“YSWARA supports some of Africa’s top creative talents and believe in an authentic African luxury marrying both economics and social values. We call it the LUXE UBUNTU.”- Swaady Martin-Leke
In today’s L.A (Lux Afrique) Spotlight section we take a brief look at Ivorian entrepreneur Swaady Martin-Leke and her groundbreaking business YSWARA.Just three years ago, visionary and ‘Queen of African Luxury’ Swaady Martin-Leke walked away from a high-flying career at GE (where she served as the Director for Sub-Saharan Africa of GE transport) and made the decision to follow her dreams.
It just so happens that her dream was an ingenious blend of African culture & heritage, luxury and fair trade. Enter YSWARA: Swaady’s luxurious home-grown African brand. Her vision was to use the continent’s natural resources, to both support African business and produce gourmet tea, chocolates and home and accessories. Although she is quick to remind her global supporters that YSWARA is ‘so much more than just a tea company’, it is her tea (and candles) that originally set tongues wagging. With their smooth rich authentic flavours and names such as Shaka Zulu, Pharaoh Tut, and King Lalibela, it’s not hard to see why they made such an impact.
The brand has since grown exponentially with Swaady being hailed as the woman who has reminded the world of the ‘African Dream.’YSWARA is exquisite on every level; from sumptuous packaging, fine ingredients (all of which are ethically sourced) and the leading-edge Afrocentric vision at the heart of it. We are LUXE UBUNTU all the way.
