DURHAM, N.C. — The number of female-owned businesses is growing, but women remain underrepresented and are still less likely to pursue entrepreneurship compared to men, according to a 2019 report by the Girl Scout Research Institute. They said 78% of girls are interested in becoming an entrepreneur in the future.

What You Need To Know

  • Amaka’s International Hair runs a summer camp

  • The business owner is teaching young girls about self-care, education and entrepreneurship

  • She is hoping to do the summer camp again next year

Durham business owner Dedra Hines owns Amaka’s International Hair. She is taking her leadership skills and talent and putting them into running a summer camp. She’s trying to encourage young girls to be the best they can be and educate them about entrepreneurship.

“With depression running so high these days in our youth, that is a big part, self-image,” Hines said. “And confidence and knowing that they look good and feel good.”

She is also teaching them about the importance of education.

“I teach the girls that education is a tool you need so if you want to be a business owner, if you want to be a hairstylist, whatever you want to be, you have to start with the foundation,” Hines said.

As the owner of a business, she is hoping to be an inspiration to these young girls. She said with Black entrepreneurship being recognized more and increased funding available for woman business owners; she wants these girls to know they’re capable of anything.

“When they see me, I want them to see success, I want them to see determination,” Hines said. “One of my mottos is to keep going, to push yourself. If they see me doing that, which I have been doing my entire career, if they see me doing that, then they will continue to do it, they know that it can be done.”

One camper who enjoyed her time is 10-year-old Jordyn Collins.

“I already knew how to braid and stuff, but this camp has made me better and it has encouraged me to keep going with braiding,” Collins said.

Hines said she gets emotional thinking about the impact she can make, and while she has only had a short time with these girls, she’s hoping they walk away feeling beautiful.

“I couldn’t even think of a word that describes how I feel, like almost every day I am almost in tears. I’m almost in tears right now,” Hines said. “It makes me feel so good, so powerful, so blessed that I have the endurance, the tenacity, the influence on these girls.”

“If they know that they are beautiful, if they know that they are smart, they don’t have to worry about somebody else telling them that and they don’t have to worry about being successful; if somebody else tells them that, they will know it inside and they will create the success on their own,” Hines said.

Hines said she wants to explore resources out there for women business owners so she can help grow these opportunities she’s offering young girls.

She also said she’s planning to do this summer camp again next year.