AHBEASA was formed with the primary purpose to articulate the concerns and aspirations of black owned businesses in the hairdressing and beauty sector. The Afro Hairdressing and Beauty industry is very lucrative and yet highly fragmented. No authentic statistics of its impact on the overall South African economy is available. The South African government recognises the importance of small and medium sized enterprises as a strategy for creating jobs and fighting poverty. This recognition has buoyed the organization to engage this industry with renewed vigour in organising this sector into a formidable force. The majority of these small enterprises are informal – and employ one up to eight employees; rivalling the taxi industry as the number one job creator in South Africa. Our organization will develop and transform this sector into the mainstream economy. The biggest challenge facing AHBEASA is to develop and raise the standard of the hairdressing and beauty salons in South Africa into a highly respected and desired career by all South Africans