Natacha Adanlessossi, 28, first arrived in Australia in 2014 on a humanitarian refugee visa after fleeing her home country of Togo in west Africa.

Initially, Ms Adanlessossi only did afro hair styling for her friends as a hobby while she was studying to become a personal care worker in Australia.

Back in Togo she was a well-versed hair stylist having worked in a salon there as well as having qualifications in the field.

However, after noticing the demand for her prowess in the western Victorian region and an increasing number of clientele who were travelling as far as Bacchus Marsh, Maryborough and Melbourne to access her services, she decided to expand her business.

"Since my arrival in Ballarat in 2014, the number of Afro-Australians in this community has increased significantly," Ms Adanlessossi said.

"As l come from a family with generations of hair styling experience and have worked in a salon I knew l was the ideal person to respond to the needs of Ballarat's African population and that is the reason I decided to start a small business which provides quality hair and beauty products so women in Ballarat don't have to suffer travelling far distances to get their hair done."

In December 2021, Ms Adanlessossi officially registered her business under the name AFRO - HAIR BY NATACHA which provides affordable and culturally appropriate hair products for African women including hair bonnets, natural wigs and hair creams.

Since opening, her customer base has steadily grown and has now amassed over 50 people.

On Thursday, Ms Adanlessossi's hard work and efforts in establishing her hair care business were recognised on a national scale when she was named as a runner up of the Australian Multicultural Foundation's Carla Zampatti Scholarship for Young Women award.

The scholarship is given to young women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who demonstrate passion and innovation in their chosen venture.

Ms Adanlessossi said she was extremely excited to be named as a runner up of this scholarship.

"It is a real honour and a privilege and it's the most wonderful thing that has happened to my business," she said.

Ms Adanlessossi received $5000 as a runner-up and said this money would help her with purchasing more hair styling equipment for her business.

"I also plan to use this money to help me with getting a mentor who can provide me financial advice on how to best manage my business," she said.

Australian Multicultural Foundation executive director Hass Dellal said Ms Adanlessossi was a worthy recipient of the scholarship as Ms Adanlessossi's business was not only creative and artistic but also held great cultural significance.

"Natacha was given a special distinction award for her innovation and her pursuit to overcome barriers in order to achieve her aspirations in life through her hair business," Mr Dellal said.

"Also, Natacha provided us with an excellent business model that we believe will grow to be a successful business in the future, that also reminds us of the underutilised skills and talents that migration brings to regional Australia."

Ms Adanlessossi said she was now working on developing a new hair cream to help African women grow back their natural hair.

"Some women I know after having one, two and then a third child start losing the hair at the front, middle or back of their head," she said.

"So I'm making a formula, which is in the testing stage at the moment to help Afro women grow back their natural hair to make them feel proud of their hair and so they feel comfortable and beautiful."

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While Ms Adanlessossi conducts her hair care business alongside working full-time as a personal care worker, she said she hopes to devote more time to her hair styling.

"I have not yet been able to do the business full time, but now that I have registered AFRO - HAIR BY NATACHA as a small business, I hope to do so in the future," she said.

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