Expedition Subsahara Update | Shark Tank Season 14

While growing up in Senegal, Sofi Seck witnessed women in her community struggle to earn sustainable incomes and saw the limited educational opportunities available for girls. Drawing from her cultural roots in basket weaving, she created Expedition Subsahara to provide fair-wage jobs for Senegalese artisans while funding a STEAM school for girls. Will Sofi’s vision resonate with the sharks? Find out in our Expedition Subsahara update and pitch recap.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Expedition Subsahara after Shark Tank.

Sofi entered Shark Tank Season 14, seeking $500,000 for 10% equity in her decorative Baskets business. Unfortunately, after her presentation, she did not secure a deal.

In terms of an Expedition Subsahara update, the company expanded its product line to include placemats, coasters, vases, fans, bowls, small bags, and wall decorations.

Shark	Result
Mark Cuban	No offer
Kevin O’Leary	No offer
Daymond John	No offer
Robert Herjavec	No offer
Lori Greiner	No offer

Shark Tank Expedition Subsahara Pitch

• Entrepreneur: Sofi Seck
• Business: Decorative Baskets
• Ask: $500,000 for 10% equity
• Result: No deal
• Sharks: None

Sofi began her pitch by highlighting Senegal’s rich culture and her aim to bring its joy and color into American homes through Expedition Subsahara’s handmade baskets.

She sought an investment to scale her business, improve margins, and fund a STEAM school for girls in Senegal.

Sofi’s pitch was as much about preserving culture as it was about creating opportunities—both of which hinged on securing a shark’s support.

Expedition Subsahara is a business that sells handwoven baskets made from grasses and recycled plastics.

It also offers coasters, necklaces, and hampers. The company operates as a direct-to-consumer business.

The sharks examined the sample baskets, each designed for a specific purpose, such as hampers.

Each basket costs $18 to make and sells for $50. Sofi revealed that 95% of her sales come from online channels.

Year-to-date (2022), sales reached $900,000, contributing to lifetime revenues of $3.6 million.

She revealed her sales reached $1.6 million in 2021, with $1 million in gross profits and $75,000 in net profits.

Sofi then disclosed that she directed much of the revenue back into the business, which limited the net profit.

However, despite these challenges, the company maintained strong margins of 60%.

In 2019, sales were only $75,000, but the situation changed in 2020.

From March to May, sales rose to $45,000, thanks to heightened awareness from the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s murder.

This growth allowed Sofi to hire 120 weavers, though the rapid expansion reduced her margins.

To ensure fair wages, Sofi pays her artisans by the hour. Master weavers train younger artisans to preserve traditional techniques.

She rejected the pay-per-piece model, believing it failed to uplift her community.

In 2021, Sofi allocated $400,000 to advertising, which helped bring in $160,000 in sales during one recent month.

However, the cost to acquire each customer was $106, leaving profits thin.

Sofi wants to expand into retail, but the sharks raised concerns about the financial strain that the move could create.

Kevin O’Leary says her numbers were not adding up, and expanding into retail would be too expensive due to the nature of her business. For those reasons, he’s out.

Lori Greiner likes the product, but she says the valuation was too high for her to consider an investment. She’s out as well.

Mark Cuban says she could succeed as a sole proprietor but ultimately passed.

Robert Herjavec appreciated her drive but didn’t see a viable return on investment, prompting him to exit as well.

Finally, Daymond John praised her willingness to challenge the status quo but also decided against investing.

Unfortunately, Sofi left without a deal. Let’s jump ahead and get an Expedition Subsahara update.

Shark Tank Expedition Subsahara Update

Our Expedition Subsahara update found that despite not getting a deal, Sofi was able to expand the product line.

The Expedition Subsahara website now sells placemats, coasters, vases, fans, bowls, small bags, and wall decorations in addition to its signature baskets.

They also introduced hand-carved wooden products, such as stools and sculptures.

Our Expedition Subsahara update was unable to fund updated revenue numbers, but it seems likely that the exposure from Shark Tank has helped increase revenue.

If we get another Expedition Subsahara update, we will let you know.

For more on Shark Tank Season 14 Episode 4, be sure to check out:

• Storage Scholars Update
• Ghia Update
• Woosh Update

Before you go, be sure to check out our list of all the Shark Tank Season 14 products.