the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Angela Ajala, National President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) in Nigeria
- Angela Ajala is the National President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) in Nigeria and Vice President of the African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (AWEP). Angela is passionate about children's issues, is a seasoned educationist and the Executive Director, Ladela Schools in Nigeria.
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Miranda Isaakidis, co-founder of Indulgence Spa Products
Top advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs....
- Miranda Isaakidis is co-founder of Indulgence Spa Products, a South African company that wholesales, distributes and manufactures high-end products for the hotel, spa and hospitality industry. Miranda prides herself on identifying the very latest trends from the top spas, hotels and cruise liners internationally. She has been awarded the Outstanding Achievement in International Trade and Investment award by the D Group/British Foreign Office and was recently appointed Chair for WPO Johannesburg, Chapter 2.
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Basetsana Kumalo
- Basetsana 'Bassie' Kumalo is a South African television personality, beauty pageant titleholder, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Soweto and Miss Black South Africa at the age of 16. Since then, Bassie has become a formidable force in the business world and is widely respected as both an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. In 2011 she was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
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Tara Fela-Durotoye, Founder & CEO of House of Tara International
Leading African beauty industry entrepreneur, Tara Fela-Durotoye, together with other leading Nigerian entrepreneurs are raising their voices to stand against counterfeiting, intellectual property theft and piracy in Nigeria. Their powerful new campaign 'United We Stand' aimed at tackling piracy, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft head-on launched on 24th February 2017. The campaign is a call to action against injustice which also implores the Nigerian public to take extra steps to preserve hard work and to ensure consumer safety by buying genuine products and shunning counterfeit products.
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According to author Pia Silva in her new book Badass Your Brand, if you are looking for entrepreneurial success, then forget everything you think you know about branding and starting a business, and throw out your how to write a business plan workbook.
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We are all products of our environment. Family and home environment is an important area for developing basic stress management skills. The home is where behaviours, habits and core beliefs are learnt, and stress triggers a myriad of emotions. When parents handle stress well, they’re likely to teach their children to do the same. Conversely parents who are anxious, panic and stress excessively; the probability children will emulate them is high. In his book, Biology of Belief, Dr Bruce Lipton explores the importance an environment plays in shaping beliefs, behaviours and habits.
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The importance of building relationships in business cannot be stated enough, because people buy from people. You need to be authentic in sales, you need to be yourself. Your prospect will come to trust you and that link that you’ve built is called relationship building.
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Ndaneh Howard, founder of Ngewormia (Sierra Leone)
Step out of your comfort zone....
- Ndaneh Howard is the founder of Ngewormia in Sierra Leone, an online store serving the United States and Europe, carrying a wide assortment of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and clothing. Their original designs are all authentically African and made lovingly by hand. Ndaneh is an artisan and entrepreneur with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and is also a certified leasing specialist. Ndaneh is currently a student at the New York Institute of Art and despite her busy schedule, she has maintained her personal passion for creative jewelry design.
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To date I’ve had a couple of clients who seem to be confused as to the reason one should have a Business strategy or a Marketing strategy - do you need both or will one or the other suffice?
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Many people have dreams of creating a global empire as successful as Oprah has done, but many fail to realize that her brand was not built overnight, in fact Oprah has been building her brand for the past 40 years and it took many failures and pivotal moves to get her where she is today. Below we will look at 5 Steps Oprah has taken to build a global brand: ready...set...go!
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Ndaneh Howard, founder of Ngewormia (Sierra Leone)
African women are proud of their unique style and creativity particularly in the world of fashion and accessory design. And for one Sierra Leonean entrepreneur, Ndaneh Howard, founder of accessory brand Ngewormia, this sense of pride is reflected in her work and her personal mission to get the world talking about the beauty of African accessories.
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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 (March), we are turning our attention to the women who are changing the face of the beauty and wellness industry in Africa, and creating fabulous new products and brands in the process.
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Evelyne Ndabaneze-Masumbuko, founder of Abidjan4you (Ivory Coast)
It takes hard work and perseverance....
Evelyne Ndabaneze-Masumbuko is the founder of Abidjan4you, a unique city guide for expats in English in Ivory Coast. Evelyne has created the no. 1 website in English in Côte d'Ivoire that answers the need for an easily accessed on-line information resource. Her inspiration for launching came after her husband was relocated to Abidjan by his company and she spotted a need for a resource that help newcomers like herself to the city.
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Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, the pioneering and enterprising creator of the inspirational SoleRebels ethical footwear brand, and Republic of Leather, her business venture that puts Ethiopia’s handcrafted leatherwear and accessories on the global map, believes the future of a truly sustainable specialty coffee market can be found in coffee’s birthplace, her native Ethiopia. After more than a decade of building SoleRebels into a global footwear and leather goods brand that combines traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship and materials with fresh new designs while also paying top dollar throughout the supply chain, Alemu late last year launched an equally ambitious new coffee venture called Garden of Coffee.
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Dee Sarwan
Managing a business successfully, means you need to learn how to organize your thoughts, fiercely focus on the best most effective solution to create your unique offering AND bring it to market quickly. PLUS, learn to think, evaluate, delegate and make decisions like an EXPERT CEO. In her book ‘How to Master Solo Start-ups: The Tell All Guide for Solo-preneurs to Help You Manage Like an Expert CEO’, author Dee Sarwan shows you how.
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It now feels like 2017 has well and truly got underway with the first two Lioness Lean In Breakfast events having taken place. The first in Cape Town on 21st February and the second in Johannesburg on 23rd February. At each event, women entrepreneurs representing all sectors and sizes of business gathered for a morning of inspirational startup story sharing and great networking.
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Evelyne Ndabaneze-Masumbuko, founder of Abidjan4you (Ivory Coast)
It can be difficult moving to a new country as an expatriate and not speaking the local language. But in Ivory coast, English speaking residents now have a great new resource to help out, thanks to entrepreneur Evelyne Ndabaneze-Masumbuko, founder of Abidjan4you.
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When I started considering fundraising for Little Pim many years ago, I was instantly overwhelmed by everything I didn’t know and had so many questions that I didn’t know who to ask. Many of the women I speak to today have the same questions and fears....
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Recently, I had the honour of being interviewed on a local radio station in Johannesburg, Radio 702, to share my entrepreneurial journey and passion for youth development with the Friday presenter stand in for the popular Redi Tlhabi show - Mr Frank Magwegwe. The interview was scheduled for 11:00 am and the producer requested that I arrive at 10:45 am on that Friday. What transpired was a testament to the power of punctuality.
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Jolene Roelofse, founder of Bludoor Market (South Africa)
One of the major challenges for any startup is understanding how to effectively to get their brands, products and services out into the marketplace and connecting customers. That’s where marketing and communications comes in, and for South African entrepreneur and marcomms specialist Jolene Roelofse, founder of Bludoor Market, it provided an opportunity to create a solution.
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