Eunice Andrade, an award-winning communications leader and brand influencer

December 20, 2020 Melanie Hawken

EA Comunicacao e Servicos, a powerful communications advisory service for Mozambique’s businesses and brands

Eunice Andrade is the founder of EA Comunicacao e Servicos. She is an experienced entrepreneur and multi award-winning business leader across the African continent. Her business is focused on branding, company advisory and public relations. She founded the company 22 years ago and now employs more than 10 people, many of them women. She has more than 25 years of experience in the area of public relations and company consultancy. Currently, she is a Brand Ambassador for Betway Mozambique, Jaba Mozambique, and is also a social activist and influencer for Wateraid in the fight against COVID-19. She bring a wealth of experience and expertise in the fields of marketing and public relations.

Mimi Shodeinde, a British Nigerian artist and designer pushing creative boundaries

December 13, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Miminat Designs, a groundbreaking interior architecture and design business reimagining form and function

Mimi Shodeinde is a British Nigerian artist, designer and entrepreneur, born and raised in London, Mimi’s passion for art was developed at a young age. Winning awards for her artwork she went on to complete her degree in Interior Architecture at Edinburgh. She has worked and collaborated on a wide range of projects both nationally and internationally, from interior architectural projects, furniture design, lighting and product design spanning The UK, Europe, The Middle East and West Africa. Mimi’s drafting and painting skills together with her artist’s eye allow her to break down the relationship between form and function where art and design intersect. She draws on her diverse influences and background to manipulate the use of space through both form and placement defying categorization. Her style is fluid, sophisticated and functional but seeks to imbue each project with a personality of its own.

Dr Dorcas Muthoni, a technology leader and innovator on the African continent

December 6, 2020 Melanie Hawken

OpenBusiness Africa, a business transforming African enterprises through technology

Dr. Dorcas Muthoni is an entrepreneur, computer scientist, and founder of OpenBusiness Africa and OPENWORLD. She started her software business at the age of 24 and today it employs 50 people. She is greatly passionate about the transformation of African enterprises through technology. Dorcas is also the founder of the regional organization AfChix, a mentorship and capacity building initiative for women in computing across Africa. Globally, she has been involved and honored in technology leadership by the Internet Society (ISOC) as an Internet Hall Of Fame Global Connector, World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Young Global Leader (YGL), AnitaB Institute as a Change Agent Award Winner and the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) in Spain as an Honoris Causa.

Catherine Mahugu, a change-maker revolutionizing Kenya’s coffee value chain

November 29, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Chiswara, reinventing the coffee supply chain through technology to benefit Kenya’s coffee farmers

Catherine Mahugu is a globally acclaimed entrepreneur. She is a software engineer by profession and change-maker by passion. Catherine is a certified human-centred design expert, a skill she acquired at Stanford University. Currently, she is the founder of Chiswara, a tech-enabled specialty coffee company launched in 2018 that offers an equitable coffee experience for both local farmers and global consumers. Partners committed to the company's growth and impact include Alibaba, UNCTAD, and IFC.

Adenike Ogunlesi, Africa’s foremost children’s fashion and retail entrepreneur

November 22, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Ruff ’n’ Tumble, a trailblazing premium children’s clothing brand on the African continent

Adenike Ogunlesi, who has been redefining and blazing the trail in the children’s fashion industry with over 35 years’ experience in the Fashion and Retail Business, is the founder and Creative Director of Africa’s leading Premium children’s clothing brand, Ruff ‘n’ Tumble. Ruff ‘n’ Tumble has shared happiness with over a million children and families across the globe, because she dared to dream and pursue her vision fearlessly.

Mapholo Ratau, a champion of South African culture through design

November 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Mapholo Ratau, a South African entrepreneur creating a contemporary, clothing and accessories brand.

Entrepreneur Mapholo Ratau knows how to spot a gap in the marketplace, and for her, that gap was creating high quality, contemporary clothing and accessory designs that are a celebration of South African culture. Her solution was to create a premium brand and range of clothing and accessories that are unmistakably her own.

Natalie and Kim Ellis, innovators in sustainable, ethical product design in South Africa

November 8, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Introducing The Joinery, creating solutions to environmental and community issues through design.

The global problem of how to deal with the mountain of plastic waste which is created every day is one that requires increasingly innovative and sustainable solutions. In South Africa, two pioneering sisters, Natalie and Kim Ellis, founders of The Joinery, are part of a vanguard of innovating entrepreneurs who are focused on building sustainable and ethical businesses that turn plastic waste into products not problems.

Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho, an information technology pioneer bridging the digital divide

October 17, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Future Software Resources Ltd (Futuresoft), a Nigerian technology provider scaling African enterprise.

Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho is a seasoned Information Technology professional with over 15 years of industry experience in Africa’s largest emerging economy. She has a deep purpose and focus on bridging the digital divide and transforming Africa by harnessing the benefits of digital. At home in technology from childhood, Nkemdilim is walking in her fathers’ footsteps as a second-generation Nigerian Information Technology expert.

Dr. Hend El Sherbini, a leader in the provision of best-in-class diagnostic services

October 11, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Meet IDH Integrated Diagnostics Holdings, a leading consumer diagnostic healthcare company in Africa and the Middle East

Dr. Hend El Sherbini holds the position of CEO of IDH-Integrated Diagnostics Holdings, a leading consumer diagnostic healthcare company in Africa and the Middle East with operations in Egypt, Jordan, Sudan and Nigeria. Dr. El Sherbini's experience is not only limited to her position as CEO, but she is also a professor of clinical pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University and currently sits on the board of American Society of Clinical Pathology (Egypt) and consults on the international certification process. She received her MBBCh, Masters in Clinical and Chemical Pathology, PhD in Immunology from BBC by Cairo University, and an Executive MBA from London Business School.

Lorna Scott, the pioneer of Africa’s craft gin industry

October 4, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Meet Inverroche, a luxury gin brand celebrating the Cape’s unique botanicals.

Lorna Scott is the CEO and founder of Inverroche Distillery in South Africa. Lorna has had many roles in her career, she once was an air hostess, then became the marketing and sales manager of a food service corporation, later to become the operations director of the same company. Lorna then changed her career path by becoming the deputy mayor of the Hessequa municipality which covers the region of Still Bay. Although her background was marketing, during her time as Deputy Mayor Lorna became involved in sustainable development. One of her main objectives was to develop the region as a tourist destination and create employment amongst the local community.

Kofo Akinkugbe, a Nigerian innovator and technology market leader

September 27, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Secure ID, Africa’s market leader in smart card technology and digital security.

Kofo Akinkugbe is a Nigerian innovator and technology market leader. This remarkable woman entrepreneur founded a company that today is recognised globally as a market leader in Africa's smart card technology and digital security industry.

Divine Simbi-Ndhlukula, a respected and influential security industry player

September 20, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Securico Security Services, the Zimbabwean security services company transforming the industry landscape.

Through hard work, determination and focus, Dr Divine Simbi-Ndhlukula has built her company to become the most respected and sought-after player in the security industry in Zimbabwe and internationally. She is the founder and Managing Director of DDNS Security Operations (Pvt) Ltd, the holding company under which SECURICO SECURITY SERVICES fall. Through her leadership, SECURICO now employs over 4 000 people and has become a multiple award-winning organisation. Divine herself has been listed among 100 Most Reputable Africans in 2020 by Reputation Poll International and was also named by Forbes magazine among the Most Influential Women in Africa.

Gércia Sequeira, a leading techpreneur in Mozambique improving businesses and lives

September 13, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Gércia Sequeira, co-founder of Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS (Mozambique)

ITIS, creating local, innovative technology solutions for business and people.

Gércia Sequeira is a leading techpreneur in Mozambique and the CEO and co-founder of Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS. As President of the ICT Association in Mozambique (AMPETIC) and Master trainer in business development service providers, as well as a trainer of various associations and single business owners concerning the use of ICT and Management tools, she is an influential tech voice in the country.

Tiguidanke Mounir Camara, a new generation mining entrepreneur in Africa

September 6, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Tiguidanke Mounir Camara, founder of Tigui Mining Group (TMG)

Tigui Mining Group, a business that represents sustainable mining which empowers communities

Africa’s mining sector is focused on sustainability, entrepreneurship, and contributing meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the continent. Local communities depend on these natural resources for their futures and this requires new ways of thinking, not to mention a new approach to ensuring diversity in the sector. One woman entrepreneur is leading the way - Tiguidanke Mounir Camara is the founder of the woman-mine owned Tigui Mining Group (TMG) and is carving a new and exciting pathway for women in Africa’s mining sector.

Dana Mroueh, an artisan chocolatier celebrating Côte d’Ivoire’s renowned cocoa beans

August 15, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Dana Mroueh, founder of MonChoco (Côte d’Ivoire)

Meet MonChoco, a proudly Ivorian chocolate brand, reflecting the country’s exceptional terroir.

Côte d’Ivoire is renowned for the quality of its cocoa beans, but up until now, the world has not had the opportunity to widely celebrate those beans in the finest of chocolate forms. But that is rapidly changing as artisan chocolatier Dana Mroueh and her company, MonChoco, are producing a very special raw chocolate brand and range of products that is exciting taste buds in the country.

Sinenhlanhla Ndlela, an artisanal dairy-free ice-cream maker serving love through scoops

August 9, 2020 Melanie Hawken

Sinenhlanhla Ndlela, founder of YoCoco (South Africa)

Sinenhlanhla Ndlela, a South African entrepreneur on a mission to make delicious artisanal dairy free ice cream.

For all those people out there who love the idea of gorgeous ice cream, but cannot eat dairy produce, help is at hand. YoCoco, an exciting artisanal dairy free ice cream brand created by the talented Sinenhlanhla Ndlela, is tantalizing tastebuds in South Africa with fabulous flavour combinations and taste sensations.

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