the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Susan Mashibe, founder of Via Aviation, Tanzania
There are not too many young 4 year old girls in the world who have a dream of a career in aviation and go on to launch a unique and highly successful technical and logistics company to support private jets in Africa - but the inspirational Susan Mashibe is one of those few!
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- Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook. Her remarkable career has included stops at the World Bank, the U.S. Treasury, Google and Facebook, where she's been Chief Operating Officer since 2008. Sheryl Sandberg grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida, and studied economics at Harvard. Her position as one of Silicon Valley's most successful female executives has made her a lightning rod for both praise and criticism, especially after the publication of her 2013 book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead in 2013.
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A big LoA community congratulations to Swaady Martin-Leke, founder of Yswara the African luxury tea brand, who was recently nominated an Emerging Leader by the Aspen Institute France under the patronage of President François Hollande. Félicitations Swaady!
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Maira Koutsoudakis, founder of Life group of companies
Top business tip for women entrepreneurs....
- Maira Koutsoudakis is an internationally acclaimed interior architect and founder and CEO of the Life group of companies and Life Interiors, Architecture and Strategic Design. Maria’s garnered international acclaim for her firm’s multi-award winning work in the areas of luxury resort, boutique hotel, exclusive residential, restaurant projects and product design.
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Swaady Martin-Leke, founder of Yswara
Chetna Vijay Sinha, founder of Mann Deshi Foundation, India
- Chetna Vijay Sinha is founder of Mann Deshi Foundation of India and Mann Deshi Mahila Bank which is India's first rural cooperative bank she founded in 1997. Its client base and membership is 100 per cent composed of semi-literate or illiterate poor rural women with an average annual income of less than USD 1.5 per day. The number of direct beneficiaries stands at 209,000. Chetna was recognised by the Schwab Foundation as a Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014.
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Anne Githuku-Shongwe, founder & CEO of AFROES Transformational Games
Anne is literally a game-changer in every sense of the word, empowering young people in Africa to learn, engage, and challenge existing perceptions of the continent through mobile gaming.
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Jenna Clifford, founder of Jenna Clifford Designs, South Africa
You must keep on trying....
- 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.
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Sue Liang, founder of Asulia Foods
- 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.
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Dr. Ola Orekunrin, founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria
There 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.
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Deola Sagoe, founder of Deola
Check your motives are right before you start your entrepreneurial journey....
- 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.
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Ayomide Condotti, founder of Africholidays Travel, Nigeria
- 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.
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Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder of soleRebels, Ethiopia
Source: 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.
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Monif Clarke, founder of Monif C. Plus Sizes on 'Leadership for Entrepreneurs'
It'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....
- 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.
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Julian 'Mama Cheers' Omalla, founder of Delight Limited, Uganda
This 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.
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Deola Sagoe, founder of haute couture fashion house, Deola
Source: 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.
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Nelia Annandale, founder of Keedo Kids, South Africa
- 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.
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Janet Rhys, co-founder of Charlotte Rhys, South Africa
You need to raise your game when expanding into international markets...
- 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.
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