The rise of actress Lupita Nyong'o to stardom was one of the landmarks for Kenya in the history of arts and theatre. Her success has been the pride of the nation with its peak being when she scooped the Oscars award.
Unlike many who would go to the First World and make their name great then forget about their home country, Lupita has consistently been carrying her Kenyan roots wherever she goes.
In 2014 when Ms Nyong'o was at the peak of her career – having a coveted award to her name and everyone wanting to interview her – she appeared on one of the largest shows in America and publicly promoted a Kenyan cosmetics brand – Suzie Beauty, founded by one Suzie Wokabi.
The 12 Years A Slave actress went on the popular Queen Latifah Show wearing a lipstick by Ms Wokabi and even announced it on her Instagram account, which has over 3.4 million followers, that she was using the Kenyan-manufactured product.
"@lupitanyongo For the Queen Latifah Show I wore #SuzieBeauty Zamba lipstick and loved it. Thanks Suzie! #QLShow," she wrote.
This was a great deal for Ms Wokabi whose dream had always been to cut a niche for Suzie Beauty products on the international platform.
"My dream is to turn SuzieBeauty Limited into a household name for everything beauty on the continent, and internationally. I want to become the MAC of Africa!" she was once quoted.
This to Wokabi was free advertisement and as the trend in the industry goes "when a celebrity endorses a product it goes without say that it is a good product".
This became true during the Oscar Awards when Lupita gave her lip balm to show host Ellen DeGeneres and within hours, the product ran out of stock as masses moved in to buy it.
Wokabi started her multi-million company in 2009 after gaining extensive training at MAC Cosmetics in the New York.
In 2013, her gross sale was estimated at Sh15 Million. Her success went to greater heights in 2016 when her company was bought by Flame Tree Group, a regional manufacturing company at a whopping Sh45 Million.
"For me this is the biggest milestone so far. I have achieved everything I wanted to. With the resources at Flame Tree Group, SuzieBeauty will likely expand its range to include skincare products such as cleansers, moisturisers and eye creams."
"There will also be investments into better distribution and marketing. In the long-term, production could be moved from China to Kenya," Suzie said when she signed the lucrative deal.
The mother of two was employed by Flame Tree Group as chief creative director and brand ambassador and according to her, her dreams had been realised. She is also entitled to royalties from the company.
Apart from being among the voices to reckon with in the beauty industry, she has a degree in International Relations from the United States International University (USIU).
