In 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown in London, Yinka Ogunbiyi faced a challenge familiar to millions of Black women around the world. With hair salons closed, she decided to braid her own hair for the first time.
It took four days.
For many people, that experience would have ended as an unpleasant memory. For Ogunbiyi, it became the beginning of a company.
Rather than accepting the process as an unavoidable inconvenience, she asked a simple but transformative question: if technology has revolutionised countless everyday tasks, why has hair braiding remained largely unchanged for centuries?
That question eventually led to the creation of HaloBraid, a robotics startup developing technology designed to assist professional braiders. In June 2026, the company announced a $7 million seed funding round led by Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm, Seven Seven Six, with participation from AlleyCorp and Bling Capital.
The journey from idea to investment was anything but straightforward.
Ogunbiyi partnered with co-founder David Afolabi, and together they spent four years researching and refining the concept. Their team surveyed more than 2,200 people who regularly wear braided hairstyles, interviewed over 200 professional stylists, and built more than 600 prototypes before arriving at a commercially viable product.
The result is not a machine intended to replace hair braiders but one designed to support them. Stylists begin each braid manually, preserving the craftsmanship and personal touch of traditional braiding, before the device takes over part of the repetitive process. Early testing suggests the technology can reduce braiding time by as much as 50 per cent while also helping to reduce the physical strain that contributes to conditions such as back pain and repetitive stress injuries among professional braiders.
Ogunbiyi’s academic and professional background helped prepare her for the challenge. She earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master of Science in Engineering from Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, combining technical expertise with business strategy. Before founding HaloBraid, she served as Head of Branding and Marketing at Nigerian lifestyle company Eve & Tribe.
A major milestone came in 2025 when HaloBraid won Harvard University’s President’s Innovation Challenge, receiving $75,000 in funding. The recognition helped validate the concept and accelerated the company’s path towards securing venture capital investment the following year.
The opportunity the company is pursuing is substantial. Industry estimates suggest that billions of hours are spent braiding hair globally each year, with much of that labour performed by Black women and professional stylists. By reducing the time and physical effort required, HaloBraid aims to improve productivity while preserving the artistry and cultural significance of braided hairstyles.
Ogunbiyi has framed the company’s mission in terms of giving people back valuable time. Beyond convenience, the technology seeks to improve working conditions for stylists and make protective hairstyling more accessible without replacing the skilled professionals whose expertise remains essential.
Her story illustrates a principle common to many successful innovations: meaningful businesses often begin with ordinary frustrations. Where others see inconvenience, entrepreneurs see an opportunity to rethink established processes and create solutions that benefit entire industries.
For Nigeria, Ogunbiyi’s achievement also reflects the growing influence of its innovators on the global technology landscape. Increasingly, Nigerian entrepreneurs are developing products that address real-world problems and attract international investment, demonstrating that world-class innovation can emerge from African talent solving everyday challenges.
HaloBraid’s journey serves as a reminder that some of the most impactful ideas begin with a simple question: instead of accepting a problem as normal, what if someone built a better solution?
