the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Ngozi Opara, founder of Heat Free Hair
Heat Free Hair is the story of a woman with a passion for natural hair combined with the entrepreneurial drive to start a business providing natural hair extensions, plus a movement to educate and inform women on how to care for their natural hair.
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Beth Malatji, founder of Wealth Ladder Magazine (South Africa)
As part of their day-to day business development, entrepreneurs need access to great information, insight and advice, and Wealth Ladder Magazine looks to provide all those things and more. Entrepreneur Beth Malatji is creating not just an informative and engaging published resource but she is also creating networking events that bring entrepreneurs together.
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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 (May), we are turning our attention to the incredibly creative women jewellery designers of Africa, who are turning the precious metals, gems and semi-precious stones found here on the continent into beautiful decorative pieces for the world to wear. These African women jewellery designers are putting the continent on the global map through their uniquely African-inspired designs and technical brilliance.
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- Tabitha Karanja is founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries. She is one of Kenya's leading entrepreneurs, a remarkable trailblazer and an example of a woman made good against all the odds. Tabitha chose to venture where none before her had dared. She took on an 87-year-old business monopoly and entered an industry with a deeply entrenched male gender stereotype. Tabitha broke the mould to become Kenya’s first home-grown beer and alcoholic drink manufacturer. Today, her company's state-of-the-art production facility is targeting 20% of the Kenyan market.
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Nkemdilim Begho, founder and Managing Director of Future Software Resources Limited, Nigeria
Get help when you need it and never make the same mistake twice....
- Nkemdilim Begho is founder and Managing Director of Future Software Resources Limited, an IT solutions provider focused on online solutions, e-learning and IT security. As one of a few Nigerian women in the industry, her success is founded on a passion for driving innovative thinking, building a globally recognized technology brand and setting trends in the Nigerian Technology space.
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Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, co-founder of WeCyclers (Nigeria)
At the global climate conference held in Paris earlier this year, Deutsche Welle and Channels TV agreed to deepen their cooperation by starting the joint production of an environmental program called Eco@Africa. The new program offers an in-depth look at environmental innovations and best-practice guidelines in Africa and Europe and presents ideas on ecological protection from all over the world. DW and Channels TV used the event, which was broadcast in Nigeria at prime time, to pay tribute to “Eco Heroes”, which included Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, co-founder of WeCyclers.
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Sometimes we tend to be so focused on the next big business thing, or on how to make our business better, or when to take our product to market, that we completely forget to pause and appreciate the little things in life that really matter. These could be the things that we have, that we’ve experienced, what we’ve learned, and what we’ve achieved along the way. We forget to show gratitude and to show thanks for all that is and to reflect on how good life has been to us so far.
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Baitse Phejane, founder of Akili Communications (South Africa)
Understanding the power of scalable business is critical for entrepreneurs who are looking to grow successful enterprises of the future. South African entrepreneur Baitse Phejane, founder of Akili Communications, is looking to provide help and guidance in this regard, and her company is poised to develop entrepreneurs who have a passion for what they do, but need assistance in scaling those ideas.
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Leslie Okoye, founder of L’Okoye Cosmetics Inc.
Take administrative systems and procedures seriously....
- Leslie Okoye is the founder of L’Okoye Cosmetics Inc. and the CookieSkin® brand. This inspiring Nigerian entrepreneur develops and distributes quality skin care products for women of colour, distributing them worldwide via online and physical stores, supermarkets and spas. Leslie's mission to simplify skin care for the African woman began back in 2010 when she first launched her business.
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Jennifer Riria is group chief executive of Kenya Women Holding
- 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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Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana)
- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. 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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Kristine Pearson, founder of Lifeline Energy
Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer....
- Kristine Pearson is the Chief Executive of Lifeline Energy, a pioneering social enterprise that designs, manufactures and distributes solar-powered and wind-up media players and radios for classrooms and community listening groups. Kristine has led Lifeline Energy strategically and operationally in the US and South Africa since 1999. Previously, she was an executive with a large South African banking group. Kristine is a fellow of the Schwab Foundation of the World Economic Forum, serves on the Women’s Leadership Board of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and was named a Hero of the Environment by Time magazine. She is the 2005 recipient of the James C. Morgan Global Humanitarian Award.
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BusaBuntu Roaring, founder of BusaBuntu Pictures (South Africa)
Africa has always had a strong tradition of storytelling, but today stories need to harness the power of all types of media, both traditional and digital, to reach and connect with every type of audience. The talented South African media entrepreneur, BusaBuntu Roaring, founder of BusaBuntu Pictures, knows and understands this dynamic all too well and is leveraging her extensive knowledge and experience of all aspects of the media to tell powerful stories that resonate.
Read moreThere is something much more powerful than advertising, and that is word of mouth - the power of your customers telling their friends and family about your business and your products because they love and believe in them. Word of mouth advertising often results in more sales over a longer period of time than traditional forms of paid media. So why exactly is that? Well, customers who become brand advocates have the greatest impact because their opinions are not for sale, and therefore are more believable. A McKinsey study a few years ago showed that word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20-50% of all purchases, and therefore is a highly influential form of advocacy when a customer is buying a product for the first time. If you think about it, this makes sense. If you are looking to buy a new expensive product, who would you trust more? Your friend or family member, who uses the product and recommends it, or an advertisement designed to sell it to you? As a business owner, your goal is to convert leads into sales, but it’s also to get the most from every customer. This means turning customers into your best brand advocates. It won’t happen overnight, brand loyalty and advocacy takes time, but it is well worth the journey.
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Charlotte Steenekamp, founder of Africa Grace Botanical Skincare (South Africa)
Today, more and more consumers are making ethical and responsible decisions about the products they purchase, their sustainable footprint, and their community backstory. As a result, the marketplace for pure, organic and sustainable products, particularly in sectors such as beauty and skincare, is growing. Africa Grace Botanical Skincare, the brainchild of entrepreneur Charlotte Steenekamp, is a great example of a socially and environmentally responsible company and brand being created in Africa that is making a difference.
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I’m consulting in the winelands. The estate has ambitious plans to create a virtual online community with all sorts of measures of engagement. I’m not sure this is a good idea…
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Beth Buelow, author of The Introvert Entrepreneur
What do entrepreneurial titans Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos all have in common, apart from being grouped together as some of the greatest entrepreneurs of our time? Well, they are all introverts, which may seem astonishing at first glance. In her book, The Introvert Entrepreneur, author Beth Buelow, looks at the steps that introverts can take to harness the power of their natural abilities and talents, such as listening, and channel them to help overcome the challenges they face in their day to day entrepreneurial journeys.
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Leslie Okoye, founder of L’Okoye Cosmetics Inc.
A personal mission to find a simplified skin care regime for women of African descent, led to entrepreneur Leslie Okoye launching her own line of holistic skincare products specifically created for women of colour. Today, her company, L’Okoye Cosmetics Inc. and her CookieSkin specialist skincare range, is providing a way for women to build confidence in their skin and to create flawless complexions.
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Jacqueline Rogers, founder of Label of Love (South Africa)
Tenacity, determination and passion are all unique attributes that to towards describing entrepreneur Jacqueline Rogers, the founder of the exciting maternity wear company, Label of Love. She is genuinely on a mission to create the most beautiful clothes that make any mum-to-be feel special during this important time in their lives, whilst at the same time designing each garment to be comfortable, practical and long-lasting. Her brand is winning fans in large numbers who have been on the look out for maternity chic wardrobes that make them feel and look great.
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Karin Rae Matthee, founder of Cape Town-based Dear Rae Jewellery
Have the confidence to follow your own design instincts....
- Karin Rae Matthee founded Cape Town-based Dear Rae Jewellery in 2010. She crafts jewellery that celebrates the beauty and ease of simplicity and this translates into functional jewellery that can be worn every day. Karin studied a BA fine Art (Jewellery and Metal Techniques) at Stellenbosch University and then advanced her studies at the Pforzheim Hochschule in Germany. All of Karin's pieces are lovingly hand-crafted in her in-store studio under the watchful gaze of customers.
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