Frobelles, the UK App Game Celebrating Afro Hair Launches in the US

Frobelles, the UK’s first afro-hair-championing dress-up game, launches in the U.S. today.

Founded by mother-and-daughter duo Yvonne Ottley and 12-year-old Alyssa, the award-winning app aims to increase the representation of gaming characters. the goal is to educate, empower, and celebrate curly, coily-hair, and natural hair.

The game is fun, and educational, and was created as an empowering solution to a problem: the lack of representation in the content consumed by young children can damage their self-esteem. Alyssa was just six years old when she asked her mum why none of her game characters had Afro hair like hers.  

“Children naturally want to see themselves in the games they play. It’s a part of how they start to form their identities, said Frobelles co-founder Yvonne. “I spent a good while looking for games with diverse characters with Afro hair, but it was slim pickings… I found that the characters were black but had little to no afro-hair options, or, in the case of many games, afro-hair styles were depicted in a culturally appropriate way. 

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According to a study by Curry’s PC World, only 2% of game designers in the US are African  American / African / Afro-Caribbean, which means that black characters are often underrepresented or misrepresented. It’s also sadly not a surprise when you consider the levels of discrimination against natural Afro hair in adulthood, as has been reported recently  – this is mainly the case in the workplace. 

Frobelles gaming characters

A study by Dove found that Black women’s hair is two-and-a-half times more likely to be perceived as unprofessional and that Black women are 80% more likely to change their natural hair to meet social norms or expectations at work.  

The study also found that: 

• 100% of black primary school girls in majority-white schools who reported experiencing discrimination stated that it started to occur by the age of 10.
• 53% of Black mums whose daughters have experienced hair discrimination said their daughters experienced it as early as five years old.
• While 90% of black girls believe their hair is beautiful, the micro-aggressions and discrimination they’ve experienced have impacted the way they see themselves.

This is why it’s essential to reinforce this idea of beauty, teach young girls how to care for their hair, and provide representation to foster a more positive, inclusive, and SAXZdiverse future. 

Yvonne said: “I have some graphic design experience, so I commented to Alyssa that we should create our own game – and of course, she leaped at the opportunity. I started to think  I’d bitten off more than I could chew!” 

Yvonne continued, “We sat at the table and brainstormed three main characters for our dress-up game: Coco, Kelli, and Krista. All three have beautiful Afro hair that can be styled in various ways, including Puffs, Fulani braids, and Bantu knots. We then started designing an extensive wardrobe and worked with an illustrator to bring the characters to life before enlisting the help of a freelance app developer.”

Yvonne added, “Alyssa represents the demographic of girls who want to see themselves in  the games they play, so her opinion, feedback, attention to detail, and guidance on many  decisions have been instrumental—she even did the voiceover on the game, and her friends  were the perfect testbed.” 

Just a few years after coming up with the idea over the kitchen table, Frobelles has its fan club, regular offline events, has surpassed 100,000 downloads, has two Black History  Month campaigns with the Apple AppStore under its belt, a campaign with GooglePlay,  national press coverage, and inclusion in the Startups 100 for 2024. 

In addition, Frobelles was shortlisted for both the DEI and Young Entrepreneur Awards, and Alyssa just won the Young Entrepreneur Award at the FSB Celebrating Small Business Awards 2024, which goes to show that neither age nor marginalization are barriers to turning dreams into reality. 

Frobelles isn’t just a game anymore. It’s a bustling community with sisterhood at its heart. Its new “story mode” also teaches children how to care for and style their Afro hair, and skincare, and prepare for school each day. Unfortunately, not every child has someone to dedicate the time to their busy day-to-day life.  

Yvonne and her “mini-CEO,” Alyssa, didn’t want to provide representation on a surface level but offer a safe, positive, diverse, and empowering space. The space also has an element of education, launching in the US and targeting other territories, such as Africa. 

Yvonne said, “It’s incredible to see how the Frobelless community has grown and how active and engaged it is. We’re excited to see how our sisterhood evolves as it expands to  the US.” 

Yvonne added: “As the brand continues to grow, we remain 100% committed to fostering  inclusivity, empowering young minds, and proving that if you can dream it, you can do  it – wherever you happen to live and whatever age you happen to be.” 

The journey from a simple question about representation to creating Frobelles underscores the power of determination and the impact that even a small initiative can have on challenging societal norms.