Rainat Komolafe - The startup story of a Nigerian entrepreneur taking all the stress out of shopping for your baby

April 26, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Rainat Komolafe, founder of Babies Essence, Nigeria — **Rainat Komolafe**, founder of Babies Essence, Nigeria

For new parents-to-be in Nigeria, planning for the new arrival can be a little daunting, particularly if it is a first baby. So, entrepreneur Rainat Komolafe has created a startup business, Babies Essence, taking all the guess work and effort out of the process, providing a genuinely one-stop shop for everything needed to welcome the new member of the family into the world.

Tamara Watkins & Akila Hunte - The startup story of two passionate online fashion retailers opening global markets to African women designers

April 23, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Tamara Watkins, co-founder of shopDOKU.com — **Tamara Watkins**, co-founder of shopDOKU.com

One of the key challenges often facing talented and ambitious African women fashion designers is how to access global markets and successfully position their brands to international buyers. Tamara Watkins and her business partner Akila Hunte have a solution - their passion for raising awareness of emerging design talent, particularly from the African continent, led the team to set up an online marketplace, shopDOKU.com, retailing the creations of emerging designers to buyers in North America and the United Kingdom.

Amy Sinovich - The startup story of a South African jewellery designer telling inspirational stories through her wearable art

April 22, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Amy Sinovich, founder of Resonate by amy — **Amy Sinovich**, founder of Resonate by amy

There is something truly wonderful about translating the power of storytelling into beautiful pieces of bespoke, wearable art that connect on a deeply personal level with the person commissioning it. Amy Sinovich is an incredibly talented South African jewellery designer that is one such storyteller par excellence. Every unique handcrafted piece she creates from precious metals and semi-precious stones tells its own story, inspired by nature, poetry and the life of the person for whom it is made.

Sheila Mokgoadi - The startup story of a woman building a handcrafted Afroluxe jewellery brand with a modern twist

April 22, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Sheila Mokgoadi, founder of Azura Luxury Handcrafts — **Sheila Mokgoadi**, founder of Azura Luxury Handcrafts

Inspired by the unique, joyous nature of traditional African jewellery design, Sheila Mokgoadi’s luxury brand, Azura Luxury Handcrafts, has created a range of bold, chic and highly desirable pieces that appeals to the most sophisticated global buyers. Her dedication to ensuring the highest levels of craftsmanship, combined with a fiercely modern design aesthetic, are what make this African luxury jewellery brand so unique.

Rapelang Rabana - The startup story of an entrepreneur harnessing the power of technology to empower learning

April 21, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Rapelang Rabana, founder & CEO of Rekindle Learning — **Rapelang Rabana**, founder & CEO of Rekindle Learning

A long-term interest in learning and education, combined with a belief that mobile and internet technology will be instrumental in solving a number of socio-economic challenges at scale, led successful techpreneur, Rapelang Rabana, to establish Rekindle Learning. This highly innovative learning and development company is using the power of mobile and computer learning applications to enable access to knowledge in the palm of their hands.

Natalie and Kim Ellis - The startup story of The Joinery who are part of a new design wave in Slow Fashion

April 20, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Natalie & Kim Ellis, founders of The Joinery — **Natalie & Kim Ellis**, founders of The Joinery

Around the world, there is a growing awareness about the need for a more ethically mindful and less environmentally impactful approach to be taken by the fashion industry. Two South African fashionpreneurs are passionately committed to a new Slow Fashion movement which combines a passion for design with a more environmental friendly approach and footprint, and a strong social conscience.

Ugochi Ugbomeh - The startup story of a Nigerian techpreneur changing the face of public mobility in her country

March 29, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ugochi Ugbomeh, co-founder of Tranzit, Nigeria — **Ugochi Ugbomeh**, co-founder of **Tranzit**, Nigeria

Ugochi Ugbomeh is a woman who thinks big and harnesses of the power of technology to make a difference. Her entrepreneurial vision is for her company to become a curator of truly world-class transportation, location based and mobility services in Africa, effectively moving people and things from one destination to another.

Eunice Cofie - The startup story of a Ghanaian beauty brand-builder for people of colour

March 28, 2015 Melanie Hawken

In the highly specialist and competitive world of the health and beauty industry, there is one woman who is successfully combining traditional African medicine with modern science to create world-class products for people of colour. Eunice Cofie is a woman entrepreneur harnessing her passion for science to make a difference to people’s lives and, at the same, build a new global health and beauty powerhouse.

Lisa Ackroyd - The startup story of a South African hand-crafted leather accessory brand builder

March 18, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Lisa Ackroyd, founder of Colony, South Africa — **Lisa Ackroyd**, founder of Colony, South Africa

There is something wonderfully evocative about wandering through Lisa Ackroyd’s incredible Johannesburg-based Colony store and studio, and seeing at first-hand the most beautiful and meticulously hand-crafted leather accessories being made. The sights, sounds and smells of leather being hand-worked by Lisa and her dedicated team of craftspeople, all of whom have been trained by her, are truly memorable.

Sarien Lategan - The startup story of an adventurous South African turning a passion for travel and navigation into a thriving business

March 15, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Sarien Lategan, founder of Travelling Tortoise — **Sarien Lategan**, founder of Travelling Tortoise

They say the ethos of a business can often be found in its name, and that can certainly be said of South African entrepreneur, Sarien Lategan’s company, Travelling Tortoise. It conjures up images of leisurely and languorous journeys to interesting destinations at a pace which allows for the discovery of new and wonderful things. Sarien’s love of Africa and a passion for encouraging more people from around the world to discover the continent’s unique beauty, is at the heart of her business.

Ommo Clark - The startup story of a Nigerian techpreneur on a mission to create truly indigenous software and locally developed apps

March 14, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ommo Clark, founder of iBez, Nigeria — **Ommo Clark**, founder of iBez, Nigeria

If there is one thing that women in tech love to do, it is to shake up the industry and to genuinely create things that are both entrepreneurial and innovative. Nigerian techpreneur, Ommo Clark, is one such industry game-changer, building a software house, iBez, that creates not only proprietary software products that help to solve local challenges, but also develops and showcases local tech talent.

Always Me by Anne Li - The startup story of a company bringing the best of contemporary African design to baby and maternity products

March 13, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Nkemdilim Begho, Ashim Egunjobi & Ijeome Nwoke, founders of 'Always Me by Anne Li', Nigeria — **Nkemdilim Begho, Ashim Egunjobi & Ijeome Nwoke**, founders of 'Always Me by Anne Li', Nigeria

Seeing the truly adorable and uniquely African baby and maternity products created by multi-talented Nigerian serial entrepreneurs, Nkemdilim Begho, Ashim Egunjob and Ijeome Nwoke, for their new company brand, Always Me by Anne Li, definitely brings out those ‘Aaah’ moments in life. The exquisitely handmade and beautifully designed products are absolute must-haves for any design conscious parent!

FEAT. sock company - The startup story of two South African sock-loving entrepreneurs who turned their design passion into a business

March 12, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Alison Stewart and Chelsey Wilson, founders of FEAT. sock co, Cape Town — **Alison Stewart and Chelsey Wilson**, founders of FEAT. sock co, Cape Town

If you have ever spent time looking at people’s sock wearing habits, for the most part, they are boring and conventional. However, for two highly creative young South African designers and entrepreneurs, Alison Stewart and Chelsey Wilson, brightening up people’s daily footwear with beautiful, lovingly made, and ultimately fun socks, is a real passion and they have dedicated their business to making customers’ sock dreams come true!

Ijeoma Ndekwu - The startup story of a Nigerian PR entrepreneur who was born to be in business

March 10, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ijeoma Ndekwu, founder of Redrick PR, Nigeria — **Ijeoma Ndekwu**, founder of Redrick PR, Nigeria

For Nigerian PR company founder, Ijeoma Ndekwu, becoming an entrepreneur was in her genes. From an early age, she took her inspiration from her successful entrepreneurial father who managed to achieve the freedom of work/life balance in his business, and showed her an alternative and entrepreneurial career path of her own was possible.

Dr Christel Coetzee - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur leading the market in world-class animal nutrition

March 7, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Dr. Christel Coetzee, founder and technical director, ADVIT Animal Nutrition, South Africa — **Dr. Christel Coetzee**, founder and technical director, ADVIT Animal Nutrition, South Africa

When it comes to understanding animal nutrition needs, South African entrepreneur, Dr Christel Coetzee, and her specialist team at ADVIT Animal Nutrition, are an encyclopaedia of knowledge. Each day, the company’s leading experts and world-class facilities, produce a wide range of specialist animal feeds for all sorts of animals, from domestic pets and horses, through to food-producing farm animals such as pigs, poultry, cattle and sheep.

Vanhu Vamwe - The startup story of a unique accessory designer whose African heritage is woven into the very fabric of her handbags

March 5, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri, founder Vanhu Vamwe — **Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri**, founder Vanhu Vamwe

Fashion journalist turned highly successful global accessory designer, Pam Samasuwo-Nyawiri, understands the power of story-telling in African culture. She is drawing on that inspiration to create highly sculptural, extraordinarily beautiful handbags that are deeply rooted in her African heritage, yet have a fresh, contemporary look. These are unique accessories to treasure.

InstaHealth - The startup story of a health-tech company providing vital access to health information at the swipe of a smartphone screen

March 3, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Brenda Katwesigye, co-founder InstaHealth, Uganda — **Brenda Katwesigye,** co-founder InstaHealth, Uganda

Brenda Katwesigye is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for making a difference in Uganda’s health sector by harnessing her considerable telecommunications skills. Her company, InstaHealth, has developed a new mobile app which instantly connects users to health centres, medical specialists and ambulance services, using simple technology that ordinary people in Uganda can use. Together with her co-Founder, Elizabeth Kasujja, these are two African woman entrepreneurs finding innovative solutions to everyday challenges by using the power of technology.

ANZA - The startup story of a Tanzanian magazine publisher passionately showcasing East African architecture

February 27, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Comfort Badaru, Comfort Mosha, Anitah Hakika, founders of ANZA Magazine, Tanzania — **Comfort Badaru, Comfort Mosha, Anitah Hakika**, founders of ANZA Magazine, Tanzania

A passion for architecture and a love of East African cityscapes led three young women, all highly creative and ambitious architectural students, to come together with a fourth male colleague to create an online platform and magazine dedicated to showcasing East African architecture and cityscapes. ANZA Magazine is a beautiful and highly aesthetic publication and online platform and forms the backbone of their entrepreneurial venture together.

DUBARUBA - The startup story of two women taking the best of African design to Europe

February 26, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Adiam Emnay & Anne-Sophie Wass, founders of DUBARUBA — **Adiam Emnay & Anne-Sophie Wass**, founders of DUBARUBA

The concept behind Dubaruba is a wonderful one, showcasing the work of some of Africa’s most talented designers and brands to a discerning European marketplace and who are often not widely known outside their own countries. Founded by two passionate and dedicated women entrepreneurs, Aidam Emnay, originally from Eritrea, and her business partner, Anne-Sophie Wass, Dubaruba celebrates the finest in contemporary African design and products.

DEF.I.NI.TION Africa - The startup story of three talented fashion entrepreneurs redefining the value of 'African'

February 25, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Nahida and Nadia Bhegani & Olga Mugyenyi, founders of DEF.I.NI.TION Africa, Uganda — Nahida and Nadia Bhegani & Olga Mugyenyi, founders of DEF.I.NI.TION Africa, Uganda

Meet Ugandan sisters, Nahida and Nadia Bhegani who together with their childhood friend, Olga Mugyenyi are the founders of fashion sensation, DEF.I.NI.TION Africa. Their youthful energy promises an alternative approach to fashion, where everyday Ugandan life inspires each of their new designs. Their aim: to have products that are 100% African made, that redefine the market place, and importantly redefine the perception of 'African' fashion.

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