by Laura Camacho
How are your virtual meetings going? Does your schedule include time to be social? Does everyone in your world feel closer, more connected, than they did before everything shut down because of the pandemic?
Read morePitch Books Part 2. The Engine Room.
From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Continuing our look at Pitch Books we again break them down into bite-sized chunks… Last week we looked at what grabs the attention of any potential Investor: The Problem, The Solution, and The Competition.
Read moreAsking for help could be your game changer
by Usha Maharaj, Speaker, Coach, Facilitator
Asking for help at work, at home, in any area of our lives is tough. But asking for help could be the game-changer that you need in order to reduce the stress, make more time available, and lessen the burden you’re carrying.
Read moreRealising Growth Beyond Self
by Kelebogile Makhafola
A crisis presents challenges that provoke a sense of community within brands and organisations. Tough times push brands to reinforce the value and refuge in belonging. This article explores how you as a business owner, marketer and leader can reassure your customers, employees, and followers of the benefits of belonging to your eco-system.
Read moreThe importance of self-care during a crisis
by Lelemba Phiri, Enygma Ventures Operating Partner and Fund Manager
Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the importance of mental health was being highlighted and the crisis has amplified its importance even further. As business owners and investors, we are not exempt from the compounding effects of poor mental health if we do not take the time to understand these issues and how they can negatively impact us, our businesses and families.
Read moreHope is a 4-letter word!
From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Our Head of Finance (HoF) was in an excited mood and called us in to watch an interview from Stanford University with Marc Andreessen (founding partner of the massive and highly successful USA VC firm A16Z). One hour later and shocked, we began to realize why this was so important. A16Z look at 3,000 of the 4,000 startups in the USA searching for VC funding each year in A16Z’s sectors. Of those they only look at 200 in depth and of those they only invest in about 20 a year.
Read moreCovid-19 health pandemic amplified by a financial fraud crisis
Impact Partner Content: Absa | By Ulrich Janse van Rensburg, Head of Fraud Strategy for Absa’s Retail and Business Bank
A heartfelt call to exercise vigilance when it comes to money matters.
The past few months have been a really tough period for Jack and Sarah. While they are committed to curbing the spread of Covid-19 and have gone out of their way to protect themselves and the people around them during this time, they co-own a popular barber shop, which was closed for business during the first phases of the national lockdown. The lack of income has been a massive worry. Fortunately, the couple had accumulated some savings over the years, which was seeing them through this tough period, but it was fast running out.
Read moreShow up for your online meetings with your camera on!
by Lori Milner
“This is an economy based on connection. Can you be heard, can you connect, can you be trusted?”
— Seth Godin
Still showing up for online meetings with the camera off? Here’s why you seriously need to reconsider…
Read moreDate nights in lockdown don’t have to be boring
by Paula Quinsee
I’m hearing so many couples say that there’s not much they can do when it comes to date nights with being in lockdown. That’s because traditionally when it comes to date nights, the majority of couples have resorted to dinner at their favourite restaurant, or maybe even a movie and popcorn thrown in too – it was quick and easy. However, being in lock down, we are not able to go to restaurants and movies anymore so it’s become harder for couples to implement date nights and they are needing to be much more creative.
Read moreI’m harnessing all that creativity and positive energy
by Kabira Dewan
We are inevitably heading to the so called “new normal way of doing business” but I must admit I am still spinning with all the creativity and positive energy that I experienced during Lockdown.
Read moreCaught in the headlamps
From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Our Head of Finance (HoF) arrived this morning and made straight for our desk, sat down, picked up the spare coffee (which wasn’t spare as it happens), looked to the heavens as if for some divine inspiration, took a deep breath and started…
Read moreThe business of mask making
by Brigette Mashile
Why don’t we make masks for sale? That was the message from my mom recently. I decide to call her to talk to her about my thoughts. Her question is on point, this seems to be the only item anyone with a sewing machine should be doing currently. Ignore all the wedding, graduation, party or any other event outfits you had orders on; if the last time you touched your sewing machine is 10 years ago… now it’s the time to bring it out again. There is an advert flyer I say it said South Africa needs 36 million masks and you can get to make some of them. What a number!
Read moreLessons from Burnout into Lockdown
by Kathy Mann, Author & Speaker
A few years ago, I experienced a burnout. I developed a stress-induced autoimmune disease and suffered from chronic fatigue for three years. It had a significant effect on my life. Lately, with South Africa being in lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I have noticed a few similarities and differences between that period of my life and now.
Read moreIt makes good business sense to invest in women
by Dr. Linda Zuze, founder and director, Chimango Research
As a researcher, I get to wake up every day and to ask questions for a living. One of the most consistent findings that I’ve encountered over the years is that women’s success benefits a lot of people around them. Children have a better chance of attending school, being fed and living in a safe environment. It is true that there is far greater recognition about the importance of the gender angle when discussing inequality than there has been in the past.
Read moreDigital Networking During Covid-19
Impact Partner Content: Absa
At a recent online National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) event, Mr Oscar Siziba, Managing Executive for Absa Bank’s Gauteng and Limpopo regions, gave small business owners tips for creating effective digital networks.
Read moreAgility trumps forecasting
From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Question: “What do you get if you wrap all the Economists in the world around the globe end to end?” Answer: “No conclusion…” This was attributed to George Bernard Shaw in May 1933 and he does seem to have a point. With so many conflicting views in the early stages of the Coronavirus attack, even from Scientists who we have always believed live in a binary world rather than the ‘Is it a Science or is it an Art’ world of Economics, should we start to question the worth of forecasting? What conclusions can any of us draw currently?
Read moreWhat is the Pandemic offering you?
by Kathy Mann, Author & Speaker
In the first week of 2020, I drove from my home in Johannesburg to Durban to spend a week interviewing my grandmother about her life for a book. It was fascinating to hear about how life was as a teenager for my grandmother during the Second World War in England.
Read moreEmotional Contagion
by Dr Ashika Pillay
It’s not just the virus that’s contagious…
With the advent of COVID-19, most people have become familiar with concepts related to infectious disease, how viruses are spread and transmitted. However, beneath the real threat of the virus and its impact on our health and wellbeing, lurks another infectious disease. Anxiety and fear are real threats that pose a massive risk to us.
Read moreCoronavirus Anxiety
by Julia Ranzani
Every now and then when I check the CORONAVIRUS WORLDOMETER or hear NEWS ABOUT COVID-19. I get this ice cold fear running down my spine. I can’t help it, my mind jumps to horrific images inspired by silly doomsday action movies. So for a moment I’m overwhelmed with CORONAVIRUS ANXIETY.
Read moreConfinement and the mind
by Zilia Ximenes
Knowing the difficulties that everyone is going through because of the Covid-19 pandemic, this article is not to speak specifically of the pandemic, but of the effects on the mind of each individual impacted by it.
Read more