Livara: A Rebellion in a Jar
The case follows Maxima Nsimenta, founder and CEO of Livara, a vertically integrated beauty brand based in Uganda. Sparked by a personal experience of racial discrimination in a salon in Congo, Nsimenta set out to transform how African women care for and perceive their natural hair, building a company grounded in cultural affirmation, economic empowerment, and supply chain integrity.
From humble beginnings sourcing raw shea from local farmers and formulating products in her kitchen, Nsimenta grew Livara into one of Uganda’s most recognized brands. But scaling came with hard tradeoffs. Investor disputes, legal battles, and personal setbacks including postpartum depression and COVID-related supply chain disruption tested her resolve. Nsimenta rebounded with a bold plan: launch a tech platform to preserve shea tree biodiversity and expand Livara globally. Now at Stanford GSB, she faces a defining decision: Should she seek external investment and scale aggressively in the U.S., or protect her values by growing more slowly?
Set at a strategic crossroads, the case invites students to wrestle with the tensions between purpose and profit, values and growth, and the personal and professional roles of a mission-driven founder.
Learning Objective
- Explore how principled leadership can define, empower, and constrain a founder’s strategic choices.
- Debate whether and how to raise capital while preserving mission and control.
- Understand the complexities of building a culturally rooted brand for global markets.
- Examine the tradeoffs of vertical integration and social impact in emerging markets.
- Discuss how personal adversity and conviction shape entrepreneurial resilience.