Kofo Akinkugbe, founder of Secure ID Limited share her entrepreneurial journey at the 7th Annual Career Conference themed ''Continuous Improvement'' held in Lagos on 17 March 2015. She talks about the birth of her company SecureID Nigeria Ltd.
Read moreMary Miner and Kate Woska - The startup story of two women entrepreneurs with a passion for expanding access to capital for underserved women in Rwanda
Kate Woska and Mary Miner, co-founders of Atikus Investments Incorporated (Rwanda)
Co-founders Mary Miner and Kate Woska are first time entrepreneurs and the inspiration behind Atikus Investments Incorporated. They chose Rwanda as the perfect place to start their business because the country is serious about financial inclusion and developing at a rapid pace. Atikus develops meso-level interventions committed to democratizing opportunity and improving financial inclusion for un(der)served demographics, among which women, youth, and rural/agricultural workers are core groups.
Read moreThe best ways to give back this festive season
Haley Joel Osment stole our hearts in the beautiful movie drama Pay It Forward. Young Trevor McKinney (played by Osment) is assigned the task by his social studies teacher of coming up with an idea to make the world a better place. The actions put in motion by McKinney’s idea has a positive ripple effect on his immediate family and community – their lives improve by paying it forward.
Read moreQuote of the Day
Emma Kaye, founder and ceo of Bozza
"In my experience, women tend to create a collective around them and then it is ‘let’s go into battle together’. For me, it is this type of collaborative, collective thinking that is useful in this industry, an industry full of innovation."
- Emma Kaye is a serial techpreneur and most recently the founder and CEO of a startup venture called Bozza. Bozza is a plug & play solution for African musicians, poets & film makers to promote and sell their digital content. Emma was previously a founder of South African companies, Triggerfish Animation and Breakdesign.
Read morePatience Maame Mensah - The start up story of a Ghanaian entrepreneur on a mission to provide the best home care service delivery to busy, stressed people
Patience Maame Mensah, founder of Indulgence
Finding a niche that can be filled with a great service or product is key to building a successful business, and in the case of Patience Maame Mensah and her company, Indulgence, she has definitely found that niche. She has recognised that busy people with busy lives need a range of home and personal support services to help them to cope with the inevitable stresses and strains that occur.
Read moreSarah Collins - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur empowering women in Africa and the world with her innovative eco-cooking solution
Sarah Collins, founder of Wonderbag
There is a lot of talk right now about the need for more high-impact entrepreneurs in Africa, those people who can make a difference on a large scale and find effective and affordable solutions to some of the biggest challenges facing the continent. Sarah Collins, founder of Natural Balance Global, better known as Wonderbag, is one such high-impact social entrepreneur who has created an empowering solution to affordable and safe cooking practices for women, particularly in rural communities, whilst at the same time creating income generation opportunities for them too.
Read moreTwo South African women entrepreneurs take on retail in Africa with their new online portal
Driven by a desire to see the growth of Black-owned brands in their country, South Africa, combined with a deep affinity to their continent, two women entrepreneurs, Nobuntu Webster and Sibahle Malunga, have launched “My African Buy”, a new online marketplace offering products owned and manufactured by African entrepreneurs.
Read moreEssential Read: 50 Billion Dollar Boss - African American Women Sharing Stories of Success in Entrepreneurship and Leadership by Kathey Porter and Andrea Hoffman
Kathey Porter (top) and Andrea Hoffman (bottom)
In their new book Billion Dollar Boss, authors Kathey Porter and Andrea Hoffman feature 12 successful African American women entrepreneurs and leaders who have built impressive and dynamic businesses and deliver their stories of how they solved various dilemmas while growing their businesses.
Read moreEntrepreneurs Smarts: Legal Documents and why thinking like Tammy Wynette (D-I-V-O-R-C-E) is good for your health
Law - learn to love it, always respect it. In the latest of a series of guest blogs that look at issues around financial management for women entrepreneurs, this week our focus is on legal documents.
Read moreThis December, Lionesses of Africa celebrates Africa’s inspiring Healthpreneurs
December is Focus on Africa’s Women Healthpreneurs. 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 (December), we are turning our attention to the women who are tackling the continent's significant health challenges through their businesses, their innovations, and their social health enterprises.
Read moreLeading South African entrepreneur, Margaret Hirsch, speaks to LoA about her recent participation in the prestigious 9th IWEC event in Turkey
Margaret Hirsch at the speaker podium giving her talk in Turkey
The 9th IWEC International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge and Awards event took place last month in Istanbul, Turkey, and one of South Africa’s most respected and successful women entrepreneurs, Margaret Hirsch, co-founder and Chief Operations Executive of Hirschs, was invited to speak about her work, her philosophy on women’s economic participation and upliftment, and her own entrepreneurial journey. LoA spoke to Margaret about this amazing experience and what she learned from it.
Read moreTamarind Nott - The startup story of a Namibian entrepreneur harnessing the raw natural plant ingredients of her country to create a business and a community support system
Tammy Nott, founder of Mbiri Natural Skincare (Namibia)
It is hard not to be inspired by the wild natural beauty of Namibia’s desert regions, and in the case of Tamarind (Tammy) Nott, she is capturing the essence of the Namibian Myrrh, Marula Oil and Kalahari Melon Seed Oil that is indigenous to the area, and creating a wonderful business, Mbiri Natural Skincare.
Read moreGetty Choenyana - The startup story of a South African mechanical engineer turned skin and haircare entrepreneur
Getty Choenyana, founder of Oamobu Naturals (South Africa)
At LoA, we love those women entrepreneurs who have done a complete career pivot and turned a passion or need to solve a key challenge, into a great entrepreneurial venture. South African entrepreneur, Getty Choenyana, is one such example, who harnessed her frustration of not being able to find great all-natural hair and skincare products, and turned it into a great new business venture, Oamobu Naturals.
Read moreEssential Read: The New Entrepreneur: A Practical Marketing Guide for Growing Your Business Now by Shirley Anthony
Shirley Anthony
"The world today is filled with opportunities and people are redefining what it means to be an entrepreneur. There are those who have a breakthrough idea and successfully launch it; others see a gap in the market to buy a franchise or an existing business; some establish consulting or advisory services. These are the NEW entrepreneurs and all have in common a passion to pursue a business of their own and have taken action to make it happen." - Shirley Anthony, Author and Entrepreneur
Read moreJaki Kweka - The startup story of a Tanzanian artisan chocolatier who is creating the country’s first gourmet chocolate brand
Jaki Kweka, co-founder of Chocolate Mamas (Tanzania)
With the launch of the #Choose Artisan campaign recently, the spotlight has been shining firmly on those women artisans in Africa who are creating world-class luxury products right here on the continent. Chocolate Mamas Gourmet Tanzanian Chocolate Company is an entrepreneurial startup making real waves in the luxury artisan chocolate space in Africa, and its co-founder, Jaki Kweka, has big ambitions for the brand going forward.
Read moreMavis Nduchwa - The startup story of a young Botswana agripreneur on a mission to demonstrate that women farmers in Africa can make a difference
Mavis Nduchwa, Chabana Farms (Botswana)
To make real and lasting positive change happen in the agricultural sector in Africa for women entrepreneurs, it is important to have great role models. Mavis Nduchwa, the force behind successful agribusiness Chabana Farms, is one such role model. She is harnessing the power of technology and innovative new methods to make a difference in her business.
Read moreEntrepreneur Smarts: More fun ratios!
In the latest of a series of guest blogs that look at issues around financial management for women entrepreneurs, this week our focus is on getting a better understanding of ratios.
Read moreCelebrating our Community - Two women entrepreneurs impress at the annual Anzisha Prize
The Anzisha Prize, which is Africa’s premier award for youth entrepreneurship and in its 5th year, has just announcedthis year’s winners, and two young women entrepreneurs impressed the judging panel. Fashion entrepreneur Mabel Suglo, 22 and the founder of Eco-Shoes from Ghana, was 2nd Runner Up in the competition and Chantal Butare, founder of Kinazi Dairy Cooperative in Rwanda received the prestigious Anzisha Sector Prize in Agriculture.
Read moreQuote of the Day
Lydie Hakizimana is co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited
“Corruption leads to a lot of missed opportunities, .... Corruption stops someone to think that he can be an entrepreneur. Corruption makes you fear to take the risk. When you have corruption in a country, people are just discouraged. There is no hope. They don’t see themselves successful in the long term. They just feel that they need to know a minister or the son of the minister to be successful in a country.”
- Lydie Hakizimana is co-founder and Managing Director of Drakkar Limited, a specialist reseller and distributor of educational textbooks in Rwanda. Today, Lydie manages 45 employees and thirty part-time distributors covering the five provinces of Rwanda. Lydie has also added exclusive distributor deals with Longman, Heinemann and Penguin to her Pearson contract.
Read moreTogo entrepreneur, Emefa Kpegba, speaks to LoA about her recent award wins for her crowdfunding solution
Emefa Kpegba, founder and CEO of e-Technopole
The 2015 AppsAfrica Innovation Awards have just taken place in South Africa and the winner of this year’s Women in Tech Innovation Award is Emefa Kpegba, the founder and CEO of e-Technopole from Togo. Emefa’s OMobile Funding platform, which is a crowdfunding and microfinance platform for local technology innovators, won the award against stiff competition.
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