The SANHWE Academy is a curated space to discover the science, artistry, and traditions behind natural fragrance through immersive courses, practical workshops, and guided experiences inspired by Africa’s botanical heritage.
Explore the world of botanicals and raw materials from Africa and beyond.
Learn their properties, origin and roles in perfumery.
Create balanced accords and your first perfume.
Develop your style and formulate with intention and skill.
Craft meaningful perfumes that tell your story.
Explore the world of botanicals and raw materials from Africa and beyond.
Learn their properties, origin and roles in perfumery.
Create balanced accords and your first perfume.
Develop your style and formulate with intention and skill.
Craft meaningful perfumes that tell your story.
Discover the world of fragrances, ingredients, scent families and blending fundamentals.
Build accords, refine your techniques and create perfumes with confidence and creativity
Master formulation, develop collections and build your perfume brand wtih purpose.
Long before I became a perfumer, I was simply a curious girl who loved science and nature.
Growing up, I was fascinated by how things worked. Chemistry and physics were my favourite subjects, and while I may have broken more than my fair share of laboratory glassware, my curiosity never broke with it. At home, I began creating my own hair and skincare products after struggling to find products that worked for my thick hair and sensitive skin. Looking back, formulation found me long before I knew it would become my life’s work.
Although I later studied Business Administration at Ashesi University, my heart never drifted far from nature. During my third year, a book on humanity’s relationship with the environment profoundly changed the way I saw the world. It inspired my final-year agricultural project and ignited a lifelong mission to create value from Africa’s natural resources while encouraging more sustainable ways of living.
After graduating, I made an unconventional decision. I turned down a higher-paying opportunity in the oil and gas industry to join a growing agricultural company instead. I wanted to immerse myself in agriculture, understand its challenges from the ground up, and learn how value could be created from nature. Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I could have made, shaping the way I think, formulate, and build SANHWE today. While I had found my purpose in agriculture, I hadn’t yet discovered the medium through which I would express it. That changed during a trip to Dubai, where I discovered perfume oils and began asking a simple question:
What if fragrance could become a bridge between agriculture, science, creativity, and sustainability?
That question led me into years of study, research, and experimentation. I trained in cosmetic formulation, conventional perfumery, and eventually natural perfumery, learning from experts around the world while continually refining my craft. Today, I formulate confidently with both botanical ingredients and modern aroma molecules, drawing from an ever-growing palette of raw materials to create fragrances with intention and purpose.
Through SANHWE, my mission extends beyond creating exceptional fragrances to inspiring a new generation of fragrance creators who appreciate the beauty, complexity, and limitless possibilities of perfumery, nature and Africa’s agriculture.
I look forward to welcoming you into the SANHWE Academy.
~ Ernestina Kobi
Founder & Perfumer
Learn directly from a certified and practising perfumer, who formulates, researches, manufactures, and builds a fragrance brand every day. Every lesson is shaped by real-world experience, challenges, and discoveries.
Knowledge becomes meaningful through practice.Throughout your journey, you will evaluate raw materials, build accords, formulate fragrances, solve creative challenges, and receive guidance designed to help you grow with confidence.
You have the option to experience our broad palette of fragrance materials to develop both your creative versatility and confidence.
Explore the richness of African botanicals, traditions, and ingredients while learning globally recognised perfumery principles and raw materials.
Whether your goal is to create all-natural fragrances, conventional perfumes, or a thoughtful balance of both, you’ll understand the strengths, limitations, and creative possibilities of each approach.
We’re carefully developing an Academy that blends science, creativity, nature, and hands-on learning into one unforgettable experience.
Leave your details below and we’ll notify you as soon as the first courses are released.
Thank you very much SanHwe for the introductory course to perfumery.
The course was inspiring, exciting, concise, educative and interactive.
I can’t wait to be enrolled into the intermediate class❤️❤️