About Us
Company Profile
A Ghanaian-owned social enterprise producing certified organic shea butter and shea-based bath and beauty products, with roots in Tamale going back to 2003.
Who We Are
Care shaped by place and people.
TAMA® is the shea-based bath and beauty brand of SeKaf Ghana Ltd., a Ghanaian-owned and operated social enterprise. Our unrefined organic shea butter and finished products are made in Tamale, in northern Ghana, a region where economic opportunity has long been limited.
SeKaf has a dual purpose: to make products of the highest quality, and to improve the economic standing of rural women through innovative and sustainable employment. The two goals reinforce each other. Better livelihoods for the women who pick and process shea mean better shea for the people who use it.
Our shea butter is certified organic, fully traceable to its harvesting sources, and handcrafted by village women at the SeKaf Shea Butter Village in Kasalgu. That heritage is carried into every TAMA product.
- Founded
- 2003, Tamale, Ghana
- Headquarters
- Kasalgu, Tamale, Northern Region
- Business
- Social enterprise producing organic shea butter and TAMA® bath and beauty products
- Community partners
- 44 communities
- Certifications
- ECOCERT and USDA organic shea
- Recognition
- AGI Company of the Year
- 2003Founded in Tamale
- 44Partner communities
- 5,000+Women supplying shea
- 1,458Women in village savings groups
Our Business
Three connected parts of one shea business.
- 01SeKaf Shea Butter VillageDevelops organic and conventional shea fields and works with women’s cooperatives to process premium unrefined shea butter in a fully traceable, controlled system. It also produces TAMA® bath and beauty products.
- 02Agricultural servicesProcures and transports raw materials for agro-processing firms in the shea and cashew industries, and trades commodities such as shea nuts, soya beans and sesame seeds.
- 03Shea consultancyTrains groups and individuals in improved processing of premium shea kernels and artisanal shea butter, and brokers specialty fats for confectionery and cosmetics makers.
Our Impact
Women at the heart of everything we do.
Women are the core beneficiaries of SeKaf’s social impact and the heart of its business. We focus on securing sustainable livelihoods for poor, rural women by bringing them into an ethical and sustainable shea supply chain.
We train them in organic shea harvesting and high-yield processing, and pay a premium for their nuts and services. We also run programmes in financial literacy and life skills so that they gain the most from their work.
Village Savings and Loans. Community groups let women save weekly and borrow for school fees, business growth and emergencies. Today 1,458 women take part.
Our Promise
Natural, Certified and Gentle.
- Certified Organic SheaPremium unrefined shea butter from community-traded nuts, certified organic by ECOCERT and traceable to its source.
- Naturally ScentedScented only with natural essential oils, never with synthetic or artificial fragrance.
- Gentle On SkinSimple formulas with as much shea oil and unrefined shea butter as possible, and no petroleum-derived ingredients.
- Plant-Based & Cruelty-FreeFree from animal-derived ingredients and never tested on animals.
Our Standards
Certified, registered and traceable.
TAMA products are made from premium unrefined shea butter from community-traded nuts that can be traced to where they were harvested. We favour simple ingredients and simple formulas that meet international standards, with as much shea oil and unrefined shea butter as possible.
- Shea butter certified organic by ECOCERT
- USDA National Organic Program (7 CFR Part 205)
- Registered with Ghana’s Food and Drugs Authority
- Licensed by the Ghana Standards Authority
- Notified on the EU Cosmetic Products Notification Portal
- Registered with Health Canada and the Kenya Ministry of Health
Recognition
Award-winning Shea Care.
Recognised for the quality of our products and the way we bring them to market.
- 2016Best Toiletries & Cosmetics Company of the YearAssociation of Ghana Industries (AGI) Awards
- 2015Outstanding Marketing Campaign Award
- 2014Indigenous Product of the YearGhana Made Awards
- 2014Best Marketing Campaign Award
Our Journey
A history in shea.
- 2003
SeKaf Ghana was founded as an export company with a varied portfolio of West African raw materials.
- 2004
The company began to specialise exclusively in shea.
- 2006
SeKaf became a social enterprise focused on improving the economic status of rural women shea pickers and processors.
- 2008
The SeKaf Shea Butter Village opened in Kasalgu, Tamale, where village women process premium unrefined shea butter in a controlled environment.
- Today
We buy shea from approximately 5,000 women across 44 communities, and TAMA is sold in Ghana, Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.
What We Make
Care for bath, body and hair.
Our Direction
Where we are heading, and how we get there.
- VisionOur VisionTo become Africa’s largest manufacturer of certified organic shea bath and beauty products.Read Our Vision
- MissionOur MissionAffordable, high-quality natural care, while helping to lift indigenous women out of poverty.Read Our Mission
- LeadershipOur LeadershipMeet the people guiding TAMA’s growth from northern Ghana to the world.Meet Our Leadership