Hampton University alum awarded $250K in Pharrell Williams’ minority entrepreneurship program

A Hampton University graduate won $250,000 to support her organic cosmetics company and her alma mater is $75,000 richer.

Kadidja Dosso, 26, and her team, Dosso Beauty, on Tuesday were named an HBCU grand prize winner through Black Ambition, a contest started by Virginia Beach native Pharrell Williams. His nonprofit Black Ambition provides funding for “Black and Latinx entrepreneurs” who are launching tech, design, health care and start-ups. The other grand-prize winner, Michigan-based company Livegistics, received a $1 million prize for its cloud-based platform that promotes transparency, accountability and real-time information tracking.

The announcement was made during a video conference.

“Oh my gosh,” Dosso said during the presentation. “This is crazy.” The young CEO cradled her face in excitement before bringing her hands together in gratitude. She said it’s important to be seen as a Black woman entrepreneur.

Williams gave Dosso the news.

“Sis, you and your team, you guys are the change, and we’re so honored to witness this,” he said. “That is our prize. We won today, too.”

The Black Ambition program is aimed at students and graduates of historically Black colleges and universities and provides money to support entrepreneurs seeking solutions to the problems in their communities. It has two categories: the Black Ambition Prize in fields such as consumer products and services, design, health care and tech, and the Black Ambition HBCU Prize, which supports the next generation of successful entrepreneurs.

Since launching in December, the program has received more than 1,700 applications, and 34 finalists were selected, organizers said in a news release. Other teams took home $250,000 and $100,000; all 34 finalists will receive at least $15,000.

Dosso was born in West Philadelphia and graduated from Hampton in 2017 with a degree in business administration. Her company sells cosmetic products such as pre-stretched, hypoallergenic braiding hair, makeup bags, shampoos and conditioners.

In an email before the ceremony, she said that she competed with “a team full of beautiful Black women” who are graduates of Hampton and Spelman College in Georgia, including Oshae Moore, who graduated from Hampton in May, Olyvia Fabre and Kyra Wiggins.

Their pitch was simple yet impactful, she said, and showcased the problem within the ethnic hair care industry. She said most of what Black people buy is not Black-owned. The pitch included an ad campaign for Black History Month called the “Hair Is...,” an episodic series highlighting the meaning of Black hair and creating a forum for Black women to embrace their hair in all of its “natural glory.”

Winning was life-changing because Dosso is familiar with rejection.

“I’ve been turned down by every other business grant that I’ve applied for,” she wrote in her email. She said it was nothing short of a gift from God and her late grandparents, Vivian and Harold Cusaac.

Her team wants to use the prize money to create jobs and expand the business. Dosso wants to source more raw ingredients from her father’s country, the Ivory Coast.

During the awards celebration, she answered questions about her career and said that one of her mantras is “She created a life that she loved to live.”

She has been doing hair since she was about 13. She wanted to own her own organic beauty empire and was inspired by self-made millionaire Madam C.J. Walker.

“That gratification of people leaving my chair and feeling good about themselves and having a newfound confidence is something that I’ve always yearned for,” she said.

The grand-prize winners and finalists will get to continue the mentoring they’ve received through the program, including weekly meetings with a personal coach. Dosso said it has been helpful connecting with others in her industry.

She also offered some advice to others aspiring to start their own businesses.

“Your network is your net worth,” she said. “Wear that HBCU diploma with pride just as high as those who are from the Harvards and the Yales because you have just as great of a network as well.”

The Black Ambition HBCU Prize competition required the inclusion of at least one current HBCU undergraduate or graduate student per team and HBCU-affiliated people who are Black, African, African American, Hispanic, Latino/Latina or Latinx.

Winners were determined on various criteria including the clarity of their problem and solution, business model and customer acquisition strategies.

In a video played during Tuesday’s ceremony, Black Ambition’s CEO, Felecia Hatcher, congratulated the finalists and encouraged founders to keep pushing forward.

“It’s your moment of obligation to say ‘I’m going to lean into being ambitious and bold,’” she said. “I’m going to find the resources. I’m going to scrape. I’m going to get gritty. I’m going to get creative. I’m going to hustle. I’m going to be unapologetic about my hustle in this moment. That’s what we need from you.”

Information about the next competition will be released later this year. Visit www.blackambitionprize.com for more information.

Saleen Martin, 757-446-2027, saleen.martin@pilotonline.com