"We are extremely entrepreneurial, mobile, and versatile and make things happen. Give a Nigerian half a chance and he will excel, no matter where and against what odds."
- Uche Pedro is founder of BellaNaija.com, a company that develops and delivers exciting online content aimed at Nigerian and Pan-African audiences. Uche’s savvy grasp of media trends has led to BellaNaija.com becoming the go-to lifestyle, entertainment and fashion portal in Africa. Her website has established a loyal following amongst the young, cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile set in Nigeria, with over 1 million unique visitors and 9 million page views each month.
Read moreYou must stand for something....
“If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for everything....What I write is instinctively positive....It irritates me that people criticize but don’t do anything."
- Uche Pedro is founder of BellaNaija.com, a company that develops and delivers exciting online content aimed at Nigerian and Pan-African audiences. Uche’s savvy grasp of media trends has led to BellaNaija.com becoming the go-to lifestyle, entertainment and fashion portal in Africa. Her website has established a loyal following amongst the young, cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile set in Nigeria, with over 1 million unique visitors and 9 million page views each month.
Read moreThis incredibly creative designer with a sculptural flair and an eye for the unusual has taken the global homeware market by storm with her distinctive designs and must-have tableware pieces.
Read moreSource: WisdomExchangeTV | Published on Aug 18, 2014
Wisdom Exchange TV and host Suzanne F Stevens interviews Angela Dick, founder and CEO of Transman, the largest privately owned, temporary employment service provider in South Africa. Angela discusses the early days of starting her company and her inspiring journey to becoming one of South Africa's leading women entrepreneurs.
Read moreSource: The Sun | August 17, 2014 ·
Nkemdilim Begho is the Managing Director of Future Software Resources Limited, an IT solutions provider focused on online solutions, e-learning and IT security. She is the daughter of foremost Nigerian IT policy maker, Chris Uwaje and early in her life, he helped her establish a footing by registering a company in her name without even knowing what she would become in future. Today, she has re-branded and transformed the company which now focuses on online solutions, e-learning and IT security. She’s a recipient of many awards including the Jim Ovia Prize for Software Excellence. Her charming personality and business prowess earned her a speaking opportunity at the prestigious Harvard Business School. In this interview with Sunday Sun, she said her goal is to be Africa’s leading IT solutions provider....
Read moreXtraordinary Women feature Margaret Hirsch as their Woman of the Month
"I was born in Zimbabwe to South African parents who went there to make their fortune. In 1961 my father was diagnosed with a brain tumour and we went back to South Africa and settled in Pietermaritzurg, where my Dad died later that year. I was placed in a foster home to finish Standard 5 while my mother found work in Durban"...
Read the full article here.
Read moreOn August 28 2012, Margaret Hirsch, the Chief Operations Officer for the mega appliance store, Hirsch’s Homestores, the company that she, and her husband Allan founded 33 years ago, won the Entrepreneurial Business Woman of the Year Award. She received her award from President Jacob Zuma at a glittering gala dinner held at the Sandton convention centre. This is the top award for women in business in South Africa.
Read the full article here.
Read moreThis inspirational Ethiopian woman entrepreneur founded the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world.
Read moreEmergingStars.com Success Stories features an article on Margaret Hirsch.
Read the full article here.
Read moreMargaret Hirsch co-founder and COO of Hirsch's Homestores shares some of the pearls of entrepreneur wisdom she has gained along her remarkable journey in business.
Read more“We had R300 (US$ 30) for a months rent, R300 for the electricity, and R300 for the outside sign. On our first day we earned 13 cents. In those days a loaf of bread cost 11c, so we had a loaf of bread for supper, and made sandwiches the next day."
- 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 seventeen branches and concept stores spread throughout South Africa.
Read more"I have absolutely no background. I come from the school of hard knocks. I learnt everything the hard way.”
- 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 seventeen branches and concept stores spread throughout South Africa.
Read morePhilanthropic social investment by the Ackerman family, both in terms of money and time, has benefited an enormous range of South African organizations and individuals. Philanthropy SA recognised their contribution with a special award.
Read the full article here.
Read morePublished on Dec 9, 2013
In a private moment in their home, Wendy and Raymond Ackerman reflect on their encounters with Nelson Mandela.
Source: Expresso Partners
Read more“Don’t introduce me as the chairman’s wife. I have had to work very hard. I want to be recognised as a person in my own right.”
- Wendy Ackerman is one of the founders and an Executive Director of Pick n Pay Stores. Together with husband Raymond Ackerman she helped build up one of South Africa’s pre-eminent FMCG retailers, consisting of over 450 stores including 121 supermarkets and 14 hypermarkets. Operations are in food, clothing, and general merchandise sectors as well as financial services. The company operates throughout South Africa, southern Africa and Australia and employs around 49,000 people. Today, much of Wendy's boundless energy is devoted to her family's philanthropic endeavours and her personal work for the underprivileged.
Read moreYou'll need to push yourself to get ahead....
“I don’t tolerate fools, I’m afraid, or laziness. I have never been lazy and I have always pushed myself. I don’t know where the stamina comes from”
- Wendy Ackerman is one of the founders and an Executive Director of Pick n Pay Stores. Together with husband Raymond Ackerman she helped build up one of South Africa’s pre-eminent FMCG retailers, consisting of over 450 stores including 121 supermarkets and 14 hypermarkets. Operations are in food, clothing, and general merchandise sectors as well as financial services. The company operates throughout South Africa, southern Africa and Australia and employs around 49,000 people. Today, much of Wendy's boundless energy is devoted to her family's philanthropic endeavours and her personal work for the underprivileged.
Read moreBehind the scenes with Wendy Ackerman as she participates in a photo shoot for the making of the Forbes Africa August 2013 edition cover.
Video published on July 30, 2013 Source: Forbes Africa
FORBES AFRICA August 2013: Behind the scenes with Wendy Ackerman and Rapelang Rabana. Two women, worlds apart, agree: business is not for dreamers, but for those with the guts to stick it out. Wendy Ackerman has made a fortune from supermarkets over the last half century; Rapelang Rabana is at the other end of her entrepreneurial career—in the dynamic world of technology and communications. They prove that when it comes to making your fortune there is more than one way to skin a cat.
Read more“My heart goes out to people who don’t share the kind of love that I receive from my family. I believe very strongly in giving to people who unfortunately aren’t able to receive the warmth and love that I receive. I do love helping people who live in difficult situations.”
- Wendy Ackerman is one of the founders and an Executive Director of Pick n Pay Stores. Together with husband Raymond Ackerman she helped build up one of South Africa’s pre-eminent FMCG retailers, consisting of over 450 stores including 121 supermarkets and 14 hypermarkets. Operations are in food, clothing, and general merchandise sectors as well as financial services. The company operates throughout South Africa, southern Africa and Australia and employs around 49,000 people. Today, much of Wendy's boundless energy is devoted to her family's philanthropic endeavours and her personal work for the underprivileged.
Read moreSource: The Independent UK | published December 9, 2009
Peter Bills interviews South Africa's doyen of the property business, Pam Golding, founder of Pam Golding Property Group.
Read the full article here.
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