NEWS

Red Star News: China’s ‘Black Gold’ – How Wigs Are Creating Fortunes in Africa

“The natural texture of Black hair is very curly and difficult to manage, making wigs an essential item for them,” Ni Qianqing, the wig category lead at AliExpress, told Red Star News.

Wigs exported from China are regarded as “black gold” by locals in Africa, and many are mining real gold from this “black gold.”

International student Peter buys wigs in China for his customers in South Sudan. On April 24, he revealed to Red Star News that with April not yet over, his net profit for the month had already reached approximately $1,200-$1,600 (about 8,065-9,408 yuan).

Meanwhile, Red Star News found that one hair products company achieved an annual revenue of 1.947 billion yuan in the African market.

African Student: Earns Money Reselling Wigs

“Asian women might focus more on their faces and skin, but African girls pay more attention to their hair. They have a high demand for hair products,” Peter, an international student from South Sudan, told Red Star News.

Currently studying Business Administration at Hefei University of Technology, Peter works as a wig reseller alongside his studies, sending Chinese-made wigs back to his home country, South Sudan.

He explained that women in South Sudan typically spend a significant amount of money on their hair each month. Whether for weddings, festivals, or just ordinary days, they frequently visit hair salons.

“If a girl goes to the hair salon every week, she might spend over $100 a month on her hair. But if they buy one or two wigs, they can save several months’ worth of expenses. It’s very cost-effective for them,” Peter said.

Peter came to China in September 2011 and started his wig reselling business last summer. “It began when friends wanted to buy wigs from China through me. I understand the Chinese market well, so I started helping them purchase wigs.”

Initially, Peter conducted on-the-ground market research, but he now consistently sources his wig products from a supplier in Yiwu, Zhejiang. On April 24, he told Red Star News that his net profit for April had already reached approximately $1,200-$1,600, with the month not yet finished.

When asked whether African consumers can afford wigs, Peter stated, “About 70% of the buyers are working professionals who can afford them. If the quality of the wig is good, the price isn’t an issue.”

Currently, Peter’s sales rely mainly on word-of-mouth from returning customers. He mentioned that the conversion rate from ads he places on social platforms is very low, but he hopes people in South Sudan will become more receptive to e-commerce in the future.

African Market Grows by 100%-300%

According to data from AliExpress, Alibaba’s cross-border e-commerce platform, a wig is sold every two seconds on average. The annual sales growth rate for wigs in European and American markets is about 50%, while the African market experiences growth between 100% and 300%.

Ni Qianqing told Red Star News that this growth rate isn’t surprising. It reflects the cross-border e-commerce model, which allows end consumers to bypass traditional middlemen like wholesalers and retailers compared to conventional manufacturing and foreign trade.

Shen Dalei, who has years of experience in the hair products industry, also told Red Star News that 40%-50% of his company’s sales now come directly through the B2C platform AliExpress, with the remaining share still coming from the traditional B2B foreign trade model.