Almas

While growing up in Uganda, Inaugural ALA student Brian Kalugira noticed that nomadic east African pastoral communities used milk butter as a substitute for Vaseline. The lotion, Brian was told, not only softened the skin but, when modified with a natural extract, can repell malaria-carrying mosquitos.

At ALA, these experiences inspired the creation of Nique, a milk butter-based moisturizing lotion. With four fellow entrepreneurs, Brian is creating and testing milk-butter lotions in the ALA science laboratories, with a goal of providing a high-quality, mosquito-repelling lotion by the end of 2010.  The team has already produced and supplied over 60 containers of lotion for testing by the ALA community!

The team ultimately seeks to sell the lotion in high-end boutique stores at a significant margin. Profits from these sales will fund the manufacturing and distribution of a mosquito-repelling lotion in impoverished communities in Malarial regions across the continent.