the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho
“At least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.” — John Chambers
Digital Transformation is often pigeonholed as an IT topic or project that only concerns the CIO or CTO….but it is much more than that. It is really all about rethinking your business in the Digital Age.
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Dr Gladys Kalema- Zikusoka
Awards and Accolades
This week, Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH), headed by social entrepreneur and renowned gorilla conservationist, Dr Gladys Zikusoka, has been announced the winner of the prestigious St Andrews Prize for the Environment 2020. The prize was set up by the University of St Andrews and ConocoPhillips in 1998 to recognize significant contributions to environmental conservation.
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Dr Ola Orekunrin
On a global scale, Nigeria has some major health challenges to contend with, not least of which is that it has one of the worst health indices in the world, currently rated 187th out of 191 WHO member countries. Research has suggested that poor healthcare delivery and a lack of good emergency medical services are major contributing factors to the high morbidity and mortality rates. But one woman entrepreneur is making great strides to change these statistics. Dr Ola Orekunrin, founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, has built an award winning air ambulance service that is saving lives every day.
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Teta Isibo is the founder and creative force behind Inzuki Designs a young Rwandan brand specializing in jewelry, accessories and interior decor. Teta's creations are hand-made using local craft skills and materials - she works with numerous local women's cooperatives to create vibrant, quality pieces. With no background in fashion or business, Teta quit her job as an urban planner in Kigali to launch Inzuki, which means 'bees' in the local language. This has grown into a popular Rwandan brand with a boutique located in the Heart of Kigali City. Teta is now targeting international markets including the rest of Africa, Europe, Asia and North America through distributors and an online store.
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Divine Ndhlukula, founder of SECURICO (Zimbabwe)
100 Lionesses
This Zimbabwean woman tackled the previously male-dominated security industry head on, achieving remarkable success and becoming one of Africa's most inspiring women entrepreneurs. Meet Divine Ndhlukula, the founder of SECURICO, a 100% Zimbabwean and 100% Women owned company.
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Julian Adyeri Omalla, founder of Delight Uganda Limited
Julian Adyeri Omalla is one of Uganda's top female entrepreneurs. She is founder, chairperson and managing director of Delight Uganda Limited, producing the country's most popular fruit drink sold under the brand name 'Cheers'. Julian has diversified into a range of other business activities, including egg and poultry farming, maize-feed production, a flour mill and bakery, a student hostel for 400, as well as coordinating women’s farmer cooperatives that provide food aid into Sudan. Today, Julian employs over 1,000 Ugandans and exports to countries such as Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan and Zaire.
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100 Lionesses
Reset Global People in partnership with Pulse and Avance Media has announced the inaugural list of the Top 100 Women CEOs in Africa, a ranking which highlights and recognizes the accomplishments of women CEOs from across 24 countries across the continent. A number of leading women entrepreneurs from the Lionesses of Africa community have been recognised on this year’s list.
Read moreLorna Rutto resigned her comfortable banking job in 2009 to start EcoPost in Nairobi. Every month, her company uses approximately 20 tons of plastic waste. Utilising dirty plastic to make a product that saves wood is not just an environmental plus; it also boosts employment.
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Meet Dr. Victoria Kisyombe who is the founder and CEO of SELFINA, a company in Tanzania that provides micro-leasing to mostly widows and young girls. Victoria is a leader who has used innovation, initiative, and determination to empower women in Tanzania to become economically self-sufficient.
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Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and Managing Director of soleRebels (Ethiopia)
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels, the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world. Growing up in a poor suburb of Addis Ababa, Bethlehem decided that there was only one way to defeat poverty – use local craftsmanship to make products that can compete in the global marketplace. She decided on footwear and today 70,000 pairs of shoes leave her factory every year.
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100 Lionesses
National Geographic's new documentary, which highlights mothers working in wildlife conservation and more. National Geographic has just launched a new documentary film, Women of Impact: Changing the World, which features prominent conservationists who discuss how they've shared their careers with their children and inspired them to be passionate about preserving wildlife, too. One of those featured is the inspirational Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, a wildlife veterinarian in Uganda, conservation biologist, founder of Conservation Through Public Health and Gorilla Conservation Coffee.
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Deola Sagoe (file image Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference 2016)
100 Lionesses
Coinciding with the launch of Paris Fashion Week, UNESCO hosted a round table discussion, entitled Made in Africa: The Next Global Manufacturing Hub?, at its Headquarters in Paris on 23 September. Focusing on the potential of Africa’s fashion industry, the event brought together leading experts on the Continent’s clothing and fashion sector, including renowned Nigerian couturier Deola Sagoe.
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Deola Sagoe is the founder of fashion brand Deola and the leading lady of African haute couture fashion from Ondo State in Nigeria. Deola has been at the cutting edge of high fashion since 1989 and became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week, back in 2004. Her globally appealing style has earned her an enviable clientèle that ranges from Africa's first ladies, to society girls like Lydia Hearst, top model Alek Wek, and famous personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.
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Susan Mashibe, founder and executive director of VIA Aviation (Tanzania)
Susan Mashibe is founder and executive director of VIA Aviation, an international fixed-base aircraft services operation and the first company of its kind in Tanzania. Susan is also the first woman in Tanzania to hold both a FAA certified commercial pilot and an aircraft maintenance engineering qualification. This passionate aviator left Tanzania at the tender age of 19 to learn to fly jetliners in the United States, later returning home to help reshape African private air travel. Today, VIA Aviation provides logistical support for corporate, diplomatic and private jets. Her clients include heads of state, monarchs, Fortune 500 executives, celebrities, and military flights. VIA was the first company to offer such services in Tanzania and East Africa as a whole. Susan was honored by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2011.
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Ethel Cofie is a leading tech entrepreneur from Ghana and the founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting, a company that provides IT and software services as an enabler and catalyst for businesses to achieve their goals. Ethel is the founder of Women in Tech Africa, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT. She has been featured by the BBC and CNN for her work in technology and promoting women's leadership. Ethel sits on numerous boards and is also a President Obama Washington Fellow for Leadership (YALI).
Read Ethel's full '100 Lionesses' profile here.
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Adenike Ogunlesi, founder and ceo of Ruff'n Tumble
This highly successful African designer went from selling her children’s clothing designs from the boot of her car at local markets and bazaars, to becoming one of the continent’s most recognisable children’s clothing brand builders.
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Lorna Rutto, founder of EcoPost (Kenya)
Lorna Rutto is a Kenyan eco-preneur, and the inspiring founder of EcoPost, a social enterprise created in response to the need to find alternative waste management solutions to Kenya's huge plastic waste problem. In 2009 she founded her company, which collects plastic waste and manufactures commercially viable, highly durable, and importantly environmentally friendly fencing posts, used widely across Kenya. In 2011, Lorna was recognised by the prestigious Cartier Women's Initiative Awards as their laureate for sub-Saharan Africa.
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Carrol Boyes
100 Lionesses
This past week saw the passing of Carrol Boyes, an iconic South African designer who built a truly unique global brand and business with an African heart. Her brand and the products she and her team created were quirky, distinctive and unmistakeable. Carrol was a true Lioness of Africa, an entrepreneur who believed in and always supported gender empowerment, both within and outside her company. She constantly invested in her staff to both develop them as creative individuals, and also to ensure the future growth of the business and its efforts to support community upliftment.
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The French liquor giant Pernod Ricard, which manufactures some of the world’s most popular liquor brands such as such as Absolut Vodka, Chivas, and Jameson, has acquired a majority stake in South African distillery Inverroche, founded by the pioneering entrepreneur Lorna Scott.
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Bernie de Le Cuona, founder of de Le Cuona
It was a love of linen and an attention to detail that first fired Bernie de Le Cuona’s desire to create beautiful fabrics. Today, her company and brand, de Le Cuona, is a renowned purveyor of luxury textiles for interiors with a 25-year history. The company sources the finest fibres from around the world to create exquisitely understated linen, wool paisley, velvet, silk, cashmere and alpaca.
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