The mission of the organization is "to promote sustainable economic development in rural sub-Saharan Africa, empower and train women-owned shea butter cooperatives, and educate consumers in the U.S. about natural beauty care products and fair trade.

[1] Rahama Wright, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, founded Shea Yeleen in 2005 and serves as the organization's President and CEO.

[2] Wright, a first-generation Ghanaian American, first discovered shea butter production while an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in 2002.

"[4] In 2005, Wright applied these lessons to found Shea Yeleen, which has worked with women in cooperatives in Ghana, Burkina Faso and Mali.

[11][12] In 2011, Shea Yeleen was selected to represent the Peace Corps theme at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.[4]