Awah Ntseh

Awah grew up in Douala, Cameroon, and has always been drawn to nature and farming. His first foray intro entrepreneurship was tomato farming. A few years ago, a colony of snails invaded and attacked his tomato crop, and a passerby remarked how she had used snail mucin (slime) to heal a skin problem she once had.

Intrigued by this new knowledge, Awah dived into research and discovered that mucine did in fact have a wide range of skin benefits that include skin rejuvenation and elimination of visible scars. He then decided to start a snail farm and to extract the snail mucin to use for a line of cosmetics that uses snail mucin as the base ingredient. Today, Awah sells the snail serum alongside a range of other beauty products, including coconut oil, neem and aloe vera.

Awah says his core passion is to use the gifts that nature gives to solve the challenges he sees around him. He hopes to raise awareness about the benefits of products derived from natural sources and grow his business beyond the borders of Cameroon.

Anzisha PrizeVery Young EntrepreneurAnzisha Prize Fellow