 1. JULY 2015
Tara launched Nigeria's first bridal directory, while
House of Tara was the first to partner with French
Pharmaceutical company L'O Real in
manufacturing a beauty care product range. The
House of Tara has also, in recent years, branched
out into the areas of catwalk and film makeup
design.
Tara Durotoye is a recipient of several awards and
honours, including the prestigious, The Future
Awards' Young Person of the Year 2007, Pioneer
Award for Beauty 2006, Fashion and Style Award.
She has been profiled in several prestigious
magazines and publications, including Forbes
magazine.
The likes of Tara Fela Durotoye remain shining
lights pointing to the fact that Africa will in the
nearest future move from potentially rich to a
continent bustling with wealth produced from
creative energy. Indeed few epitomize the ability to
create something out of nothing in Africa better
than Mrs. Durotoye.
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