Hellen Dausen, 29, Tanzania

Founder: Nuya’s Essence

Not many former beauty queens can say they left the money of the runways for entrepreneurship; lost money before they started and picked up the pieces to build a business in Zanzibar from the ground up.

When she first started, after making an investment in a soap making plant in her parents’ backyard, the regulating authorities deemed it not up to standard and instructed her to destroy it.  Dausen, a 2010 Miss Universe Tanzania, showed resilience like no other and carried on. She built her handmade natural bath and body care brand, Nuya’s Essence, against the odds. A few weeks later, she called the authorities back for another inspection. This time she made sure they could find no fault.