the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Bilikiss Kola-Abiola, co-founder of WeCyclers (Nigeria)
Interview on 23 July 2015 by Melanie Hawken, founder & editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa
Listen to our fascinating chat with Bilikiss about ecopreneurship in Africa and whether it is possible for a new generation of women entrepreneurs to operate financially viable businesses whilst remaining true to their core social and environmental values.
Read more
Lynette Hundermark, co-founder & chief product officer, Useful & Beautiful (South Africa)
The mobile technology space is probably one of the most rapidly changing and dynamic sectors, and for businesses and organisations that can often prove a challenge, finding the best solutions to meet their needs. Lynette Hundermark’s company, Useful and Beautiful (U&B), is looking to breakthrough the clutter and find the right mobile technology solutions and develop the right strategies to fit each client’s specific objectives, and add real value to the business.
Read more
Source: All Africa | 22 July 2015 | By Richard Mugarura
Janet Nkubana is co-founder of Gahaya links, a company that has empowered and supported Rwandan women through job creation. Nkubana's company is committed to restoring hope and dignity of women who were affected by the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. From a humble beginning under a tree in the remote village of Byimana in the Southern Province, Gahaya Links started organizing women in associations that were later transformed into cooperatives.
Read more
The deadline is nearing for applications for the third edition of The Ampion Venture Bus Africa initiative which will take over 200 Ampioneers on 5 buses in 2015. LoA had the opportunity to chat to Ampion Founder and MD, Fabian-Carlos Guhl and he gave a greater insight into how women entrepreneurs in Africa could benefit from this amazing initiative. Listen to the interview here, and apply now!
Read more
Tabitha Karanja, founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries (Kenya)
Tabitha Karanja does not boast about being a woman in an industry dominated by men; rather, she asserts that an entrepreneur is defined by his or her innovation. “When I began Keroche Breweries in 1997, I did not believe in copying other brands that were in existence. Instead, I carried out research to understand the gap in the market,” she says. Her findings, a little savings and acres of land jointly owned with her husband formed the foundation for a thriving alcoholic beverages business worth billions today.
Read more
Tsungie Ncube pitches her new app at the Muzinda startup hub in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s first entrepreneurship and innovation Hub, Muzinda, provided the opportunity and the platform for aspirant techpreneurs and app developers in the country to come together on 17-18 July for a StartUp Weekend aimed at developing and pitching new app ideas for potential future funding and commercialisation. The aim, to identify viable new tech ideas that investors might look to provide funding to in order to achieve commercialisation in the future. One young aspirant woman techpreneur, Tsungie Ncube, was one of the winners at the event.
Read more
Suzie Wokabi, founder of Suzie Beauty Ltd. (Kenya)
The growing market and need in Africa for an authentic, affordable and high quality make-up brand created specifically for African women, inspired Kenyan entrepreneur, Suzie Wokabi, to launch a new trailblazing cosmetics brand, Suzie Beauty Ltd. The result is a world-class product range that understands the needs of today’s African women who want bespoke make-up products that work perfectly on African women’s skin-tones and creates a stunningly beautiful look.
Read more
Zuziwe Mkhwanazi and Sibabalwe Sesmani, co-founders of Unorthodox PR & Media Group (South Africa)
The all-woman entrepreneurial team behind South African niche PR company, Unorthodox, live up to their name as they take a unique approach to the corporate public relations, communications and partnerships they undertake. The dynamic duo of Sibabalwe Sesmani and Zuziwe Mkhwanazi work exclusively with corporates and differentiate themselves in the marketplace by dealing with "firsts" in their industry. They strive to create their own genre of public relations, one that specializes in corporates and thought leaders of industries.
Read more
Melanie Hawken, Lerato Kadiaka and Matilda Sekoakoa at the launch of the Help A Child Grow Foundation Book Drive in Johannesburg on July 11th, 2015
The challenge of inspiring young, underprivileged and orphaned children in South Africa to learn to read and develop a love of books and learning, is one that social edupreneurs Matilda Sekoakoa and Lerato Kadiaka, have embraced. Their inspirational Help A Child Grow Foundation is positively and tangibly changing the lives of these children each day by collecting books and building libraries for schools in need.
Read more
Tapiwa Matsinde, author of 'Contemporary Design Africa'
In her beautifully presented and insightfully written new book, Contemporary Design Africa, British/Zimbabwean designer, writer and blogger, Tapiwa Matsinde, showcases the work of some of the most creative, inspirational contemporary designers, artisans and cooperatives from across the African continent. Many of the talented women who are leading the way in developing Africa’s contemporary design industries take centre stage.
Read more
Daniela Barajas and Priscilla Makundi, co-founders of Sote Tunaweza (Tanzania)
The challenge of addressing poverty and empowering women in emerging markets through entrepreneurship empowerment, is one that the Sote Tunaweza Initiative has risen to. Co-founders Daniela Barajas and Priscilla Makundi, together with their inspirational team, are on a mission to foster a global network of strong female leaders who will have the skills, confidence, and creativity to address some of the most pressing issues in their communities.
Read more
Nozuko Teto, opera singer and founder of Adesso Enterprises (South Africa)
In the eyes of the world, Africa and music have long been synonymous, and indeed, hugely respected and revered. Today, one South African woman is proving that the most wonderful musical talent, underpinned by an entrepreneurial spirit, is a powerful combination in this tradition. Gifted Opera singer, Nozuko Teto, is showing the world’s connoisseurs that she is a musical and entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with, and a true inspiration to the generation of young women who are following in her footsteps.
Read more
Team Charis from Nigeria: Praise David-Oku, Sonam Kumar, Nmesoma Ogbonna, and Grace Akpoiroro
Four brilliant young high-school girls: Praise David-Oku, Sonam Kumar, Nmesoma Ogbonna, and Grace Akpoiroro, representing Team Charis from Nigeria, have been selected as winners of the 2015 Technovation Challenge held in San Francisco. These talented girls developed a mobile app to tackle the waste disposal challenge in Nigeria. Their app, called, ‘Discardious’, was pitched against 400 other apps that were submitted to this year's Technovation Challenge from 28 countries. The girls managed to triumph over the competition and their innovation won them the High School section.
Read more
Tetsi & Lynn Bugaari and Nuba Elamin, founders of Buqisi-Ruux (Kenya)
Beautiful shoes and women have long been synonymous with one another. In the case of the three talented women entrepreneurs behind the wonderfully creative Kenyan shoe design brand, Buqisi-Ruux, their design inspiration comes directly from the personal stories of the women around them. Nuba Elamin, Lynn Bugaari and Tetsi Bugaari are taking the art of African storytelling to new heights, creating wearable art for the feet, and individual shoe designs that are named after the African women whose stories inspire them. Genuine inspiration for the soul or make that sole!
Read more
Following on from last year’s hugely successful event, which attracted hordes of local foodies and fashionistas, there is already much talk and anticipation around the forthcoming 2015 Sanlam Handmade Contemporary Fair, which is returning to Johannesburg, South Africa, from 9 to 11 October 2015.
Read more
One Roof Co-working spaces for women entrepreneurs, Venice Beach, CA, United States
There is a real global buzz about co-working spaces providing a great launchpad for young entrepreneurs who want to hit the ground running, stay lean and fast, and keep operational costs to a minimum. So, will the creation of dynamic new women co-working spaces in Africa help to drive a new and empowering era for women entrepreneurs on the continent? This month, Lionesses of Africa speaks to two young pioneering women entrepreneurs from the US and Australia who are globally rolling out these women co-working spaces, and who are looking at Africa as a possible next destination.
Read more
Mellisa Mazinga, founder of zedlabel (Zimbabwe)
The African fashion industry is definitely on the move, and in Zimbabwe one woman fashion retail-preneur is realising her vision to put the country’s fashion designers on the map, and create an innovative online retail fashion outlet to showcase their work. Mellisa Mazingi and her company zedlabel, is an African fashion-preneur with a big vision and big ideas - a name to watch on the continent.
Read more
Faraja Nyalandu, founder Shule Direct (Tanzania)
Women need to believe in themselves....
- Faraja Nyalandu is an inspirational edupreneur and the founder of Shule Direct in Tanzania. Her company creates local and accessible digital educational content for Secondary School students designed around the Tanzanian National Curriculum. She has built an adaptable platform to make this content available on a range of devices from the most basic mobiles to full-featured desktop learning portals.
Read more
July is Focus on Africa’s Women Beauty and Wellness Entrepreneurs Month.
This month at Lionesses of Africa we are turning our attention to the women who are changing the face of the beauty and wellness industry in Africa, and creating fabulous new products and brands in the process.
Read more
Bilikiss Adebiyi, founder and CEO of WeCyclers
- Bilikiss Adebiyi is a Nigerian entrepreneur and innovator, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow and WeCyclers were a Sustainia100 Company Award winner in 2014.
Read more