the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Guest Blog by Georgie Polkinghorne
Fashion Revolution is an International Day celebrating sustainable and ethical fashion in key cities around the world. Cape Town commemorated its own Fashion Revolution Day on Friday 24th April at the Bello Studio at the Old Biscuit Mill. Cape Town’s fashion community, from editors to designers, gathered to celebrate the country's best sustainable and locally produced fashion. LoA fcovered this exciting event....
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L-R: Kembambazi Sabiiti, Lindsay Handler and Barbara Ofwono
This month, Uganda is celebrating the achievements of three inspirational women, all recognised by the prestigious 2015 MTN Women in Business Awards. Barbara Ofwono, founder of Victorious Schools took home the much coveted overall award of MTN Women in Business SME CEO of the Year, applauded for her outstanding use of MTN Business’s overall service and value propositions to grow her business substantially.
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Miki Agrawal, author, serial entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker and tv personality
Do Cool Sh*t: Quit Your Day Job, Start Your Own Business, and Live Happily Ever After is less of a how-to book and rather more of a personal roller-coaster ride of a story on how one hip, trendy and highly ambitious entrepreneur did it for herself. It is unconventional in its approach, yet hugely inspirational, encouraging, funny and liberating for anyone reading it.
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Tamara Watkins, co-founder of shopDOKU.com
One of the key challenges often facing talented and ambitious African women fashion designers is how to access global markets and successfully position their brands to international buyers. Tamara Watkins and her business partner Akila Hunte have a solution - their passion for raising awareness of emerging design talent, particularly from the African continent, led the team to set up an online marketplace, shopDOKU.com, retailing the creations of emerging designers to buyers in North America and the United Kingdom.
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L-R: Katherine Lucey of Solar Sister, Christie Peacock of Sidai Africa, Sharanjeet Shan of Maths Centre
Thirty-one social entrepreneurs have been recognized by the Schwab Foundation as awardees of the 2015 Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Three of the four awardees for Africa are women who are each making an incredibly positive social impact on the continent. Meet them here....
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Amy Sinovich, founder of Resonate by amy
There is something truly wonderful about translating the power of storytelling into beautiful pieces of bespoke, wearable art that connect on a deeply personal level with the person commissioning it. Amy Sinovich is an incredibly talented South African jewellery designer that is one such storyteller par excellence. Every unique handcrafted piece she creates from precious metals and semi-precious stones tells its own story, inspired by nature, poetry and the life of the person for whom it is made.
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Sheila Mokgoadi, founder of Azura Luxury Handcrafts
Inspired by the unique, joyous nature of traditional African jewellery design, Sheila Mokgoadi’s luxury brand, Azura Luxury Handcrafts, has created a range of bold, chic and highly desirable pieces that appeals to the most sophisticated global buyers. Her dedication to ensuring the highest levels of craftsmanship, combined with a fiercely modern design aesthetic, are what make this African luxury jewellery brand so unique.
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The Bold Kampala World Tour continues at a pace, hot on the heels of the team's great success in London recently. This time, the Bold Kampala team is heading to Kigali in Rwanda to showcase some of the most fabulous fashion items in its latest pop-up store concept.
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Rapelang Rabana, founder & CEO of Rekindle Learning
A long-term interest in learning and education, combined with a belief that mobile and internet technology will be instrumental in solving a number of socio-economic challenges at scale, led successful techpreneur, Rapelang Rabana, to establish Rekindle Learning. This highly innovative learning and development company is using the power of mobile and computer learning applications to enable access to knowledge in the palm of their hands.
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Natalie & Kim Ellis, founders of The Joinery
Around the world, there is a growing awareness about the need for a more ethically mindful and less environmentally impactful approach to be taken by the fashion industry. Two South African fashionpreneurs are passionately committed to a new Slow Fashion movement which combines a passion for design with a more environmental friendly approach and footprint, and a strong social conscience.
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Source: Modern Ghana | by Raindolf Owusu | 20 April 2015
In the past few years there has been a flourishing number of self-organisation amongst African women in technology. Many focus on encouraging women entering the field as coders, IT managers and to establish enterprises that increase women's socio-economic well-being. Projects have also focused on improving self-reliance and livelihoods in rural areas.
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Guest Blog: by Lireko Dorothy Ncube
It is sometimes hard to stay motivated when the business environment is looking gloomy, compounded by the fact that the regional economy is having its share of ups and downs, ultimately driving most solopreneurs crazy.
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Members of Women in Tech Africa
Working in technology can, at times, be an isolating experience for women, especially in Africa. The impact of this can limit women’s professional growth in the sector. Women need mentors, role-models and a network in order to share their experiences, challenges and skills. 'Women in Tech Africa' are providing a solution by building a pan-African network for the continent's women in the tech sector.
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The Bold Kampala team have returned to the continent following a highly successful tour to London, UK. Whilst there, they launched their Bold Kampala Pop-Up store on Saturday 14 March at the highly trendy Milk Room at the Grace Bar in Great Windmill Street, right in the heart of the bustling West End.
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Every month at Lionesses of Africa, we shine a spotlight on a particular industry sector where Africa’s women entrepreneurs are making a real impact, through their businesses, their innovation, their products, services and craftsmanship, and their passion for what they do. This month (April), we are turning our attention to the truly inspirational African Women Fashionpreneurs.
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Fashion Revolution Day on the 24th April 2015, is an international day and opportunity to celebrate fashion as a positive influence, raise awareness of the fashion industry's most pressing issues, show that change is possible and celebrate those who are on a journey to create a more ethical and sustainable future for fashion.
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Miki Agrawal, serial social entrepreneur and author (USA)
Top advice for aspiring women entrepreneurs....
- Miki Agrawal was named one of Forbes 2013 “Millennials on a Mission”, and was the recipient of a 2013 Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award. She is a graduate of Cornell University in the US, and is the founder of acclaimed farm-to-table pizza restaurant, WILD; the founder of THINX, a sustainable underwear company for women; and a partner in Super Sprowtz, a children’s multi-media company that fosters healthy eating. She is the author of “Do Cool Sh*t”, a great book guiding aspirant entrepreneurs on how to quit their day jobs, start their own businesses and live happily ever after.
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Victoria Colligan, author, mother, founder and CEO of Ladies Who Launch
Founder/CEO of Women Who Launch, Victoria Colligan, uses as its starting point the notion that every woman is the entrepreneur of her own life. It recognises that no matter what the project, hobby, passion, start-up, business expansion, or career/life change of direction, women are always in the process of launching something.
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Dorcas Muthoni, founder & CEO of Open World, Kenya
As part of LoA’s continuing focus on 'Women in Tech', we took time out of the busy schedule of successful Kenyan techpreneur, Dorcas Muthoni, to chat about her own entrepreneurial journey and the building of her impressive company, Open World.
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Dr. Jennifer Riria, Group CEO of Kenya Women Holding
Women need to see that it can be done....
- Dr. Jennifer Riria is the Group CEO of Kenya Women Holding and one of Africa's leading women entrepreneurs who has always been on a mission to transform the lives of women and their families in her native Kenya. She is distinguished as a microfinance banker and practitioner, researcher and gender specialist. She has served in many leadership roles for which she has been recognized locally and internationally. In 2013 she was awarded the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the year, East Africa 2013, and subsequently, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014, at which point she was admitted to EY’s Global Hall of Fame.
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