Source: Nedbank SimplyBiz | Published on Jun 18, 2014
Jenna Clifford is interviewed on SimplyBiz and talks about her tough upbringing and how this prepared her well for a path in entrepreneurship.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Njeri Rionge: Starting up in business is like learning to ride a bike
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.
Read moreVideo: Susan Mashibe Africa's Women Aviation Pioneer
Source: rainmakerstelevision | Published on June 10, 2014
Susan Mashibe is the first Tanzanian FAA certified pilot and airplane mechanic. She returned to her home country to start an aviation business. Hear the difficulties she encountered.
Read moreVideo: THE INTERVIEW - Tara Fela-Durotoye, Founder & CEO, House of Tara International
Source: FRANCE 24 English | Publication date: 06/09/2014
Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian lawyer and beauty entrepreneur. She founded House of Tara International, Nigeria’s leading beauty and cosmetics company, and was named one of Forbe's '20 Young Power African Women'. Here she talks about her company and journey as an entrepreneur.
Read moreVideo: Dr. Jennifer Riria - a biography
Dr. Jennifer Riria is a PHD holder and is distinguished as a microfinance banker and practitioner, researcher, and gender specialist. This video tells her story.
Read moreJennifer Riria: The entrepreneur who empowered Kenyan women
Dr. Jennifer Riria, group chief executive Kenya Women Holding
Source: Financial Times UK | by Liz Bolshaw | 5 June 2014
Jennifer Riria is an entrepreneur with a mission. Her career has been focused on transforming the lives of women – and with them, their families – in her native Kenya. Today, she is group chief executive of Kenya Women Holding, a microfinance, banking and insurance group that works with 900,000 women, employs 2,800 people and since inception has disbursed $1.3bn of loans, each one averaging less than $600.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Anne Githuku-Shongwe: Surround yourself with people you can trust
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.
Read moreQuote of the Day
“Entrepreneurs in the Sub-Saharan nations have among the highest entrepreneurship rates in the world, with women participating at equal or nearly equal rates in most of the countries we studied in this region,”...“This shows an incredible ability for people here to create their own jobs, and in many cases, jobs for others. As a result, entrepreneurship in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute substantially toward providing income for families and lifting communities out of poverty.”
- Donna Kelley is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Babson College in the United States. She is a board member of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Association (GERA), the oversight board of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) project and leader of the GEM U.S. team. She co-authored the 2012 African Entrepreneurship - Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Report.
Read moreQuote of the Day
"The Internet is a great flattener. It puts startups next to giants and often sees the former becoming the latter very quickly."
- Alison Jacobson is Co-founder and CEO of Firestring, a South African technology company leveraging social architecture to revolutionise knowledge management. The company delivers enterprise search and collaboration technologies so that knowledge workers can find each other’s content and share information easily, like users do on the consumer Web using Google and Facebook.
Read moreVideo: Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola tells how "one man's waste is another man's treasure"
Source: NdaniTV | Published on June 2, 2014
Wecyclers founder and CEO, Bilikiss Adebiyi Abiola shows us how "one man's waste is another man's treasure" in this edition of Young CEO. Watch to find out how she used a simple business model to convert over 2,000 tones of waste into over N1 million naira worth of prizes and incentives, and to create numerous jobs within the community.
Read moreTabitha Karanja's 'David & Goliath' tale
Source: Good Governance Africa, by Omondi Oloo, June 01, 2014
The soft-spoken Ms Karanja, 49, is the founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries, Kenya's first locally owned beer manufacturer. Despite her calm demeanour, Ms Karanja is unrelenting in her quest to expand Keroche's share of Kenya's lucrative liquor trade beyond its current 5%. Her target is to command a 30% share within a decade, she says.
Ms Karanja's story is a classic "David and Goliath" tale...
Read moreVideo: A conversation with Cherie Blair: Empowering women, driving growth
In this video interview conducted at the 2014 Milken Institute Global Conference, Cherie Blair discusses her Foundation's three-pronged approach of enterprise development, mentorship and mobile technology, strengthening women's voices and empowering them to contribute to their nations' economies.
Read moreQuote of the Day
"Self-doubt never disappears. Over time, you just get better at dealing with it. It will greet you every time you fall out of your comfort zone and whenever you strive to do something great. But know that it’s not something you have to fear or resent. Your doubts are only thoughts, not your future."
- Melissa Ng [Eng] is the co-founder of PianoVerse, a place to play, learn, and love music in New York. She is also the creator of inspirational blog PlayLearnLoveLife.com and motivational doodle-blog Lumecluster.com, where she helps entrepreneurs and purpose-seekers believe in their potential.
Read moreQuote of the Day
"You can be a success and have a small business that operates off cash flow. As a matter of fact, most businessses in the world fit into that category, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it. You can operate a profitable hot dog stand and, guess what? You are an entrepreneur and don’t let anyone take that from you."
- Cyan Banister is the American founder and Editor-in-Chief of Zivity, a platform for models and photographers. She is a prolific angel investor along with her husband Scott Banister who is best known as a co-founder of IronPort and an early advisor and board member at PayPal.
Read moreVideo: Jacqueline Novogratz on creating an ecosystem that is based on the value of dignity for a better future
“We have to create an ecosystem that is based on the value of dignity in order to take the world into a better future."
- Jacqueline Novogratz is a philanthropist and founder and CEO of Acumen Fund
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Monica Musonda: Know exactly what you want to do
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.
Read moreVideo: Monica Musonda speaks to young entrepreneurs in Zambia
Monica Musonda speaks to young entrepreneurs at BongoHive.
BongoHive Insaka held on the 18th of February 2014 at BongoHive, where it hosted lawyer turned entrepreneur, Monica Musonda who is CEO & Founder of Java Foods, a Zambian based food processing company established to provide affordable nutrition to the Southern African market.
Read moreVideo: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu featured on ENCA
Source: ENCA
Ethiopian entrepreneur, Bethlehem Alemu, has become one of Africa's most renowned shoe designers, with her SoleRebel brand of shoes made from recycled car tyres. Here she is featured on the South African news channel ENCA.
Read moreVideo: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu featured on BBC's 'The Ideas Exchange'
Source: BBC The Ideas Exchange
The Ideas Exchange is a series from the BBC exploring the minds shaping global business. It pairs up business leaders from around the world to discuss today's business landscape and their secrets to success. In this edition, Ethiopian entrepreneur Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu the founder and managing director of SoleRebels, which makes shoes out of recycled materials meets up with Jorgen Vig Knudstorp the CEO of Danish toymaker and major international brand, Lego. They discuss today's business landscape and their secrets to success.
Read moreVideo: Sibongile Sambo introduces her aviation business
Sibongile Sambo the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SRS Aviation Ltd., the first 100 percent black female-owned aviation services company in South Africa, launched in 2004 introduces the integrated range private aviation services her company offers to South Africans and international clients including VIP Charter, tourist charter and helicopter services, to destinations around the world.
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