New research project launched at Start-Up Night Africa to address gender data gap on Africa's high-growth women entrepreneurs

June 25, 2024 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Melissa Basque-Roux, Ag. Coordinator, AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), African Development Bank; Melanie Hawken, Founder & CEO, Lionesses of Africa; Farshida Zafar, Director, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship

Launch Announcement

The 2nd Start-Up Night Africa event held on 11 June 2024 in The Hague, The Netherlands, was the launchpad for an important new research project announcement by Lionesses of Africa, in partnership with AFAWA (Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa), and with the technical support of Lionesses of Africa’s research partner, Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship. The research aims to address identified gendered gaps in data and insights that are barriers to achieving greater, more equitable, funding and support for women entrepreneurs in Africa. The project aims to deliver better insights into Africa’s women entrepreneurs who have launched high-growth ventures ambitiously going after double-digit growth and creating scalable business models to significantly impact the market, and their communities.

A new long-term strategic research partnership launched to address the gender data gap on Africa's high-growth women entrepreneurs

October 4, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Partnership agreement signing between Melanie Hawken, founder & CEO of Lionesses of Africa and Farshida Zafar, Director of Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship

Impact Partnership Launch

On a mission to address the data gap that exists on better understanding high-growth women's entrepreneurship in Africa, particularly on access to funding, Lionesses of Africa BV (a 1.7 million strong network of women entrepreneurs in Africa) and Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship BV (ECE) have launched a new long-term strategic partnership. At an official signing ceremony on 28 September 2023 at the Rotterdam headquarters of ECE, the two partners announced the new partnership. It will kick off with a collaborative research project in the form of a quantitative and qualitative dashboard and report, highlighting the characteristics and drivers of Africa's high-growth women entrepreneurs and providing actionable insights to help bridge the gender gap, especially in the financial landscape.

Lionesses of Africa launches its new digital Playbook to help women entrepreneurs get their businesses funding ready

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Media Release

17 August 2023

Getting access to funding can be a real game-changer for women entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses to the next level. It can help them to take control of the future trajectory of their businesses and fulfill their potential. Yet, applying for funding support from a bank can be a daunting process for many women entrepreneurs. But it doesn’t have to be, according to Lionesses of Africa, a fast-growing community of 1.7 million women entrepreneurs on the African continent. This month sees the launch of the latest in the series of digital Playbooks, this one titled, Get Your Business Funding Ready. Produced by Lionesses of Africa, in partnership with Absa, the new Playbook helps women entrepreneurs to prepare their businesses to be ready for those important funding conversations with their bank or other financial organizations.

2nd South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey reports key insights

November 20, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Data

The key insights from the 2nd edition of the South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Report, produced by Lionesses of Africa in partnership with New York University, and in collaboration with Absa, were shared with attendees at a special Lioness Business Agility webinar on 18 November 2022. The report once again provides key insights into the pivotal role women entrepreneurs play as job creators in the country. These insights are important as the South African National Development Plan (NDP) estimates that the country will need to create an additional 11 million jobs by 2030. 90% of these are expected to come from new and expanding SMEs.

On Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Lionesses of Africa’s Business Confidence Report celebrates African women entrepreneurs’ optimism about business

November 18, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Press Release

On Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Lionesses of Africa’s Business Confidence Report celebrates African women entrepreneurs’ optimism about business

Women entrepreneurs in Africa are expressing widespread optimism and continuing resilience despite the prevailing economic climate, according to the 2022 Lionesses Business Confidence Report and Index launched on Global Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, 19 November 2022.

100 Lionesses ‘The Future of Work’ Playbook for Africa’s Women Entrepreneurs offers personal hacks and insights on how to transform business models, workplaces and workflows for future success

October 16, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Press Release

Report financed by African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative

The Covid-19 pandemic has forced Africa’s women entrepreneurs to smartly rethink the way they run their businesses, organize their workspaces, and manage their employees. They have had to think out-of-the-box, innovate, and pivot their existing business models to adapt to new, often restricted and challenging market realities. The future of work now includes remote working, increased digital business and e-commerce, and the introduction of a whole raft of new technology, tools and platforms to connect effectively with customers and employees. For many women entrepreneurs, preparing their businesses for the future of work can be a daunting prospect. As a practical response, the 100 Lionesses Future of Work Playbook has been launched, the second in a series of practical digital tools for Africa’s women entrepreneurs produced by Lionesses of Africa, with the support of The African Development Bank through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA).

100 Lionesses Digital Transformation Playbook for Africa’s Women Entrepreneurs offers first-person hacks, tactics and strategies for building businesses back from Covid-19 pandemic

March 25, 2022 Melanie Hawken

PRESS RELEASE

Report produced by Lionesses of Africa and financed by African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative

The COVID-19 pandemic has made businesses, large and small and across all industry sectors, start thinking about Digital Transformation as a priority, pushing it to the top of their agendas. However, for many women entrepreneurs on the African continent, the challenge is knowing where to start. So as a practical response to the challenge, the 100 Lionesses Digital Transformation Playbook has been launched, the first in a series of practical digital tools for Africa’s women entrepreneurs produced by Lionesses of Africa, with the support of The African Development Bank through its Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA). The 100 Lionesses Digital Transformation Playbook provides peer to peer insights for women enterprises to kickstart their digital transformation journeys. It features 24 leading African women entrepreneurs who share their personal digital transformation playbooks and experience for improving efficiency, building resilience and speeding up recovery.

Lionesses Business Confidence Report speaks to high levels of resilience by Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs despite Covid-19

March 8, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Press Release

Report financed by African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative

Abidjan, 8 March 2022 - Women-owned businesses are faring better than expected with relatively high levels of resilience despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, a new report funded by the African Development Bank shows.

First South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creation Survey reports optimistic green shoots

June 6, 2021 Melanie Hawken

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Lioness Data / Research Report

The first South African Women Entrepreneurs Job Creators Survey report was released on 6 June, providing key insights into the pivotal role women entrepreneurs play as job creators. Top line findings from the report indicate a deep commitment to job creation among South Africa’s women entrepreneurs, with 90% reporting that job creation was an important consideration in starting their business. In addition, despite all the challenges and setbacks of the past year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey reveals ‘green shoots’ of optimism in terms of future job creation. The majority of respondents anticipate that their businesses will recover from the impact of COVID-19 within two years; they anticipate growth in revenues, and are either actively recruiting new staff now or planning for new, near-term hires. The survey was undertaken by Lionesses of Africa, a network of over 1.3 million women entrepreneurs across the African continent, in partnership with New York University, and in collaboration with Absa.

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