Quote of the Day by Joanne Mwangi

September 14, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Joanne Mwangi, founder and CEO, PMS Group (Kenya) — **Joanne Mwangi**, founder and CEO, PMS Group (Kenya)

"Don’t wait for tomorrow. It’s going. So please, can the young people of Africa make sure they seize the opportunity and keep it in Africa."

- Joanne Mwangi founded PMS Group in Kenya in 1996. Today her company has five subsidiaries and a presence across East Africa. Joanne has steered the PMS Group from a small agency to a leading full service marketing and communications group and in 2010 her company was voted number one in the Top 100 SME competition in Kenya. Joanne is also the chairperson of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Associations (FEWA), an organisation that seeks to create an enabling business environment for women.

Quote of the Day by Bilikiss Adebiyi

September 13, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Bilikiss Abiola, founder and CEO of WeCyclers — **Bilikiss Abiola**, founder and CEO of WeCyclers

"I really believe this is the best time to be an African start up. This is Africa's time and we as Africans need to seize this opportunity to contribute our quotas to our respective countries."

- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.

Quote of the Day by Juliana Rotich

September 12, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“There is a link between increasing connectivity and GDP. If you increase broadband by 10%, it corresponds to 1,163% increase in GDP. Investment in connectivity is worthwhile. We've only got 15.6% penetration of the internet in Africa – there is so much more to do.”

- Juliana Rotich is co-founder and executive director of Ushahidi, a nonprofit tech company, born in Africa, that develops free and open-source software for information collection, interactive mapping and data curation. Juliana leads a team that is expanding its global footprint and making crowdsourcing tools available and useful, and catalyzing entrepreneurial initiatives like iHub in Kenya. She serves on the advisory council of Microsoft 4Afrika and Waabeh Ltd. She also co-founded Mobisoko, a mobile marketplace for language and location relevant apps in Africa. Juliana is a TED Senior Fellow and serves on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Information Communications Technology. In 2011 The World Economic Forum named Juliana 'Social Entrepreneur of the Year'.

Quote of the Day by Nkemdilim Begho

September 8, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"Engaging women and girls in ICT sector work is not only the right thing to do from the point of social justice. It is also smart economics. Gender diversity in high value ICT jobs in both management and on companies' boards is good for business performance."

- Nkemdilim Begho is founder and Managing Director of Future Software Resources Limited, an IT solutions provider focused on online solutions, e-learning and IT security. As one of a few Nigerian women in the industry, her success is founded on a passion for driving innovative thinking, building a globally recognized technology brand and setting trends in the Nigerian Technology space.

Quote of the Day by Victoria Kisyombe

September 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Victoria Kisyombe, founder of SELFINA — **Victoria Kisyombe**, founder of SELFINA

“If I can change the life of one person it makes a whole difference because behind that person there is a whole family. It’s a family, it’s a society, it’s Tanzania.”

- Victoria Kisyombe founded SELFINA in 2002 and pioneered micro-credit in Tanzania through micro-leasing with a focus on widows and young girls. Victoria helped women overcome many of the traditional stumbling blocks that made it difficult for them to own land and assets. SELFINA has gone on to economically empower more than 25,000 women with a total credit worth 25 billion Tanzanian Shillings (approximately $16 million US dollars). Over 200,000 lives have been impacted through the benefits accrued.

Quote of the Day by Ally Angula

September 6, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ally Angula, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia) — **Ally Angula**, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia)

"It is a myth that it is okay to be a micro-business... Africans just need to believe they can manufacture goods themselves because the main opportunity lies in the production of goods for African consumers."

- Ally Angula is a qualified chartered accountant and co-founder of Leap Holdings, a group of companies involved in the growing of fresh produce, garment manufacturing and retail in Namibia. She is also the founder of My Republik Brand, Namibia’s first locally designed, manufactured and retailed clothing brand with a flagship store situated in the Grove Mall in Windhoek's Kleine Kuppe suburb. She currently serves as non-executive director for Old Mutual Life Assurance (Namibia) and Rio Tinto's Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia. Ally was chosen as a Desmond Tutu Fellowship programme Associate in April 2013 and was one of two Namibian entrepreneurs selected to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Kenya.

Quote of the Day by Kate Quartey-Papafio

September 5, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Kate Quartey-Papafio, founder of Reroy Cables (Ghana)

"Nothing is impossible, it does not matter what you are doing, I encourage you ladies out there to work hard and pursue your dreams with seriousness and perseverance and you will get there."

- Kate Quartey–Papafio is a pioneering industrialist who founded Reroy Group Ltd in 1992 to distribute high quality electrical cables in Ghana. Today, Reroy Cables is an iconic brand name in Ghana’s manufacturing sector producing and distributing power cables, conductors, electrical power distribution systems, and providing strategic contract services to the electricity sector. The business is also now linked to electricity distribution and transmission. Over the last two decades, Kate has led the Reroy brand to become become synonymous with values of excellence, integrity and continuous improvement.

Quote of the Day by Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

September 4, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (Uganda) — **Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka**, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (Uganda)

“Follow your dreams and the rest will follow. Being a social entrepreneur is often a journey of hills and valleys, and very fulfilling if you always keep your goals in sight.”

- Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (GCCoffee) established in 2015, which is a social enterprise of a 14-year-old award winning NGO and non-profit, called Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) that promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, wildlife and livestock to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around protected areas in Africa. CTPH implements and champions integrated approaches to conservation, health and community development, with field programs at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas, and in other protected areas in Africa. GCCoffee promotes livelihoods of coffee farmers around Bwindi reducing their dependence on the gorillas' habitat to meet their basic needs for food and fuel wood. A donation for every coffee bag sold to primarily LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) consumers is given to CTPH to continue the critical health and conservation programs.

Quote of the Day by Ally Angula

September 1, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ally Angula, Co-founder & Managing Director of Leap Group of Companies (Namibia) — Ally Angula, Co-founder & Managing Director of Leap Group of Companies (Namibia)

"Nothing succeeds without hard work when following one’s dream of starting your own business."

Quote of the Day by Dorcas Muthoni

August 31, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“My greatest wish is to see a global community where our society is embracing internet technology to positively change lives and improve the efficiency of work done in our offices.”

- 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.

Quote of the Day by Chioma Angela Ukonu

August 29, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Chioma Angela Ukonu, Co-Founder of Recycle Points Limited (Nigeria) — **Chioma Angela Ukonu,** Co-Founder of Recycle Points Limited (Nigeria)

"Don’t wait until you hit jackpot before you start that business because you might never start. You can use your garage, it can be your car boot, just start."

- Chioma Angela Ukonu is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Recycle Points Limited, a waste recycling and social benefit venture that operates an incentive-based scheme in Nigeria. Chioma is a Certified Social Sector Manager and Social Entrepreneur with focus on environmental sustainability, poverty eradication, women empowerment, youth employment and community engagement. She is a member of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, a YALI “Green Champion”, a Mandela Washington Fellow, a LEAP Africa Social Innovators Fellow, Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) Alumna and she most recently took the second place prize in the global Chivas Venture competition in Los Angeles for social enterprises who have solutions for pressing social issues.

Quote of the Day by Magatte Wade

August 28, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Magatte Wade, founder of Tiossan (Senegal)

"No nation has ever created millions of middle class jobs by selling raw commodities alone. We need to streamline the business environment for Africa to become prosperous."

- Magatte Wade is the Senegalese-born founder of Tiossan, an all-natural, artisan skin care brand inspired by the traditional Sufi healers of Senegal. At the heart of this growing global brand are the proud tradition of ancient Senegalese recipes from which Tiossan draws inspiration. Magatte is a passionate champion of entrepreneurial education in Senegal and 50% of Tiossan profits are dedicated to the creation of innovative schools.

Quote of the Day by Chinwe Ohajuruka

August 24, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Chinwe Ohajuruka, founder and CEO of Comprehensive Design Services (Nigeria) — **Chinwe Ohajuruka**, founder and CEO of Comprehensive Design Services (Nigeria)

".... the entire world and especially the African continent is waiting for the rise of the African woman. The rise of the hardworking, passionate African woman, who is so tenacious, and does what she has to do each day without complaining or expecting a reward - we need to support, encourage, reward and nurture these women. The world is waiting for we women with our passion and our creativity, our inability to look at suffering, and our desire to make a difference, to rise up and take charge."

- Chinwe Ohajuruka is the founder and CEO of Comprehensive Design Services in Nigeria. Chinwe is a US-based architect who splits her time between the US & Nigeria working on sustainable housing development projects. She is a passionate championof green building solutions for Africa and she engineers and builds affordable green houses that are both energy and resource-efficient.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

August 23, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technologies (Ghana) — **Ethel Cofie**, founder of Edel Technologies (Ghana)

"I think one of the challenges is that women don’t have enough mentors that really do push them beyond their comfort zones, encourage them to dream bigger, to think bigger, and to really supersize their dreams."

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has been featured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

Quote of the Day by Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana

August 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Words of wisdom for African women: "We are very proactive. We are strong women. We are great managers. We are great policy makers. We can be a great force for Africa.”

- Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana, co-founded Gahaya Links Cooperatives shortly after the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994. These inspiring sisters had a vision to turn ancient basket weaving skills into a source of livelihood for thousands of rural women. Many of the women, like Janet and Joy themselves, were returning refugees or survivors of the genocide. The women started weaving baskets in exchange for food. Initially bringing together about twenty women, the sisters taught them how to weave and how to enhance their weaving skills with new design techniques. Today, Gahaya Links manages a network of over 5,000 weavers across the country, organised into around 52 cooperatives that help provide much needed income and stability. The sisters have successfully opened the business to international markets, partnering with the likes of Macy’s, Walmart, Oprah Magazine, and Kate Spade. Today, Gahaya Links "Peace Baskets” are sold and admired the world over.

Quote of the Day by Margaret Hirsch

August 11, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Margaret Hirsch, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores (South Africa) — Margaret Hirsch, co-founder of Hirsch's Homestores (South Africa)

"You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great!"

Margaret Hirsch is one half of a dynamic husband and wife duo that founded Hirsch's Homestores. Back in 1979, as a secretary, together with her husband Allan, then an appliance repair man, they unwittingly became entrepreneurs who went on to build an appliance, electronics and furnishing retail empire. Today, Hirsch's Homestores is the largest independently owned appliance and electronics business in Southern Africa, with 18 Hirsch stores and four Samsung concept stores.

Quote of the Day by Tabitha Karanja

August 8, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“There are no shortcuts in life and to be successful you need to go the extra mile. There is also no time, so don’t waste it and whatever you do, be it as a student, parent, employer or employee, always strive to be the best”

- 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.

Quote of the Day by Teta Isibo

August 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Teta Isibo, founder of Inzuki Designs, Rwanda

“It’s really rewarding when you can manage to turn a passion into a profitable business, and inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs along the way.”

- Teta Isibo is the creative mind behind Inzuki a dynamic young Rwandan brand specializing in jewellery, accessories and interior decor hand-made from local materials by local crafters. 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.

Quote of the Day by Rapelang Rabana

August 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Rapelang Rabana, founder of ReKindle Learning (South Africa) — **Rapelang Rabana**, founder of ReKindle Learning (South Africa)

"Ultimately most businesses won’t ever get external funding and client revenue still remains the best form of funding that you will ever get."

- Rapelang Rabana is a South African technology entrepreneur who is making waves both on the African continent and around the world. She established her reputation in the tech sector as the co-founder of Yeigo Communications, a company that gained international recognition for its pioneering innovations in mobile VoIP and IP communications. Today, Rapelang is the innovative founder behind Rekindle Learning, a company looking to improve education in Africa by turning people’s compulsion to check their phones into an opportunity to learn. Featured on the cover of Forbes Africa magazine before the age of 30, selected as a Fast Company Maverick and named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and Entrepreneur for the World by the World Entrepreneurship Forum - Rapelang is an internationally lauded entrepreneur.