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| Ambassador Category | Gen Z |
|---|---|
| Business Name | My Hapii |
| Owner | Mariam Sesay |
| Partner | The King’s Trust |
| Social Media |
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| Website | myhapii.com |
A 26-year-old entrepreneur who turned her experience as a self-taught hairstylist into an inclusive hair and body wellness brand has been named the 2026 Start Up Loans Ambassador for Gen Z.
Mariam launched My Hapii in 2025 after securing a £1,500 Start Up Loan with support from The King's Trust to develop multi-purpose, gender-neutral products for curly, coily, and afro hair. She used the funding to cover essential start-up costs, including her first market stall, equipment and investment in marketing, social media, and a website.
Mariam started braiding hair at 16 and quickly saw first-hand that many products did not meet the needs of her own textured hair. She began developing alternatives for herself, then shared them with friends and family. What started as a personal solution grew into My Hapii, a brand created to celebrate and support textured hair.
£1,500
to develop multi-purpose, gender-neutral products for curly, coily, and afro hair
The King's Trust
Supporting young people aged 18 to 30 to start their own business
Starting with one product taught me to trust what I had created and build from there. I learned to keep trying new things and step outside my comfort zone, because that is often where the biggest growth happens, and that’s advice I would pass onto any young entrepreneur thinking about starting a business.
My Hapii means ‘my roots’ in Mende, bringing together my Sierra Leonean heritage, natural ingredients, and modern formulation science. Having worked with textured hair since I was 16, I saw a real gap for high-quality, multipurpose products that were made with curly, coily, and afro hair in mind, that everyone could use.
- Mariam Sesay Founder of My Hapii
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