From International Finance to the Finest Leather Goods of Dakar
Nothing suggested that Roselynd Laubhouet was destined to lead a company in the fashion industry. With an MBA in finance from Washington, she honed her skills at major international institutions before returning to Senegal. It was in Dakar that her entrepreneurial spirit truly came to the fore. After launching the communications agency Yelena in 2013, followed by Signare Conciergerie—the country’s first private concierge service—she laid the groundwork for what would become Nahyel Concept Store in 2019.
Her relationship with matter and beauty, however, is no accident. The daughter of a renowned architect—whose geometric plans she enjoys deciphering—and introduced to contemporary art at a very young age by her mother during the Dakar Biennales, Roselynd has cultivated a keen eye for structure and line.
She developed an interest in and expertise with leather through the creation of high-end corporate gifts for banks and institutions. Fascinated by the elegance of this material, she soon began designing her own pieces and founded the Nahyel brand:
- Bags with architectural lines, crafted from fine leathers selected from Italy’s finest tanneries at the Lineapelle trade show in Milan.
- Exceptional, hand-painted pieces produced in ultra-limited editions, featuring rare leathers such as python to ensure absolute exclusivity for every customer.
- The mobilization of a network of highly skilled leather artisans in Dakar, trained to meet the finishing standards of the world’s finest leather goods.
Why Talent Alone Is Not Enough Without a Sustainable Business Model
The founding vision behind Nahyel Concept Store stemmed from a clear-eyed assessment of the structural flaws in the West African ecosystem. Through her interactions with workshops in the subregion, the businesswoman recognized the gap between the designers’ creative energy and their financial insecurity:
- Designers with remarkable talent who struggle to sell their pieces because their local markets are too small.
- A chronic inability to finance the working capital needed to fulfill a steady volume of orders.
- A glaring lack of basic management concepts, from calculating production costs to setting the unit margins essential to a workshop’s survival.
To break through this glass ceiling, Roselynd opened her first concept store in the heart of Dakar’s Plateau business district, across from the Ministry of the Interior. The space rejects the model of a simple, passive consignment shop. It is designed as a discerning business incubator, selecting designers who are ready to commit to raising their standards, improving their craftsmanship, and professionalizing their image.
Pop-up stores across Africa
While most young African fashion labels focus their efforts on gaining immediate recognition in Paris or New York, Roselynd Laubhouet is taking the opposite approach by focusing on the African market. After Dakar, she opened a second permanent store in Abidjan, before testing her collections in the most dynamic markets of sub-Saharan Africa.
This regional expansion is based on a systematic approach to mobile retail:
- A Strong Foothold in Kinshasa: Invited to the Makutano Business Forum in the wake of the health crisis, she discovered a Congolese market of over 100 million people—passionate about elegance and boasting tremendous purchasing power—where she has returned every year for the past five years to build customer loyalty.
- East African Fashion Showcase in Nairobi: Organized on the sidelines of the France-Africa Summit, the Kenyan pop-up allowed French-speaking designers to gauge the appetite of English-speaking customers for their styles, selling nearly all of their inventory in less than forty-eight hours.
- Conquering the Travel Retail Market in Dakar: Through a strategic alliance with the Lagardère Travel Retail Group, Nahyel is bringing the designers from its ecosystem directly into the shops at Blaise Diagne International Airport, turning international business travelers into regular customers.
For the executive, this regional phase is not an option but an essential prerequisite. It allows brands to test their pricing structures, navigate the complex customs and logistical procedures involved in intra-African trade, and generate the necessary cash flow before expanding into markets in the North.
From Dakar to Paris’s Marais District with Youssou N’Dour’s Strategic Alliance
Nahyel’s arrival in Paris from October 15 to 20, 2026, as part of the “Afrique en Scène” event, marks the culmination of a long-simmering initiative. Held at 18 rue de Turenne, in the heart of the Marais—a hub for fashion and design—this initiative is more than just a pop-up sale; it orchestrates a true showcase of cultural and industrial strength.
To maximize the impact of this Paris debut, Roselynd created a powerful synergy centered on the iconic figure of Youssou N’Dour and his legendary Grand Bal de Bercy (Accor Arena):
- The opening panel discussion on soft power: Bringing together Youssou N’Dour, representatives from the IFC, and executives from Lagardère Travel Retail, this opening panel gets to the heart of the matter: how to transform raw talent into strong, exportable businesses.
- Pan-African Curation: About 20 brands from six countries—including Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Togo, Nigeria, and Kenya—are coming together to showcase their expertise in ready-to-wear, leather goods, fine jewelry, and fragrances. Denise Mané, co-founder of the Sayana brand—whose interview is available on our interviews page —is among those featured in the selection.
- Professional Immersion in Design Studios: With support from the French Embassy, the designers spend two full days visiting major Parisian workshops and the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) to learn about the codes of the luxury industry, technical compliance requirements, and industrialization processes.
By combining fashion with the music of Youssou N’Dour and the television stories of screenwriter Kalista Sy (Mistress of a Married Man)—who had previously propelled the brand’s designs all the way to Washington via DHL— Roselynd illustrates the interdisciplinary impact of African soft power.
Why Africa Needs to Develop Its Own Luxury Industry Leaders
Roselynd Laubhouet’s vision extends beyond the scope of fashion seasons. As she prepares to host the major “ACT” (Agir) forum in Dakar in May 2027—dedicated to mobilizing capital for the cultural and creative industries—the founder aims to bring together investors, banking institutions, and government ministries to secure large-scale funding.
For the Dakar-based entrepreneur, fashion is not just about fabrics or fleeting trends: the world’s greatest empires have been built on leather goods and clothing. By equipping African designers with sound accounting practices, a strategic vision for logistics, and independent distribution channels, Roselynd is paving the way for the industrial conglomerates of tomorrow—ones capable of showcasing the continent’s expertise in capitals around the world.
