Zebeline Ertance, an impact driven agribusiness builder in Madagascar

November 24, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Videeko Vanilla, a business growing and exporting the highest quality premium Vanilla in Madagascar and creating economic opportunities for local women

Zebeline Ertance is the founder and managing partner of Videeko Vanilla ZP in Madagascar. Videeko Vanilla is a licensed exporter in Madagascar that grows, cures, and exports premium vanilla beans from its farms, it’s family-owned farms, and its cooperative in the Mananara Madagascar. Videeko support the local community in Mananara by employing over 100 local families, specifically woman, with high paying wages. Zebeline founded Videeko in 2019 and now employs over 100 people, many of them women from local communities. She has 20 years of experience in the vanilla industry.

Antsa Ramaroson, a Natural Hair Movement pioneer in Madagascar

October 28, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Curly Aho, a business dedicated to the care and enhancement of afro and textured hair in Madagascar.

Antsa Ramaroson is the co-founder of Curly Aho, a company and a social movement dedicated to the care and enhancement of afro and textured hair in Madagascar. She started with the online community in December 2017, but the business officially started in 2020 with the opening of the natural hair spa, and today it has 30 employees. Curly Aho means “I have curly hair” in Malagasy (native language) and consists of the Curly Aho Community, an online community of 50 000 members, and a support group to encourage inclusive beauty and curl confidence. Texture, a natural hair spa, is dedicated to give access to personalized treatments and curl education and Loharano is a plant-based haircare brand rich in plants of Madagascar, famous for their benefits in hair. Antsa has been featured as one of the Top 50 African Business Heroes 2021. She is a hairdresser and a certified curl expert.

Matina Razafimahefa, a digital education change-maker in Africa

October 14, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

SAYNA, a business revolutionizing access to the job market and democratizing education in new technologies in Africa

Matina Razafimahefa is a pioneering entrepreneur on a mission to bridging the gap in Digital Education in Africa. She co-founded SAYNA in 2017, fulfilling a childhood dream she had shared with her mother, Nirina Rahoeliaribahy. SAYNA is the first Franco-African Edtech & crowdsourcing platform. The platform aims to connect organized IT projects, divided into micro-tasks, with a community of pre-trained developers. The business currently employs 15 people. Facing financial constraints in its early days, Matina launched a crowdfunding campaign in 2018 to accelerate the project and facilitate some acquisitions. Her efforts were recognized when she was awarded the title of "Best Social Entrepreneur" at just 20 years old, in a competition organized by the International Organization of the Francophonie, in partnership with Incubons. Matina's ambition extends beyond the success of her startup. She aims to provide millions of Africans with access to quality digital education and global job opportunities, without letting a CV become a barrier. Her second ambition is to create profitable businesses that can revolutionize the lives of millions and generate employment opportunities.

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