Miss Empowher is a fashion-lifestyle brand that empowers women through celebrating confidence, body positivity and inclusivity. UNC-Chapel Hill senior advertising and public relations student Caitlyn Kumi has created a company that aims to encourage women to feel confident in who they are regardless of their background.
The brand specializes in selling homemade waist beads by women entrepreneurs in Ghana. Kumi had the opportunity to travel to Ghana to complete preliminary research and to test the business plan she had created.
While in Ghana, She was amazed to learn Ghana has a large number of female entrepreneurs. It was then she knew she wanted to create an opportunity to support these women entrepreneurs in their hustle.
“In Africa, women are the backbone of society,” Kumi said. They are the ones with side hustles bringing in extra income for their children to go to school and provide them with a better life. I wanted to be able to support a fellow woman in her hustle.”
Kumi developed her brand, Miss Empowher, to be an inclusive women’s empowerment fashion lifestyle brand. The mission is to inspire women of all demographics and backgrounds to feel more sexy, confident and empowered in their own bodies.
After struggling with her own body insecurities, Kumi wanted to create an outlet to share her journey to becoming confident in her own skin to inspire others who may also be struggling with body insecurities.
Because she is a Ghanian American, she also wanted to share the beauty within her African identity with people of all backgrounds by creating a Miss Empowher Waist Beads Collection. Waist beads not only have roots in West African culture, it also celebrates womanhood and femininity.
Inspired by the opportunities and support she received from the many strong women in her life, Kumi wanted to share the beauty in this accessory with women across the world.
Kumi launched Miss Empowher during her junior year of college amidst the pandemic in June 2020. During this time, America was also experiencing a rise in social unrest. She considers herself a social impact entrepreneur, so making a difference in her community in such a troublesome time was important to her.
The Women Supporting Women Fundraising Initiative is a part of Miss Empowher’s commitment to supporting women’s groups and organizations. This is just another one of the ways Kumi plans to give back and support women in need.
“With everything I do, I just want to make an impact on women and make their lives better and make a positive impact,” Kumi said. “ I saw the Women Supporting Women Initiative as a way to do that.”
Seeing how many businesses and organizations were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumi wanted to create an opportunity to help those in need. The Women Supporting Women Initiative aims to support businesses and organizations financially through fundraising opportunities.
Kumi’s future plans for Miss Empowher are to implement campus ambassador programs and to encourage, motivate and uplift women on a larger scaled platform. To learn more about Miss Empowher and the brand, you can visit the website and the Miss Empowher Instagram and Twitter pages.
