- A Nigerian businesswoman has come up with an easier way to wear the beloved African headwrap.
- She's designed a ready-made headwrap that goes for about R1,670.
- It can save women up to 30 minutes in getting their headwrap just right.
A new take on an essential and beloved African accessory may be the next big global fashion statement. The gele (headwrap) has been worn by women for years across the African continent, particularly West Africa.
The popular colourful headpiece for special occasions requires great skills and patience to wrap, sometimes taking up to 30 minutes to get the shape just right.
See also: 5 ways to tie your doek for the office, including the tricky 'top knot'
Toyosi Ande, a Nigerian businesswoman and co-founder of Autogele, may have found a solution. She's invented the auto-headwrap that is ready-made for wearers.
Ande says she wanted to help modern stylish women who wanted something beautiful without stress. She also wanted something portable for her to travel with that she could just strap on, "that's why our slogan is the gele that ties itself."
The autogele is proving to be a worthwhile business for Ande. In the past four years, her company has already sold more than 5,000 pieces worldwide.
The autogele can cost up to $110 (about R1,670).
Receive a single WhatsApp every morning with all our latest news: click here.
Also from Business Insider South Africa:
- Bruce Whitfield: Meet the SA woman stopping local retailers from literally setting clothes on fire
- Wealthy South Africans are injecting themselves with vitamins in a new health craze – but scientists urge caution
- This is everything you should do in a medical emergency – including how to avoid paying R5,000 for an ambulance
- A CEO and dad uses a 100-year-old strategy to get control of his schedule in just 15 minutes each night
- These are the 4 things government has promised to do to prop up the economy
- For R175, this glass lift in Mpumalanga will take you down into a lush forest — with a massive gorge and hidden waterfalls
- This Free State beautician has set up a busy spa in a shack