Maravi Beauty was founded by Phumeza Matshoba-Phiri, a South African IT Specialist, and Madalitso Zililo Phiri, a Malawian-born academic and scholar activist.
The name Maravi is derived from the 16th century Kingdom of Maravi. At its peak the kingdom traded in items such as beads and porcelain through contact with Portuguese intermediaries. The kingdom straddled the current borders of Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.
Maravi Beauty aims to capture the essence and spirit of the Maravi people, which thrived through transcultural trade exchanges, global and cosmopolitan living, tolerance and peaceful co-existence.