the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Catia Mondlane
The new Coronavirus pandemic has forced most of us to stay indoors, and having to work from our homes seems to be the only way out to survive the current situation. As bad as things seem to get, I truly believe that there is a bright side out of the bad news we have been seeing and hearing about what is going on around the world.
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by Mandisa Makubalo, founder and managing director, Unlimited Experiences SA (Pty) Ltd
Pandemics may take months, sometimes years, to reach their full destructive potential. Let us look at how small businesses can re-structure themselves in a restructured marketplace. It would be rather risky and naïve to neglect the fact that COVID-19 has resulted in a restructuring across the globe from an economic, social and political perspective.
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by Lori Milner
We all wear many hats – the parent hat, friend hat, work hat, child hat, etc. most of us identify strongest with our work hat because this takes up most of the day to day actions. We spend most of our time at work and therefore this shapes us greatly. If I ask you to tell me about yourself, you will probably answer ‘I’m a marketing manager, I’m an Executive, a PA, Sales Manager, etc. but what happens when this has been taken away from you or the role has shifted dramatically. Some people have completely lost their jobs during this time or their roles have been shifted to online and made them feel obsolete. For some people, like coaches or trainers, the transition is pretty smooth. But if your job was face to face or required you to be in a physical location to operate, your whole world has been rocked upside down.
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by Eldari Visser founder of Picketfence Life
For the longest time I have been playing with the idea to write this blog. Then time and Covid-19 got hold of me.
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by Tania Reid
The world has been caught up with a new challenge in the form of COVID-19, which has brought about a disruption in the way we do things. The old way of doing things has changed forever, and new things like social distancing, self-isolation, business unusual, church unusual, ‘everything’ unusual, have become the norm. The old saying, ‘The only constant is change’ has become so relevant in these ever-changing, uncertain times, and we have all realized that there is no room for anything as usual anymore.
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by Gabrielle von Ille, Founder and Managing Director of Lifa Communications
In the world we used to know we measured a country’s wellness simply by its GDP; mother nature cried out for help giving us various signs we ignored; we worshiped the wrong heroes; mental issues and pills were on the rise; our food consisted of E numbers; we created only with the intent to monetize or go viral; we were materialistic beyond measure; and most importantly, our values seemed to be completely out of whack. Surely, we were connected through technology and social media but actually we were more disconnected than ever.
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by Thato Mokhothu-Ramohlanka
The Corona Virus outbreak has quickly introduced a new way of living that most of us never imagined possible. While some people are better prepared for unknown eventualities such as the Covid-19 pandemic more than others, many others will find that they have not prepared adequately for the weeks ahead. Unfortunately, the playing field is not always level. In some instances life does not provide us with the tools to help us prepare for tough times. Unemployment is one of those brutally unfair conditions that deny people the opportunity to provide security for times such as these.
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by Ronel Jooste
The year 2020 was earmarked to be the ’20-plenty’ year. A year filled with great expectations, abundance, growth, achievement and joy. The outbreak of covid-19 brought those expectations to a sudden halt. It almost feels unreal that a virus can have this significant impact on the entire world. The world is in ‘shut-down’ mode. No more travelling, schools and multiple businesses are closed, many employees work from home, big events are cancelled etc. The impact of covid-19 on the economy, businesses and individuals will be phenomenal.
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by Tapiwa Matsinde
Social-distancing, self-isolation, and lockdowns have forced us to change the way we live and work. One of the biggest adjustments brought about by the pandemic is the overnight shift from going into the office to working from home. And the sudden change means not everyone is prepared, not to mention parents who are also having to work around home-schooling and keeping their kids entertained.
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by Lori Milner
I took my daughter to a friend’s 5th birthday party. There was a magician there to perform for the kids and afterwards he gave out his business card to the parents. On the front of the card in big bold letters it said ‘The cleverest magician in the world’. What I loved about the card was the boldness of it – yes, he is a magician and is meant to be slapstick and silly. But let’s stop and reflect for a moment.
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by Lelemba Phiri, Operating partner and Fund Manager of Enygma Ventures
Earlier this year in January we selected 11 female entrepreneurs to be part of the first cohort of our investor-ready programme. We flew them all into Cape Town from various SADC countries to participate in an intensive weekend of training and exciting strategic planning. We could not have imagined nor foreseen that a few weeks down the line, we would be faced with the global Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing health calamities, national lockdowns and global economic turmoil. All the polished strategic plans we had put together were effectively thrown out of the window in the last few weeks! We had to go back to the drawing board both as investors and entrepreneurs as we try and navigate completely uncharted territories.
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by Clare Appleyard, founder of Katannuta Diamonds
Four years ago, if you’d asked me what I did for a living, I wouldn’t have a straight-forward answer for you. Quite simply, my answer would have depended on who was asking. I was the classic entrepreneur who didn’t want to put all her eggs in one basket; a euphemistic term for somebody who just had her fingers in too many pies.
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by Nomihlali Ntsunguzi
It was the very first presentation I had to make to pitch for business after I had just started. The potential client was in an industry I knew very well, and I knew the human capital challenges everyone was experiencing. I was so excited yet anxious, but I was quite confident that my pitch was on point. As I walk into the boardroom, I recognize someone I know from church and I immediately felt relieved….my thought, “God indeed works in miraculous ways”. Little did I know that out of all the executives that were sitting there, I was going to get the worst treatment from the one I recognized.
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by Lori Milner
There is so much advice on how to tackle our new way of being. One of which is to ensure a well-organized schedule for your time as well as your kids. Now I am the preacher on using your calendar to schedule work and life tasks to ensure they get done. My mantra is – ‘If it gets scheduled, it gets done!’ There is a huge ‘however’ coming…HOWEVER….this philosophy has been tested to its limits in the last week. I planned the week ahead knowing exactly what outputs and deliverables I wanted to achieve and then sat down to make an ‘excellent’ schedule for my children ages 5 and 7. Day 1 did not work out too well….
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by Kelebogile Makhafola
The saying that goes, “you cannot manage what you cannot measure” proves to be earnest in such a time. Marketing managers, brand leaders and business owners are not only having to deal with the core sustenance of the business, but also forced to figure out how best to keep their brand healthy and helpful in such a time. Effective brand communication during uncertain times is vital for stakeholder management and brand impact. Below are 5 ways to keep your brand engaged and empathetic to its’ customers as we globally navigate uncharted territory.
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by Nomihlali Ntsunguzi
In the last week prior to and during the lockdown, the number of people working from home increased, some were sent home on unpaid leave. This has distinguished companies that have started adapting to the 4IR through proper systems, from those that haven’t adapted at all. Jacques du Preez (IOA) says, “those quickest to utilize the new technologies that come with the 4IR will reap the most benefit. Some estimates place the profits reaped by early-adopting firms at almost 120%, with a measly 10% for those who only adopt the new technologies later on”.
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by Tapiwa Matsinde
The pandemic has forced us to rethink the business plans we set out for the year ahead. While we cannot control what is happening we can control how we choose to react and for designers and creatives that includes adapting the way we work. Conversations with designers in my network have revealed the ways in which they are pivoting and I share theirs and my suggestions with you.
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by Alice da Silva
The global Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to live differently. I am noticing that many people are very distressed about changes to planned goals and activities. The social distancing and self-isolation is causing many to be apprehensive and frustrated at home. I have decided to share how I keep my spirits up, while adapting to a new reality. I’m no expert, and what works for me may not be everyone’s solution, but maybe some of this will inspire others with their own ideas.
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by Lori Milner
Prior to the Corona pandemic, you were battling to ‘balance’ work and life and that’s when work and life were at least separated geographically (for most of us anyway). Now you find yourself in a situation where the boundaries are completely mixed up.
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by Paula Quinsee
Up-skilling yourself has never been more critical than now, whether that be to cope with what is happening in our world at the moment, or to cope with what the world is going to look like in a few months (or years) from now.
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