Mbali Ndandani and Portia Nondo, two passionate ecosystem builders driving support for Africa’s crafters and fashion brands

June 11, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Portia Nondo and Mbali Ndandani, founders, Portia Nondo and Mbali Ndandani (South Africa)

Zettuu, a marketplace providing business support services for Africa’s crafters and fashion brands that have unique products but do not have the operational capacity to grow their brands. Zettuu was co-founded in 2020 by Portia Nondo and Mbali Ndandani, two South African entrepreneurs whose vision is to create a thriving ecosystem of support for African unique crafts, bringing them from the continent to the world’s customers. Portia is a seasoned entrepreneur and franchisee at McDonald's, and Mbali has worked in marketing, digital, technology and artificial intelligence at Unilever and Lelapa AI.

Ellen Tshidi Cooper, a South African entrepreneur creating an eco-friendly marketplace for startups

August 21, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Ellen Tshidi Cooper, Founder & CEO, Conscious Lifestyle Collective (South Africa)

Ellen Tshidi Cooper is the Founder and CEO of Conscious Lifestyle Collective, a South African, eco-friendly marketplace connecting conscious sellers and conscious shoppers. She is a social entrepreneur at heart, her business is more than just about making a profit but takes care of people and the planet. She holds an Honours Degree in business and also works as a Branding and Website Designer for startups and small businesses through her design studio ellecooper.co.

Zvikomborero Jane Chigumadzi, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur making grocery shopping easier

August 14, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Zvikomborero Jane Chigumadzi is a Zimbabwean based entrepreneur who provides an online grocery shopping and door to door delivery service. She started her enterprise in October 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zvikomborero Jane sees herself as a fearless woman and a goal getter in life and in business. She is mother to a son Julian, and he is the reason the business was formed, so it was named after him. Zvikomborero Jane calls him her entrepreneurial baby.

Lioness Launch / New online engagement ring design service launched in South Africa

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Preposal is a new online service founded by Lucinda Dabbs in South Africa that helps your partner surprise you with the engagement ring of your dreams. Her newly launched platform allows you to create a profile and you’ll be guided through a set of questions to help you narrow down the specifics of your perfect engagement ring. Then, when it’s time to propose, your partner simply logs in on their side and downloads your Preposal mood board. This single-page tool contains all the information and vocabulary they need to confidently make this life-changing purchase. Thanks to Preposal, you can say yes to them and to your dream piece of jewellery.

Michele Carelse, a passion-driven holistic health entrepreneur in South Africa

May 29, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Feelgood Health, a growing online health store on a mission to promote natural and organic products

Michele Carelse is the founder and ceo of Feelgood Health, an online health store in South Africa. She originally qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 1992 and ran a private practice for many years. Here, she saw the need for natural alternatives to prescription drugs. Initially a small range, Feelgood Health, which was started in 1998, grew exponentially to an online health store with thousands of natural and organic holistic health, beauty and lifestyle products, all 100% natural, environmentally friendly and cruelty free! Today, the business employs 14 people. Michele has three adult children, three grandchildren and lives in Cape Town with her partner.

Eliana Silva, a Mozambican communications specialist with a passion for storytelling

April 10, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Eliana Silva, founder, Marcas Por Escrever (Mozambique)

Eliana Silva is the founder of Marcas Por Escrever in Mozambique, an online publication focused on Lusophone communication, marketing, entrepreneurship and social responsibility. She is a communication specialist with a career spanning more than a decade working in journalism, public relations, and advertising. Her professional experience is currently focused on advertising, brand activation and strategic communication. Eliana began her career in the Portuguese media industry, at Revista Máxima in 2009, and then migrated to the world of public relations. Over the years, Silva has always been interested in storytelling and has developed her media tools by working with video, writing and photography. In Mozambique since 2014, Eliana completed a degree in Journalism in Lisbon, and after a postgraduate degree in the same city in Digital Marketing, she attended courses in London and São Paulo.

Fade Ogunro, a digital pioneer empowering gig workers in Africa

October 10, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Bookings Africa, a digital work platform connecting clients to skilled professionals in Africa

Fade Ogunro is the founder and ceo of BookingsAfrica.com, a pan-African digital work platform that enables African service providers, agencies and professionals digitize and monetize their skills by connecting clients efficiently and transparently to skilled professionals in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. As a leading technology platform, Bookings Africa is the only African freelance marketplace with a video call feature that allows clients and Brands connect with service providers from procurement, payment to service delivery which is rendered end-to-end, online. Fade has over 15 years of experience in media and technology, and most recently is also the Africa Chair for the Cherie Blair Foundation. She is dedicated to the pursuit of gender equality, digital gig work opportunities and African prosperity. Her vision is to produce self-sustainable and dignified work through digital work for over 5 million Africans.

Rokhaya Diop, an entrepreneur building a new approach to customer service evaluation in Senegal

October 3, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Rokhaya Diop, co-founder , NoterKo (Senegal)

Every business knows that getting feedback about customer service and measuring customer satisfaction is key to success. In Senegal, Rokhaya Diop and her co-founder of NokerKo, have launched a platform where users can rate the quality of customer service for public and private companies.

Lioness Launch / South African experiential telemedicine platform, Kids Dialogue, launches Edu-Bump Support, a whatsapp support group for moms-to-be

August 1, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Kids Dialogue started off as an experiential telemedicine platform in South Africa to empower parents and children from a mental health perspective. However, co-founder sisters, Candice Lambert and Kim Bergh, saw needs that existed hinging on mental health, such as behavioural optometry, occupational therapy and research. Their ground-breaking business mental wellbeing offering is unlike any others that have featured in their market. They have seen the linear models that are implemented and that don't create long-lasting sustainable results. Additionally, families are at home predominantly due to Covid and so there is a big need to create boundaries but empower and grow into a powerful CONNECTED network or family. Kids Dialogue has products and services that transcend the normal way of looking at wellbeing. For Candice and Kim, it not just about sitting in therapy, it’s about actively working at and grappling with what the future requires of us and our kids.

Caley van der Kolk, a South African entrepreneur connecting makers to markets

June 6, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Caley van der Kolk, founder, AYA Africa (South Africa)

One of the biggest challenges facing small creative goods makers and manufacturers is getting access to markets. Caley van der Kolk, founder of AYA Africa, has created a digital platform that allows small-scale makers and manufacturers to market and sell their goods online.

Aisha Pandor, a digital innovator solving problems at scale

May 9, 2021 Melanie Hawken

SweepSouth, Africa’s first online platform connecting home services providers to work opportunities

Aisha R. Pandor is co-founder and CEO of multi-award winning SweepSouth, Africa’s first online home services platform. Venture-backed, SweepSouth was the first South African startup to be accepted into the 500 startups accelerator based in Silicon Valley. Aisha completed her PhD in Human Genetics at the University of Cape Town. Following her studies, she worked as a management consultant in the telecoms and mining industries. SweepSouth is an advocate for financial and digital inclusivity, and has connected over 25,000 previously unemployed/underemployed home service providers to work opportunities.

Emray May, a South African entrepreneur building a digital marketplace for the event and wedding industry

May 2, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Emray May is the founder of The Partee App in South Africa, a digital marketplace for businesses in the event, party and wedding industry. The marketplace was created to assist small and informal business owners who struggle with marketing, networking and growing their businesses. Emray was inspired to start the business when she found herself in this position through her own party decorations company three years ago. She was unable to find the solution to her problem so she became the solution. The vision is to be the global go-to platform for everyone in this industry to allow all small- and informal businesses to save with marketing.

Leidemara Ramos, an entrepreneur creating Cape Verde’s first integrated transport and visitor booking platform

December 6, 2020 Melanie Hawken

For travellers who want to visit Cape Verde for vacations or business, help is at hand thanks to the team at Resermar Reservas Online, the country’s first online integrated booking platform co-founded by Leidimara Ramos. This one-stop-shop platform assists not only visitors, but also those smaller suppliers on Cape Verde who want to connect with potential new customers.

South Africa’s iCALC Training Academy launches a new virtual, digital online platform for trainee engineers

August 23, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Mylene Bosch, founder of iCALC Training Academy (South Africa)

The need for skilled engineers in South Africa has never been greater, but getting access to the specialist training and skills development in a range of engineering disciplines can be challenging for many. The iCALC Training Academy, founded by Mylene Bosch, is about to change all that with the launch of its new virtual, digital online platform for trainee engineers.

Lioness Launch / South Africa’s Maua Blossoms launches new Shopping Concierge Service

May 30, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Masana Sangweni, founder of Maua Blossoms (South Africa)

South Africa may be experiencing lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that doesn’t mean business has to stop, it just has to reposition itself to meet market need. For entrepreneur, Masana Sangweni, founder of Maua Blossoms, a luxury floral designer and gifting service business, that meant providing clients which a solution to their shopping needs during the crisis. Her answer was to create a brand new Maua Blossoms Shopping Concierge Service for her customers.

Phillipa Geard, a South African entrepreneur helping to connect moms with employment opportunities

May 9, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Phillipa Geard, founder of RecruitMyMom (South Africa)

South Africa is suffering from tough economic times right now, and unemployment is on the rise. For skilled mothers who are looking to get work whilst also looking after their families, it is a challenge. That’s where Phillipa Geard’s business, RecruitMyMom, comes in.

Bukky Asehinde, a Nigerian entrepreneur with a platform that enables creative businesses to thrive

March 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Bukky Asehinde, founder of Bellafricana (Nigeria)

Getting products noticed by global consumers is always difficult for Africa’s creative women entrepreneurs, but this challenge represented an opportunity for Bukky Asehinde, founder of Bellafricana. Her platform is giving visibility to Nigeria’s creative business owners and their quality products.

Carla Pinto, a Mozambican entrepreneur creating a popular blogging platform for mothers and mothers-to-be

November 15, 2019 Melanie Hawken

Carla Pinto, founder of Arco-Íris & Borboletas (Mozambique)

When you are a new mom, getting access to great quality information and resources, combined with insights and opinions from other moms is so useful. So in Mozambique, one woman entrepreneur is creating the ultimate, go-to resource for parents to be and those who are already on their family raising journey. Carla Pinto, founder of Arco-Íris & Borboletas, is creating a safe space for the sharing of information and feedback so that moms and dads can learn from each other and get access to great resources too.

LIONESS LAUNCH South African entrepreneur Jessica Alily and her family launch a uniquely African online comic book site

June 23, 2019 Melanie Hawken

Jessica Alily, founder of Vanimax Comix (South Africa) — **Jessica Alily**, founder of Vanimax Comix (South Africa)

Comic books are big business around the world, with millions of dedicated fans following their favourite heroes and heroines in illustrated stories each week. In South Africa, fans of comic books are now going to get their own uniquely African characters to engage with, thanks to Vanimax Comix. This new online comic book site, created by Jessica Alily and her family, is set to win a host of new fans across the African continent and globally.

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