You must keep on trying....
"Try, try and try again. Once you’ve picked something that you’ve isolated as your passion, it must be all-encompassing. You have to stick to it. You will be met with challenges, good and bad, but the thing is to stay the course."
- Jenna Clifford is a world-renowned jewellery designer, known for her unique designs and superlative craftsmanship. Established in 1992, her company has steadily grown its clientele and improved its profile to institute itself as a powerful force in the jewellery industry. Her bold and dramatic designs are sought after by some of the most recognised business icons and celebrities from around the world. Today, Jenna Clifford Designs employs around 70 people, including some of the finest jewellery artisans and craftsmen in South Africa.
Read more"Empower, celebrate, and support women in business and build a strong network for change worldwide. By empowering a woman you're supporting her, her family and her community. Working as a team, we can make this world a better place for women every where!"
- Sue Liang is the founder of Asulia Foods. With Asulia, she combines her love of vegetables and food with her commitment to helping girls around the world. When she’s not creating new recipes, you can find her on her yoga mat or putting hot sauce on almost everything she eats! She lives in Boston, USA.
Read moreThere are certain people you come across in life that are truly inspirational on a number of levels, but medical doctor, pilot and healthcare entrepreneur, Ola Orekunrin is certainly one of those.
Read moreCheck your motives are right before you start your entrepreneurial journey....
“A lot of people’s motive of coming to fashion business is not clear. If you are passionate about the industry and you feel you have something to offer or to showcase, no matter how challenging it is, you will stick to it. A whole lot of them come around because of the glamour forgetting that it is a business."
- Deola Sagoe, founder of Deola is the leading lady of African haute couture fashion from Ondo State in Nigeria. Deola has been at the cutting edge of high fashion since 1989 and became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week, back in 2004. Her globally appealing style has earned her an enviable clientèle that ranges from Africa's first ladies, to society girls like Lydia Hearst, top model Alek Wek, and famous personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith.
Read moreSource: Diamond Woman's Nigerian Women of Vision | Published on November 30, 2014
This video features Bella Naija's founder Uche Pedro who has recently been named as one of the ’30 Most Promising Young Entrepreneurs In Africa in 2014′ by Forbes. She is the Managing Director of BellaNaija and Creative Director of BellaNaija.com, an online company that develops and manages exciting online media content aimed at Pan-African and Nigerian audiences.
Read more"I believe that if you are good at what you do, good things will find you. Have integrity and make sure that the quality of your work speaks for itself. Find your passion and do what you love. Always remain focused and do not be distracted by the noise. Spirituality is also very important to my success – my spirituality is what keeps me going and grounded."
- Ayomide Condotti is founder of Africholidays Travel in Nigeria. This former banker and investment manager is a lady whose determination, hard-work and passion for the travel industry sets her apart from her competitors. Africholidays Travel works closely with its clients to tailor holiday packages that are not just about destinations, but rather provides clients with holiday experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.
Read moreSource: AllAfrica.com | by Tsadenna Gebru | December 7, 2014
When Bethelhem Tilahun, co-founder of global brand soleRebels, spoke at a recent entrepreneurship conference she highlighted the challenges entrepreneurs face when protecting their intellectual property in Africa.
Read the article here.
Read moreIt's up to you to ask your employees questions about what areas they think need improving in order to make their jobs easier and help your company to keep growing....
“Leadership is asking a lot of questions. I've learned that between customers, employees and all our stakeholders, my number one job is asking [my team] a lot of questions so I can serve them. They are on the front lines dealing with customers or wearing our products and while I am steering the ship, they are the engine and the propellers. I have to be responsive to what they need and often people are too busy or bogged down to even articulate what they need.”
- Monif Clarke is an American entrepreneur who is founder and CEO of Monif C. Plus Sizes a business she conceived in 2005 out of sheer frustration with the lack of choices in the plus size fashion market. She has gone on to fantastic success and has been awarded “Best Plus Size Fashion Designer” by Full Figure Fashion Week, “Best Plus Size Clothing Store” by City Search, “Best Store For Plus Size Evening Wear” by Time Out New York and was featured in the October issue of Essence Magazine’s “Leaders Of The New School”. Her signature Monif C. collection is quintessentially the wardrobe for the young, contemporary, sexy plus size woman and she is the designer of choice for curvy celebrities like Jill Scott.
Read moreThis inspirational woman entrepreneur from Uganda shows the power of grit and determination to succeed in business, despite the many hurdles encountered, to build a highly respected, multi-million dollar drinks and foodstuff empire in Africa.
Read moreSource: This Day Live | December 7, 2014
The Business Side of Fashion (BSoF) forum in Nigeria brings together successful fashion designers every year to serve as an inspiration to the upcoming ones. This year's Forum featured Deola Sagoe who shared with the participants some of her hard earned business knowledge of the industry.
Read the article here.
Read moreVideo published: April 11, 2014
Lorna Rutto is the founder of EcoPost in Kenya and an inspiring and passionate eco-preneur who has garnered numerous international awards for her social entrepreneurship business. In this video she discusses her passion for conservation and what inspired her to launch her venture.
Read more"To empower the women of South Africa has always been a very important passion for me. In my company I have often seen women grow from shy and uneducated, into confident individuals that take responsibility of their own lives and jobs. These women are often the main breadwinners of their immediate and extended families."
- Nelia Annandale is founder of Keedo Kids a company she launched in 1993 to manufacture designer children’s clothing in a socially responsible and ethical manner. Nelia blends imagination, comfort and style with vibrant colour and exceptional quality, and the brand has grown to be one of the leading children’s clothing manufacturers in South Africa and now exports to 16 countries across the globe. It took a life-threatening skiing accident for South African born Nelia Annandale to overcome her fear of starting a business. Although she had a happy life and was set in a good routine with her husband and two year old twins, the near fatal accident forced her to take stock of her life - Keedo Kids emerged from that new focus.
Read moreYou need to raise your game when expanding into international markets...
“...when you start competing internationally on a global playing field, you need to make a step-change. Customers are more discerning, particularly in the luxury goods sector. For us, getting export ready was largely about getting the quality spot-on.”
- Janet Rhys is co-founder and managing partner of Charlotte Rhys, a South African company started in 1999 that produces a sophisticated brand of luxurious bath, body and lifestyle products. The Charlotte Rhys brand has expanded from a single product 14 years back to over 100 luxury products, comparable to, or better than, the best international luxury brands. Today, Janet's company supplies leading hotels across the world and is firmly entrenched as a premier luxury brand.
Read more"Female entrepreneurs are critical to building a stronger economy and a healthier global society. They will spend more of the money they've earned on their families and education, and they are a force for good in society, whether it is in the U.S. or around the world."
- Penny Pritzker has been serving in Washington as the United States Secretary of Commerce since 2013. She is, however, probably best known as one of America's leading women entrepreneurs, a Chicago billionaire who's founded five companies that have created thousands of jobs. These include PSP Capital Partners and Pritzker Realty Group. She is also heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune.
Read moreSource: The Guardian Nigeria | December 3, 2014
Adenike Ogunlesi, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ruff and Rumbles Clothing in Nigeria has partnered the NECA and ITF to use her company as a platform for training jobless youths seeking to be self-employed. Adinike says that the project is part of her company’s corporate social responsibility in reducing the level of unemployment in the country.
Read moreWecyclers, founded by Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, has won the 2014 Sustainia Award, chaired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, for a solution that enables low-income communities to make money from waste piling up in their streets. By deploying a fleet of cargo bicycles to collect and recycle unmanaged waste in Nigeria’s capital Lagos, Wecyclers lets families exchange garbage for consumer goods via an SMS-based point system.
Read moreSource: Capital FM Kenya | December 2, 2014
House of Tara International, a Nigerian beauty and cosmetics brand founded by Tara Fela-Durotoye launched its products in the Kenyan market as part of its continental expansion strategy. House of Tara has developed makeup products with international standards that are tailor made for the African woman by an African woman.
Read moreSource: Financial Times | October 19, 2014
The fledgling business in Parkhurst, one of Johannesburg’s affluent northern suburbs, is the brainchild of Martin-Leke, who forged ahead with the project in spite of initial scepticism among her friends and peers. “I did my research, but no one believed in it,” she says, sipping a new blend she is testing at the elegant townhouse that has been transformed into a chic store....
Read moreMore than ten years ago, House of Tara founder Tara Fela-Durotoye, sparked a revolution that reverberated across Nigeria, creating a powerful corporate brand, a range of interesting makeup and skincare lines aimed at women of colour, and setting up Nigeria’s first make-up school.
Read moreThis remarkable award-winning Rwandan designer made the move from career urban planner to African-inspired jewellery and accessory creator and retailer.
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