Quote of the Day by Marilyn Kamuru

October 24, 2019 Melanie Hawken

"For every dollar that you put in women's hands 80 cents goes to the family."

Marilyn Kamuru, Founder & Managing Director of eManage Africa

Quote of the Day by Sandra Idossou

April 1, 2018 Melanie Hawken

"Being an entrepreneur made me realize the enormous resources women have. Women can be good entrepreneurs, wives, mothers etc, all combined in one person."

Sandra Idossou, founder of The ServiceMag (Rwanda)

Entrepreneur Advice from Thato Kgatlhanye - Women entrepreneurs must take themselves seriously as business leaders

August 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Thato Kgatlhanye, founder of Rethaka (South Africa) — **Thato Kgatlhanye**, founder of Rethaka (South Africa)

As women entrepreneurs we must take ourselves more seriously....

"Women don’t take themselves seriously enough, so when we start talking about startup companies that women today are leading, we tend to talk about the types of businesses that people expect women to be involved with. Often, the talk is not around crunching the numbers - we need to be talking more about the net asset values of our businesses; let’s talk more about what our balance sheets look like and actually start taking our businesses seriously."

- Thato Kgatlhanye is founder of Rethaka, a woman-owned South African business that is focused on improving the world around them. Through their green innovations such as the Repurpose Schoolbags, they redefine societal problems into solutions. Thato makes it her business to uncover sustainable opportunities that create a far-reaching impact for low-income communities, with a particular focus on children and women.

Quote of the Day by Banke Kuku

May 22, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Banke Kuku, founder of Banke Kuke Textiles — **Banke Kuku**, founder of Banke Kuke Textiles

“Women are the corner stone of African economic development and are currently under represented. I think it’s time for a balance in the business arena throughout the continent. Women hold dynamic and valuable characteristics which are an asset to the business terrain.”

– Banke Kuku is founder and CEO of Banke Kuku Textiles, a company she started in 2011. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Banke moved to the United Kingdom at age eight giving her the innate ability to cross-pollinate traditional African and Western culture to create unique, luxurious fabrics for the interior and fashion industries. Anointed by leading commentators as the ‘Queen of Colour’, Banke promotes African tradition and culture through her exquisite textiles sold in the major capitals of the world and supports and promotes local textile mills in Nigeria. Her interiors range can be been found in major retailers like Selfridges London, and her fashion fabric designs have graced the catwalks of London, Paris and New York.

Quote of the Day by Olivia Nava

April 25, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“We need to work in inspiring women – to have powerful speakers and a new generation of female role models and, to be able to tell little girls they can achieve her dreams."

- Olivia Nava is the co-founder of Juabar in Tanzania, a social enterprise that deploys solar-powered media hubs in unelectrified African village centers and leases them to solar entrepreneurs to provide electricity and connectivity access to their communities. Previously she designed HIV programs in Mozambique and helped fund health innovation programs as a program officer at Tides/The California Endowment in San Francisco. Olivia is passionate about uncovering what drives human behaviors.

Quote of the Day by Angela Ajala

March 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Angela Ajala, National President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) in Nigeria — **Angela Ajala**, National President of Business and Professional Women (BPW) in Nigeria

"Women should strive to pull up their fellow women when they are on the top."

- 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.

Quote of the Day by Shima Barakat

June 24, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Dr Shima Barakat, Research and Teaching Fellow in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the Cambridge Judge Business School

"You need a women-only forum because it allows them to speak about things they will never speak about in a mixed setting."

- Dr Shima Barakat is a Research and Teaching Fellow in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School. Shima started her career as a construction engineer, which led to an interest in how organisations understand and act in relation to the natural environment and global issues, and ultimately to inspiring and supporting entrepreneurialism and business ‘not as usual’. More.