Entrepreneur Advice from Kofo Akinkugbe: Trust that the funds will always come

August 5, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Trust that the funds will always come....

"Once you have a good plan and a good concept and you work through it, the funds will always come."

- Kofo Akinkugbe is founder & CEO of SecureID Nigeria Ltd. She is a highly respected African business leader who has become a market leader in smart card technology and digital security. SecureID is world-class manufacturing company with the only smart card production plant in West Africa and one of only six on the continent. Her company serves 16 countries across Africa and is fully certified by VISA, Verve and MasterCard. In 2012, Kofo won the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship Mature Business Award.

Entrepreneur Advice from Dorcas Muthoni: Sometimes you have to take a risk to get started

August 1, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Sometimes you need to take a risk to get started....

“When I thought of creating OpenWorld, I had a contract with my employer for another 1 ½ years, but I opted out not to renew. It was a 110% risk....I’m not sorry I did it.”

- Dorcas Muthoni is a leading Kenyan entrepreneur, computer scientist and CEO and founder of OPENWORLD. The company she founded at the age of 24 is now a leading e-Government and Business Software Services firm in the Eastern Africa region. Dorcas was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in 2014.

Entrepreneur Advice from Njeri Rionge: The ingredients of success for an entrepreneur

July 28, 2014 Melanie Hawken

What are the top reasons why you have been successful in business?....

“For me it is discipline, consistency, passion and excitement about growth.”

- Njeri Rionge is one of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs and one of the very few women pioneers in the ICT sector on the African continent.She co-founded internet service provider Wananchi Online that has since been transformed into Wananchi Group Holdings – one of east Africa’s leading providers of pay-tv, broadband internet and VoIP services. Last year the company raised US$57.5 million in growth capital from a group of international investors.

Entrepreneur Advice from Dorcas Muthoni: You need to be respected as a leader

July 25, 2014 Melanie Hawken

On leadership....

“As a leader it is more important to be respected than liked."

- Dorcas Muthoni, an entrepreneur and computer scientist, is the CEO and founder of OPENWORLD LTD (www.openworld.co.ke), a software company she started at the age of 24. OPENWORLD is now a leading e-Government and Business Software Services firm in the Eastern Africa region.

Entrepreneur Advice from Teta Isibo: Build a business around your passions

July 21, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Do something you love, or are good at....

"Do something that you either really love or you are really good at (or both) otherwise it’s easy to just give up when things get hard which they usually do."

- Teta Isibo is the creative mind behind Inzuki a dynamic young Rwandan brand specializing in jewelry, accessories and interior decor hand-made primarily from local materials. With no background in fashion or business, Teta quit her job as an urban planner with the city of Kigali to start her own business. Today Inzuki (bees in the local language) is part of a wider Rwandan cultural Renaissance.

Entrepreneur Advice from Teta Isibo: There's no need to fear Failure

July 21, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Don't get hung up on failure....

"Failure would be if I stopped trying, otherwise, it’s just a mistake which I learn from and try again…It’s a trial and error learning process."

Entrepreneur Advice from Tabitha Karanja: Don't shy away from competing with men in business

July 2, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Ladies, don't by shy about competing with men in business....

“This is the 21st century and what a man can do a woman can do. It’s time we showed them through action”

- Tabitha Karanja is founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries. She is one of Kenya's leading entrepreneurs, a remarkable trailblazer and an example of a woman made good against all the odds. Tabitha chose to venture where none before her had dared. She took on an 87-year-old business monopoly and entered an industry with a deeply entrenched male gender stereotype. Tabitha broke the mould to become Kenya’s first home-grown beer and alcoholic drink manufacturer. Today, her company's state-of-the-art factory produces 10,000 bottles of gin and ready-to-drink vodka, as well as 15,000 bottles of beer per hour.

Entrepreneur Advice from Njeri Rionge: Starting up in business is like learning to ride a bike

June 11, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Trust your gut instincts....

"Ladies, it’s like learning to ride a bike or driving a car. You need only to believe in yourself, trust your gut feeling and develop a clear plan or strategy, keep it simple and implement that plan step by step with courage, conviction and love above all. Ultimately be open minded and flexible to change course when needed and listen to your customers."

- Njeri Rionge is one of Kenya’s most successful and revered serial entrepreneurs. She co-founded Wananchi Online, a leading Internet service provider which has gone on to become East Africa’s leading cable, broadband and IP (Internet-based) phone company.

Entrepreneur Advice from Anne Githuku-Shongwe: Surround yourself with people you can trust

June 5, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Find people you can trust and who will support you in the early stage of your venture…

“Opportunities for new business have come from my ‘circle of influence’….people whom I have met or been connected with somehow. Interestingly, most of these have been women.”

- Anne Githuku-Shongwe is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Afroes Transformational Games - a company that builds mobile game-based learning platforms out of South Africa and Kenya. Anne's vision is to revolutionise learning in Africa with a focus on delivering positive Africa-focused mobile phone entertainment to the youth market across the continent.

Entrepreneur Advice from Monica Musonda: Know exactly what you want to do

May 29, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Monica Musonda, founder and CEO of Java Foods, Zambia — **Monica Musonda**, founder and CEO of Java Foods, Zambia

Plan, plan, plan....

“With any new business, we need to know what exactly we want to do, and how we want to do it, and where you want it to go. However, she said you should not overthink too much but you should be thorough and also watch the competition.”

- Monica Musonda is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods, a food processing company based in Zambia. Monica's vision is to revolutionize the eating habits of the youth market by offering them affordable and nutritious food options made from local products. Monica is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Zambian advocate with over 15 years of experience in legal practice and corporate management, including being corporate counsel at the International Finance Corporation and for Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries Limited.

Entrepreneur Advice from Sibongile Sambo: Making mistakes is okay - just learn from them and move on

May 28, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Be willing to make mistakes - just learn from them and move on....

“My background gives me that platform to become a strong woman. I started living away from my parents from the age of five or six, which gave me a lot of independence. For me, managing in an environment that is very male dominated just comes naturally. It comes from a confidence and willingness to learn, but also from the willingness to make mistakes, learn from them and move on.”

- Sibongile Sambo is a pioneering woman of South African aviation. She is founder and Chief Executive Officer of SRS Aviation Ltd., the first 100 percent black, female-owned aviation services company in South Africa. Launched in 2004, SRS is an integrated provider of private aviation services offering South African and international clients professional and personalized flight options including VIP Charter, tourist charter and helicopter services, to destinations around the world. Today, the company also provides maintenance, sales and fleet management services to private jet owners.

Entrepreneur Advice from Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu: Africa must build global brands

May 20, 2014 Melanie Hawken

soleRebel's international brand success is exemplified by their trendy store in Tawain

African entrepreneurs must build global brands....

“soleRebels is based on the revolutionary idea that to truly enjoy lasting development, developing nation producers MUST create, grow and control successful global brands and the equity developed in them, the very same formula that global brands in developed nations have so successfully deployed to build themselves and their countries...”

- Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels, the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world. Growing up in a poor suburb of Addis Ababa, Bethlehem decided that there was only one way to defeat poverty – use local craftsmanship to make products that can compete in the global marketplace. She decided on footwear and today 70,000 pairs of shoes leave her factory every year. soleRebels has been expanding rapidly and today exports to no fewer than 45 countries and is targeting 50 stand alone soleRebels retail stores across the United States by 2018 and 500 worldwide by 2022.

Entrepreneur Advice from Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu: Innovate and create world class products

May 20, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Innovate and create world class products....

“soleRebels is LIVING PROOF that creating innovative world class products and trading them with the world is THE BEST road to greater shared prosperity for developing nations like ours!”

Entrepreneur Advice from Sibongile Sambo: Women entrepreneurs can make it in male dominated industries

May 16, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Women entrepreneurs can make it in male dominated industries....

“Most people saw my entry into the sector as very awkward, and initially, people never took me seriously. I had to prove myself more than 10 times. However, I told them I’m here, I’m here to stay, I’m here to grow this business, and I’m here to make changes as well, because I’m young, I’m very innovative and I want to bring a new spice into the industry.”

Entrepreneur Advice from Sibongile Sambo: Networking and gathering market intelligence are powerful weapons

May 10, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Networking and gathering market intelligence are powerful weapons....

“Doing this hasn’t always been easy, but as soon as men are aware that you’re as intelligent as, or more intelligent than they are, they take you seriously. So I stay knowledgeable; I read continuously and attend conferences and industry events regularly.”

- Sibongile Sambo is a pioneering woman of South African aviation. She is founder and Chief Executive Officer of SRS Aviation Ltd., the first 100 percent black, female-owned aviation services company in South Africa. Launched in 2004, SRS is an integrated provider of private aviation services offering South African and international clients professional and personalized flight options including VIP Charter, tourist charter and helicopter services, to destinations around the world. Today, the company also provides maintenance, sales and fleet management services to private jet owners.

Entrepreneur Advice From Janice Bryant Howroyd: You have to think and act globally

May 9, 2014 Melanie Hawken

You have to think and act globally....

“No matter what the size of your business, no matter what the generation or iteration of your business, you are in a global business”. “We all compete globally – no matter what we manufacture, no matter what we deliver as a service or a solution, there is someone else in the world also doing that –and technology has brought us together into a single community.”

- Janice Bryant Howroyd, CEO of Act-1 Group, is the first Black woman in the United States to have founded and own a billion-dollar company.

Entrepreneur advice from Richard Branson: Go with your gut

May 8, 2014 Melanie Hawken

Go with your gut....

"Engage your emotions at work. Your instincts and emotions are there to help you. They are there to make things easier. For me, business is a ‘gut feeling’, and if it ever ceased to be so, I think I would give it up tomorrow."

- Richard Branson. This English business magnate and investor is surely one of the world's most prominent entrepreneurs. He is best known as the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies.

Entrepreneur Advice from Sibongile Sambo: Receiving awards and recognition show I'm headed in the right direction

May 6, 2014 Melanie Hawken

On receiving awards and recognition as an entrepreneur ....

“These awards show that I’m heading in the right direction. It also means that the business of aviation is my playground. I plan to take SRS Aviation to greater heights and become the leader in this business.”