the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Alison Stewart, co-founder of FEAT. sock, South Africa
My top advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs....
- Alison Stewart is co-founder of FEAT. sock a startup building a new designer sock brand with a global appeal. Her aim: to brighten up people’s daily footwear with beautiful, lovingly made, and ultimately fun socks. She is passionate about supporting local industry, so all her company's socks are proudly made in Cape Town, South Africa.
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Erika van der Merwe, CEO of Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association
- Erika van der Merwe is chief executive officer of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, an organisation that promotes the venture capital and private equity profession across Southern Africa. Erika’s career has extended from economic analysis within the asset management industry to financial journalism. Her most recent position has been that of anchor at CNBC Africa’s Johannesburg bureau.
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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.
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Guest Blog: by Lireko Dorothy Ncube
In business, as in life, I frequently hear the saying: “There is light at the end of the tunnel”. However, we need to remind ourselves that even though sometimes it is quite difficult to walk through the tunnel, particularly in the face of challenges or hurdles (and this particularly applies in the entrepreneurial space), we just need to give ourselves a little push and keep walking.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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!
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Cape Town, March 2015: Little Bo Babies launches its 'When I Grow Up…' doll, an initiative that will help young girls from poor and underprivileged areas have a vision for their future, and a tangible reminder of that vision as they grow up.
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Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of Endeavor, author of 'Crazy Is a Compliment'
Linda Rottenberg, the co-founder and CEO of Endeavour, in her new book, Crazy Is A Compliment: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags, (we love this book title!) encourages everyone to start thinking and acting like an entrepreneur. In today’s highly competitive and fast-paced world, she reminds us all of the need to be nimble, adaptive, daring—and maybe even a little crazy—or risk being left behind.
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For many aspirant women entrepreneurs in Africa who have a particular specialist expertise or depth of experience in an industry sector, the key to getting going in business is having a great idea and finding a niche that you can slot into in order to achieve success. LoA guest blogger, Comfort Badaru, shares her personal thoughts on the importance of finding your niche.
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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.
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Entrepreneurs are literally changing the face of business in Africa and the way that things are done. No longer do you need millions to start a business. In fact, your basic requirements are business savvy, a laptop, and access to as much support as you can get. Add to this the right kind of assistance, combined with a positive mindset and the right amount of ambition, and you’re good to go.
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Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana)
- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technology Consulting. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has beenfeatured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.
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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.
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Chloe Townsend and Lizel Strydom, founders of Missibaba
Congratulations to Missibaba who took home the 'Maker to Market' award in recognition of excellence at the annual Southern Guild Design Foundation Awards ceremony that took place recently. Missibaba is a luxury accessory label established by leather devotee Chloe Townsend in 2005. Passionate about South Africa and supporting local industry, Chloe works alongside business partner Lizel Strydom from a light flooded studio in Woodstock, Cape Town.
Read moreAs part of LoA 'Women in Tech' month, we spoke to the inspirational techpreneur Nkemdilim Begho, founder of Futuresoft in Nigeria, and a passionate supporter of women's entrepreneurship and empowerment through technology in Africa.
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Clare Akamanzi, Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB)
- Clare Akamanzi is Chief Operating Officer of the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). The RDB is a government institution whose vision is to transform Rwanda into a dynamic global hub for business, investment, and innovation. Prior to RDB, Clare was Deputy Director-General of the Rwanda Investment and Export Promotion Agency (RIEPA), a position she held from 2006-2008. She was also Rwanda’s commercial diplomat in London and a trade negotiator in Geneva for the Government of Rwanda at the World Trade Organization. Clare is an international trade and investment lawyer.
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Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder of soleRebels & Republic of Leather, Ethiopia
As part of International Women's Day celebrations ILO News spoke to Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, a young Ethiopian entrepreneur who has created one of the world’s fastest growing footwear brands by betting on decent work.
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March 8 marks the celebration of International Women’s Day, a global observance day which started out in the early 1900s. This year, the theme of the day is "Make It Happen", a call to the world to help support the empowerment of women and to positively change women's lives.
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