Every month at Lionesses of Africa, we shine a spotlight on a particular industry sector where Africa’s women entrepreneurs are making a real impact, through their businesses, their innovation, their products, services and craftsmanship, and their passion for what they do. This month (August), we are turning our attention to the women who are changing the PR, media and communications landscape in Africa.
All this month at Lionesses of Africa, we are featuring some of the leading women in the fast-paced fields of PR, media and communications. Some of the names and companies are well-known - others are new to the scene - but all of them are making waves through their work in creating memorable PR campaigns for their clients, producing great brand communications strategies and campaigns, and producing world-class media platforms and channels in television, radio and film, not to mention the published media of magazines and newspapers.
Here are just some of the African Women PR, Media and Communications entrepreneurs who are inspiring us this month.
From Kenya, one of the continent’s leading media professionals in the world of fashion PR, Diana Opoti; South Africa magazine media guru, Khanyi Dhlomo; a change-maker in the world of television on the African continent, Mo Abudu in Nigeria; online entertainment media game-changer, Uche Pedro, the founder of Bella Naija in Nigeria; and Eva Muraya, the founder and CEO of Brand Strategy and Design, an East African brand, advertising and communications agency; plus so many more up and coming names to watch in PR, media and communications.
At Lionesses of Africa, we also encourage everyone visiting our website and social media platforms to nominate those African Women PR, media and communications entrepreneurs from around the continent that inspire them, and we will happily profile them during the coming weeks. Click here to make your nomination. Our month-long Focus on African Women PR, media and communications entrepreneurs is all about showcasing the best and most inspirational women working and building businesses in these highly competitive industry sectors in Africa, so be part of the process and make a difference to a woman PR, media and communications entrepreneur that inspires you.
Ijeoma Ndekwu, founder of Redrick Public Relations is a boutique public and media relations agency specialising in creating, developing and executing innovative and strategic integrated PR campaigns, all guided by market intelligence, for Corporate, Lifestyle and Retail brands. From developing unique stories to implementing results-oriented PR campaigns, Redrick PR participates in aiding every facet of your brand’s growth. Some of the specialist services we provide include: Editorial Placement, Story Pitching, Press Kit Development, Brand/Product Launches, Press Release Writing & Distribution, Planning & Coordination of Press Events (including conferences, trips and press days). Read Ijeoma's Startup Story here.
Diana Opoti, the founder of Diana Opoti PR, is a fashion media professional, avid blogger, entrepreneur and executive producer of the television series Designing Africa, with a hit campaign, 100 Days of African Fashion. Diana is a leading champion of the continent’s fashion design market and has become one of the Africa’s most formidable fashion connectors. In 2014, Diana was nominated as “outstanding Trend Communicator of the year by the continent’s most prestigious awards, The Africa Fashion Awards. Read the Startup Story of one of Africa's most formidable fashion connectors here.
Uche Pedro is founder of BellaNaija.com, a company that develops and delivers exciting online content aimed at Nigerian and Pan-African audiences. Uche’s savvy grasp of media trends has led to BellaNaija.com becoming the go-to lifestyle, entertainment and fashion portal in Africa. Her website has established a loyal following amongst the young, cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile set in Nigeria, with over 1 million unique visitors and 9 million page views each month. Read Uche's '100 Lionesses' profile here.
Khanyi Dhlomo is the Managing Director of Ndalo Media, which she founded in 2007. She is also the founder of DestinyConnect and the founding editor of Destiny Magazine. Before starting her own media company, Khanyi was editor of True Love magazine for eight years. In 2013, Khanyi ventured in retail and launched Luminance, a high-end fashion and lifestyle department store. Khanyi was named most influential woman in South African Media by The Media Magazine in 2003 and made the 2011 Forbes list of 20 Young Power Women in Africa. Read Khanyi's '100 Lionesses' profile here.
Mo Abudu is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife TV, Africa's first and fastest growing black entertainment and lifestyle network. Mo Abudu, Nigerian media entrepreneur and talk show host, is the first African woman to launch a Pan-African TV channel. The channel currently on DSTV Channel 165, as well as in the UK on the TalkTalk platform, providing premium, original and home-grown programming to its ever increasing viewership. She has received many awards In recognition of her outstanding work in media and her services to humanity, and was most recently honoured with an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Babcock University. Read more from Mo here.
Eva Muraya is the founder and CEO of Brand Strategy and Design, an East African brand, advertising and communications agency. Her entry into the business world came only after a great personal tragedy – the loss of her husband. Eva has won numerous awards, including the premier Goldman Sachs Fortune Global Leaders Award. She is an influential advocate for the economic empowerment of women and she co-founded the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO). Read more from Eva.
Paula Brown is co-founder and CEO of Cape Town-based Okuhle Media. Paula’s career highlights are numerous, including co-founding the company that produced and strategically managed the new children’s block, Craz-e for e.TV in South Africa. A mentor by nature, one of Paula’s strengths is her ability to recognize and develop the often-untapped potential within others. Read more from Paula.
Emelda Mwamanga is the founder of Tanzania’s first lifestyle publication, Bang! Emelda is a truly inspiring Tanzanian entrepreneur who a decade ago, without any experience in journalism, started her country's first lifestyle publication, Bang! magazine. The magazine covers lifestyle, beauty, and fashion trends with the aim of educating and inspiring its readers with a snappy mix of bang on trend content. Today, Bang! has a circulation of 15,000 reaching audiences in Tanzania and neighbouring countries Uganda, Kenya and Zambia. Read more from Emelda.
Tiisetso Skosana and Matilda Sekoakoa are the co-founders of Lotjhani Branding in South Africa. Lotjhani Branding comes from the isiNdebele word Lotjhani, which is pronounced Lo- cha-ni, meaning ‘greetings to you all’. The name encompasses the ethos of the company, which is a creative collaborative hub specialising in brand strategy, copywriting and design. What makes it unique is that the team at Lotjhani, founder Tiisetso Skosana and her associate, Matilda Sekoakoa, who is a freelance brand consultant working with the company, welcome genuine collaboration and creativity for the greater good of all. Read their Startup Story here.
Sibabalwe Sesmani and Zuziwe Mkhwanazi are the founders of Unorthodox PR in South Africa. The all-woman entrepreneurial team behind South African niche PR company, Unorthodox, live up to their name as they take a unique approach to the corporate public relations, communications and partnerships they undertake. The dynamic duo of Sibabalwe Sesmani and Zuziwe Mkhwanazi work exclusively with corporates and differentiate themselves in the marketplace by dealing with "firsts" in their industry. They strive to create their own genre of public relations, one that specializes in corporates and thought leaders of industries. Read their Startup Story here.