by Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo, Lionesses of Africa
The important role of investment and the power of partnerships to address the gender finance gap for women entrepreneurs in growth mode in Africa was a key agenda topic at the Start-Up Night Africa event on 11 July 2023 in The Hague. The event aimed to showcase high-growth, women-owned businesses from Africa and connect them to investment and new market opportunities in The Netherlands.
Lionesses of Africa, a fast-growing social impact organization with over 1.7 million women entrepreneurs across the African continent, set-up the Start-Up Night Africa event in The Hague with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands and the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank (FMO). Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Liesje Schreinemacher, delivered the opening remarks at the event, together with Lionesses of Africa founder and ceo, Melanie Hawken.
“Hosting Start-Up Night Africa here in The Netherlands is an important example of how we can empower women entrepreneurs across the African continent, providing them with much-needed access to investment, markets, knowledge and partnerships. By doing so we can help the continent to accelerate its achievement of the SDGs,” said Melanie Hawken. “Our mission at Lionesses of Africa here in The Netherlands is to help women entrepreneurs to fulfill their potential by partnering on impact-driven programmes and initiatives that will unlock inclusive prosperity, investment and growth in Africa. At the same time, it provides a unique opportunity for women entrepreneurs in The Netherlands to connect with their counterparts in Africa for potential collaboration and business,” she added.
The programme for Start-Up Night Africa in The Hague was developed to provide a platform for Africa’s high-growth women entrepreneurs to pitch their investment-ready businesses to an audience of potential investors, corporate buyers, government representatives, and entrepreneur eco-system representatives. The innovative women-owned businesses showcased at Start-Up Night Africa included: Taeillo, an e-commerce furniture and lifestyle business (Nigeria); Wonderbag, a sustainable energy cooking solution (South Africa); Premier Credit, a Pan African Challenger bank for SMEs (Zambia); Savanna Premium Chocolate, a bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer; GBRI Business Solutions (Eatfresh), a growing agribusiness (Tanzania); Oryx Desert Salt, a sustainable, natural desert salt business (South Africa); Pure & Just Food, a climate-smart agribusiness specializing in dried fruit products (Ghana); Exotic EPZ, a macadamia nut agribusiness (Kenya); Habeshaview, an advanced technology/multimedia platform streaming accessible, affordable content with Amharic, English, French and Arabic subtitles (Ethiopia); and Carmen Stevens Wines, an award-winning wine producer (South Africa).
The Start-Up Night Africa event also introduced five inspirational and growth-potential young women entrepreneurs pitching their businesses virtually from Ghana, Nigeria, Sudan and DRC. They were part of the Orange Corners initiative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that supports young entrepreneurs across Africa, the Middle East and Asia and focuses on ‘Turning smart ideas into sustainable businesses’. Entrepreneurs featured included: Emi-Beth Quantson, founder of Kawa Moka Coffee Roasters in Ghana; Goretti Kat, founder of Minzoto Club in DRC; Mariam Lawani, founder of Greenhill Recyling in Nigeria; Safia Shatta, founder of Mango Gate in Sudan; and Queen Uwabuofu, founder of CloveKids International in Nigeria.
The Start-Up Night Africa event provided the platform for the official launch of Lionesses of Africa in The Netherlands, which is on a mission to catalyze partnerships between government, academia, and the private sectors to build and deliver impactful, sustainable and scalable solutions that empower Africa’s women entrepreneurs. Lionesses of Africa aims to contribute and add value to social impact innovation in The Netherlands for the benefit of women entrepreneurs on the African continent.
For more information about Lionesses of Africa and its Start-Up Night Africa events, send an email to: events@lionessesofafrica.com