A 3-day international beauty exhibition Dubbed: Africa Makeup and Beauty Fair opened on Wednesday at the Lapalm Royal Beach Hotel in Accra.

Over 300 patrons are expected to visit the fair which coincided with the Ghana Makeup week that will climax with an awards night this Saturday at Kempinski Hotel in Accra.

The fair, is aimed at focusing on possible ways of portraying the uniqueness of the African Makeup and Beauty industry to influence the diverse culture of people, entrepreneurial passion while embracing best practices and exchange of expertise across the globe.   

The event which is in its second year, attracted both local and foreign beauty and makeup companies and brands in the industry which include Black Secret, Maybelline, Zikel Cosmetics, Serah’s beauty, Top Face Makeup and Farmasi.

Alongside the fair will be a couple of workshops and seminars that feature some of the top industry players such as Grace Amey-Obeng CEO of FC Beauty College; Olive Krofah, CEO, Beauty Technicians; Valerie Obaze, Founder, RnR  Luxury and  Dr Yvette Appiah, Co-Founder Skynergy MD Ghana. The rest include Nancy Black, professional makeup artist and Sarah Okoh, CEO of So Aesthetic as well as King David Thompson, CEO Abrantie College.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the CEO of the Makeup Ghana, Rebecca Donkor said the local cosmetic industry and the general economy, would benefit immensely from the annual assembly of experts to showcase products to African consumers and exchange ideas on cutting-edge products, services and industry best practices.  

According to her, the makeup and beauty week is celebrated to showcase practitioners, retailers and brands across the country.

"Our aim is to showcase business relationships while facilitating industry discourse through seminars," said Rebecca Donkor.

On her part, CEO of FC Beauty College Grace Amey-Obeng noted that the industry has seen a remarkable growth over the past years as a result of transformation in the area of education, increased awareness on importance of the beauty and wellness business in the country.

She said the development has contributed to a significant increase in cosmetology schools thus stimulating interest in the makeup artistry .

She advised the recognize cosmetology schools to consider offering distance learning programs to enable people to acquire training.

The fair was jointly opened by the Minister of Tourism, Catherine Afeku and Deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor.

Mrs. Afeku urged makeup professionals to use their various platforms to campaign against open defecation and other negative environmental practices.