Hapsatou Sy (born April 10 th, 1981) is a French businesswoman, news presenter, and author.

Sy currently works as the host of Afrique Investigation on Canal+ Afrique, a French-run satellite TV station broadcast in over 25 Francophone African countries. ^[1]Afrique Investigation covers a broad range of socioeconomic topics and current affairs in Africa.

Previously, Sy gained renown throughout France for her work as an entrepreneur in the beauty and fashion industries. She launched her own chain of beauty salons, Ethnicia (later renamed Hapsatou Sy), in 2005, when she was only 24 years old. Ethnicia, which offered hairdressing and beauty treatment services adapted for women of all backgrounds, enjoyed considerable success in its first few years but by 2013 was in dire financial straits, in large part due to its franchising model. Sy liquidated the business that same year and began to pursue her own line of cosmetic products, again branded under her name. She continues to commercialize her products online and through her brick-and-mortar“Showroom,” located in Paris. In 2014, Sy launched a ready-to-wear fashion line called AntiKOD (“Anti Killer of Your Dreams”), enlisting the help of five fashion designers to create her collection.

In 2012, Sy joined four other female hosts on Le Grand 8, a French talk show inspired by American stand-by The View . She remained on the show until its cancellation in 2016, and also hosted reality show Projet Fashion (inspired by Project Runway ) in 2015. Both shows aired on France’s private national TV channel D8.

In April 2017, Sy released her first book, Partie de rien (“Started from Scratch”), focusing on her life story and successes as an entrepreneur.

Sy maintains an online presence via her personal website, Facebook page, Twitter account (@hapsatousy), and Instagram account.

Sy earned an associate’s degree in international business through a French work/study program. She completed the degree through an internship in New York City, during which time she fell in love with the city and developed a desire to create her own business.

Hapsatou Sy has been recognized on numerous occasions for her business acumen and entrepreneurial spirit.

In 2007, she was awarded 2 nd prize at the Grand prix jeunes créateurs competition (“Grand Prize for Young Inventors”). At the 2010 Women's Forum in Deauville, France, she was designated a “Rising Talent.” Sy was chosen in 2011 to represent French entrepreneurs at the G20 YES business summit in Nice, and also obtained the “business” category prize at Trofemina, an event that promotes prominent female figures in France, that same year.

Sy’s chain of beauty salons, Ethnicia, was mired in controversy around the time of its liquidation in 2013. Having franchised her concept salon to often inexperienced business owners throughout France, Sy was accused of touting an impracticable business model when those franchises failed. Several former franchisees pressed charges against Sy in France's labor court for breach of trust and fraud. Sy pressed charges in turn for harassment and threats, referencing a “poor social climate” in some of the establishments run under her brand. Despite the tension in 2013, the affair has made very little noise in the media since then.

Sy was born in Sèvres, in the suburbs of Paris, to a Mauritanian mother and a Senegalese father. She grew up in nearby Chaville with seven brothers and sisters. She has stated that her mother was illiterate, and that she had to fill out administrative documents on her behalf. She worked in the restaurant business to support herself throughout her studies.

Sy and her partner, French television presenter Vincent Cerutti, currently live in Paris with their daughter, Abbie, born in 2016.