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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

Lionesses of Africa

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The Female Founder Formula: A Real-Life Roadmap to Nailing Entrepreneurship by Helen McGuire

February 9, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Helen McGuire

Book review

Helen McGuire, entrepreneur and author of The Female Founder Formula: A Real-Life Roadmap to Nailing Entrepreneurship, believes that most women start businesses motivated by passion or purpose. She says they are driven to tackle the bigger issues or to provide a better way of life for themselves and their families. However, as most business books are written by men – they don’t take purpose or lifestyle into account. Having been successful as an entrepreneur while raising a young family over the last decade, Helen wanted to write the book she wished she'd had when she started out as a female founder with babies, a busy family life, and just an idea.


The Female Founder Formula: A Real-Life Roadmap to Nailing Entrepreneurship by Helen McGuire is an honest, hand-on-heart roadmap that takes a clear-eyed, no-nonsense view of real-world biz and life challenges. Upbeat, tongue-in-cheek, and frank, it’s filled with advice, successful strategies, and inspiration for the entrepreneur who wants to get ahead, get real, and get going.

Author Quotes

I wrote this book for everyone out there who believes in building a business with true, meaningful impact whilst balancing all that life stuff along the way.

No matter where you are on that journey - at idea stage or looking to scale and sell, consider this your tried and tested roadmap to seeing your purpose make its mark on the world.

I want you to learn through my experience, to enable you to create your own roadmap in an efficient and timely way. You will then be in a position to apply some of the learnings to rocket your own business toward success.

About the author

Helen McGuire is the founder of two award-winning tech companies and among the 0.5% of women to have successfully had their business acquired. Her second co-founded company is now integrated globally, making the recruitment process more equitable for candidates everywhere. Reiki + CBT qualified, she lives in Dubai with her husband, three children and cat and now supports founders to pursue their own success.

www.helenmcguire.co


Why LoA loves it…

Trying to juggle the demands of raising a family with building a business can be tough at the best of times. But having a roadmap to guide you, written by someone who knows from first-hand experience how to successfully navigate the ups and downs of business and family life, can undoubtedly help. Helen McGuire’s book, The Female Founder Formula: A Real-Life Roadmap to Nailing Entrepreneurship, is a really practical read, filled with advice and personal experience, all aimed at helping women entrepreneurs to forge their own path to success. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, 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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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

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Built on Purpose: Discover Your Deep Inner Why and Manifest the Business of Your Dreams by Betsy Fore
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Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business by Liz Elting
After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup by Julia Austin
After the Idea: What It Really Takes to Create and Scale a Startup by Julia Austin

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