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Lionesses of Africa

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The Pride of Africa's Women Entrepreneurs

the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs

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Risk Forward: Embrace the Unknown and Unlock Your Hidden Genius by Victoria Labalme

March 28, 2021 Melanie Hawken
Victoria Labalme

Victoria Labalme

Book Review

Every entrepreneur is in search of inspiration - an innovative idea to elevate their business. In Risk Forward: Embrace the Unknown and Unlock Your Hidden Genius by author Victoria Labalme, she helps you to discover how to embrace uncertainty, trust your intuition and achieve success.

In her new book Risk Forward, presentation strategist and performing artist Victoria Labalme shares her experience of working with over 700 organizations, entrepreneurs running multimillion-dollar businesses and Hollywood celebrities. She’s found that some of the most successful companies and creative endeavours didn't start with a plan or a goal. They started with an idea and figured out the next steps as they went. In Risk Forward, she helps you do the same in your own life and work, giving you permission not to know exactly where you're heading. Victoria uses principles drawn from the performing arts to prove that uncertainty is not the enemy, but a crucial step on your unique path, and to show that even when your plans and goals aren't clear, you can follow your curiosity, interests and ideas forward. 

In Risk Forward, you’ll learn how to:

  • Discover the 'noble intent' behind your work

  • Follow 'the idea that leads to the idea’

  • Trust your own internal timing

  • Listen to others - but not too much

  • Defy your category while remaining within it

Author quotes

Some people in life know exactly what they want to achieve, Risk Forward is for the rest of us.

If you're struggling to figure out your next steps on a project, plan or path. If you sense there’s something more but you're not yet sure what it is. If you wish you had more courage to try something new. Risk Forward will help you find your way.

It’s time to step into the full extent of who you are and all you can become.

About the author

Author of the book, Risk Forward, Victoria Labalme helps people unlock their hidden genius and perform at their highest levels in work, onstage, on camera, and in life. Her unconventional approach offers a surprising blend of art and business. As a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, Victoria is known for her Keynote Performances and workshops around the world. Her proprietary systems and strategies have been embraced by hundreds of thousands of people: Entrepreneurs, artists, consultants, healers, advisers, professors, scientists, executives and more than 700 organizations including top team members at Starbucks, Microsoft, Intel, Verizon, Coca-Cola, Cisco, Oracle, Chase, Lowe’s, L’Oreal, PayPal, American Heart Association, MetLife, Blue Cross Blue Shield, the World Bank, universities, cultural institutions, and not-for-profits.

Victoria has been the trusted consultant to C-suite executives, leading entrepreneurs, artists, and New York Times best-selling authors. She has coached hundreds of elite individuals for high-stakes presentations including keynotes, live streams, PBS Specials, Oprah’s SuperSoul Session, and arena events. Her films, performances and theater projects have received critical acclaim from The Hollywood Reporter, The New York Times, Variety, BBC, CBS, Los Angeles Times, and Good Morning America. Victoria is the founder of Risk Forward® and Rock The Room®, a full suite of products designed to help individuals and organizations uncover their original ideas and express them with the unexpected twist that distinguishes their work.

www.riskforward.com 


Why LoA loves it….

Let’s face it, life as an entrepreneur means constantly stepping out into the unknown, taking an idea and trying to make it work and resonate with customers. There is so much uncertainty and the journey can be stressful for the startup entrepreneur in the early days of launching a new business, product or service. Often, doubt creeps in, you start to question the intuition that led you to becoming an entrepreneur in the first place, and you wonder if you have made the right decision. In her fresh new book, Risk Forward, Victoria Labalme gives permission to all those entrepreneurs to embrace all the uncertainty, to look doubt straight in the face, and to trust that intuition. Above all, she encourages entrepreneurs to Risk Forward and open themselves up to all the possibilities out there when you don’t have a rigid plan to hold you back. This is a great new read for all those women entrepreneurs who may be questioning their entrepreneurial journey and choices, and wondering if they can ever make it work. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa

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Tech FoundHER AFRICA CHALLENGE

MEET THE 10 FINALISTS — We look forward to announcing the winning women founders on 19 November 2025.


CELEBRATING 10 YEARS


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Dr. Phindi Cebekhulu-Msomi, an agripreneur focused on climate-smart solutions
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Retang Phaahla, a pioneer for South Africa’s indigenous teas
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Dr Margaret Kemigisha, a publishing entrepreneur passionate about childrens’ literacy

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Statement lighting… from Dounia Home, the home of innovative, handcrafted and ethically made Moroccan lighting and home decor founded by Dounia Tamri-Loeper. Her company designs, produces and brings to market hi Image of the Day / Mash. T Design Studio

Award-winning furniture design…We are big fans of talented South African designer Thabisa Mjo, founder of Mash. T Design Studio in Johannesburg, and these fabulous side tables are firm customer favouri Image of the Day / Quazi Design

Sustainable Home Decor…If you want to make a statement with your interior design and home decor, and at the same make a contribution to supporting eco-friendly enterprise, then these unique decor pieces from Qu Image of the Day / Eki

Silk Sensation…Nothing is quite as luxurious as silk, that’s why we love the ‘Africa on Silk’ collections from Eki, founded by Hazel Eki Osunde. Eki is known for its signature soft silks and ethereal c Image of the Day / ‘57 Chocolate

Bean to bar luxury chocolate… Taste the difference with the finest chocolate lovingly produced by ‘57 Chocolate, the pioneer bean to bar chocolate manufacturer in Ghana, created by sisters Kimberle Image of the Day / Kebe Home

Handcrafted home decor …We are big fans of the work of Manuela Kamadjou, an interior architecture and design entrepreneur who transforms homes and spaces in Cameroon through her business, Kebe Home. Her new Echo V Image of the Day / Pichulik

Beautiful bracelets… Introducing The Aruba Bracelets by Katherine-Mary Pichulik, the founder and designer behind the Pichulik line of accessories. Pichulik is an ethical jewellery, accessories and womenswear atelie Image of the Day / Eva Sonaike

Vibrant textile design…This striking textile design by Eva Sonaike caught our eye this morning. Like the rest of the world, we love the African aesthetic which is increasingly finding its way into global interio Image of the Day / Adèle Dejak

Luxury statement accessories…We are big fans of luxury jewellery and accessories made with love and passion on the African continent, and Adèle Dejak in Kenya is the epitome of handmade luxury. The

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