Head start for afro haircare entrepreneur who turned down Dragon
Business is valued at £3m two years after BBC show’s guru offered £50,000 for 40% stake
Kameese Davis said the backing of Nylah’s Naturals was an example to other black women to “keep going, keep persevering”
ANDREW FOX FOR THE TIMES
A first-time entrepreneur has taken her afro haircare business from being valued at £125,000 on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme to £3 million in just two years.
Kameese Davis, chief executive of Nylah’s Naturals, turned down an offer of £50,000 from entrepreneur Sara Davies for 40 per cent of her business after appearing on the TV show in 2021.
Davis, 41, from from Sandwell in the West Midlands, has secured £530,000 for a minority stake from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund and the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund — both backed with public money. Another £360,000 will be released if she can find private investors or funds willing to partly match it.
Bob Holt, the former chief executive of cosmetics firm Revolution Beauty, is joining as
