European online marketplace and booking platform for hair and beauty, Wahanda is to launch The Wahanda Academy – a series of free seminars for salons to participate in twice a week in key cities throughout the UK, on topics such as sales, marketing and key operational areas.

The Wahanda Academy will offer expert advice on how to make the most of Wahanda and its salon software, but it will also teach participants how to use wider marketing platforms such as CRM, social media and brand building.

To support the seminars, Wahanda will also create an online version of the Academy – making the information available online to allow salons and spas to receive training at their convenience via tutorials, videos and webinars.

The workshops and training programmes will be led by head of academy, Valerie Delforge, who has 25 years' experience in the beauty industry. She has worked for luxury spa and beauty companies such as L’Occitane, Steiner, Clarins and Urban Retreat in Harrods.

“Valerie is fantastically well-placed to help hair and beauty businesses drive top line growth and improve operational efficiency, thanks to her extensive experience,” said Lopo Champalimaud, CEO and founder of Wahanda. “I am delighted that we will be able to offer this support to all of the spas and salons that we work with, to help them maximise their business potential.”

Recently, Wahanda acquired an app development consultancy called Lemon Labs as part of a strategic focus on becoming a mobile-first company.