We've spoken in previous newsletters about the strategy of the flower - making sure that your core service or product is surrounded by a set of world-class services (the petals of the flower) to make up a compelling "whole product". But, it's not enough to just build your flower. You must also make sure that your company and its "flowers" are well positioned in the total ecosystem of your industry.
Read moreEssential Read: Stress Gone! How to Identify and Reduce Stress Easily by Bridget Edwards
Bridget Edwards, author, catalyst, speaker
There is not a single entrepreneur out there that doesn’t experience stress along the journey to building a successful business and brand. The challenge is in understanding and managing that stress. In her new book Stress Gone!, emotional change catalyst and author, Bridget Edwards, provides a really practical guide for all those entrepreneurs who need to deal with stress on a day to day basis.
Read moreEVENT REPORT: Johannesburg plays host to another inspirational Lioness Lean In Breakfast event for a capacity audience of passionate women entrepreneurs
On 21 July, around 70 of Johannesburg’s women entrepreneurs representing all sectors of business and industry, gathered for a morning of inspirational startup story sharing and great networking at the latest in the highly successful series of Lioness Lean In Breakfast events. As always in this popular Lioness Lean In destination, the event took place in the city’s Rosebank district at the Standard Bank Business Incubator in Rosebank, where the surroundings create a great entrepreneurial vibe for all those attending.
Read moreAmanda Sibiya - The startup story of a passionate South African entrepreneur on a mission to get the world talking and reading about Africa’s creatives
Amanda Sibiya, co-founder of Conté Magazine (South Africa)
Creatives and their work need to be seen to be appreciated, and often finding the right outlets and platforms to achieve that visibility is tough, particularly in Africa. One entrepreneur, Amanda Sibiya, co-founder of Conté Magazine is looking to change that, by creating a high quality, content rich publication and accompanying exhibition event that aims to put the continent’s creatives on the map.
Read moreMary Njoki - The startup story of a tenacious Kenyan entrepreneur helping the continent’s brands become newsmakers
Mary Njoki, founder of Glass House PR (Kenya)
The world of public relations and brand positioning is a highly competitive one, particularly on the African continent, but Mary Njoki, the founder of successful Kenyan PR firm Glass House PR, is determined to be an industry leader by building a foundation of innovation and creativity.
Read moreRobertinah Nzula - The startup story of a Kenyan entrepreneur transforming the image of the modelling and talent industry
Robertinah Nzula, founder of The Tianar Models (Kenya)
Changing perceptions and creating opportunities are objectives at the heart of The Tianar Models, an organisation created by Robertinah Nzula, a Kenyan entrepreneur on a mission to make a difference to the lives of others. She is not only changing an industry sector for the better, but she is empowering young people to follow their unique career and life paths.
Read moreThiitu Karega - The startup story of a natural beauty entrepreneur who is celebrating Africa’s bounty of natural ingredients
Thiitu Karega, founder Binti Naturals (Kenya)
Many women entrepreneurs in Africa are inspired to create businesses as a way of not only fulfilling personal ambitions and goals, but also of creating solutions or products that can help others. Binti Naturals is one such company that is looking to make its mark on the African beauty scene and provide natural beauty solutions for women who want an organic alternative.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Khanyi Dhlomo
Khanyi Dhlomo, founder and Managing Director of Ndalo Media (South Africa)
"There is power in having a vision, but it has to be articulated and be made a reality."
- Khanyi Dhlomo is the founder and Managing Director of Ndalo Media, which she founded in 2007. She is also the founder of DestinyConnect and the founding editor of Destiny Magazine. Before starting her own media company, Khanyi was editor of True Love magazine for eight years. In 2013, Khanyi ventured in retail and launched Luminance, a high-end fashion and lifestyle department store. Khanyi was named most influential woman in South African Media by The Media Magazine in 2003 and made the 2011 Forbes list of 20 Young Power Women in Africa.
Read moreBethlehem Tilahun Alemu - Addresses the Leaders Summit 2016 at UN Headquarters
Published on Jul 19, 2016 --- Gathering leaders from business, civil society, Government, the UN and academia, the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit highlighted how the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a tremendous market opportunity for business and other stakeholders to innovate, invest and collaborate to create a more sustainable future for all. In this video is Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu the Founder and Executive Director of soleRebels.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and Managing Director of soleRebels (Ethiopia)
"The most crucial lesson I have learned as an entrepreneur is that you must have a never-say-die attitude."
- Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels, the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world. Growing up in a poor suburb of Addis Ababa, Bethlehem decided that there was only one way to defeat poverty – use local craftsmanship to make products that can compete in the global marketplace. She decided on footwear and today 70,000 pairs of shoes leave her factory every year. soleRebels has been expanding rapidly and today exports to no fewer than 45 countries and is targeting 50 stand alone soleRebels retail stores across the United States by 2018 and 500 worldwide by 2022.
Read moreStella Langat - The startup story of four Kenyan women entrepreneurs pooling their skills and expertise to build a company that creates beautiful lingerie for larger breasted women
Stella Langat, co-founder of Double Dee's (Kenya)
Many women in Africa struggle to find well made, proper fitting, beautiful lingerie that has been specifically designed and crafted for larger bust sizes. But now, one Kenyan company is providing a solution in the country. Double Dee's is designing and retailing a beautiful new range of lingerie for women with larger breasts, and as a result, making a name for itself in the marketplace.
Read moreENTREPRENEUR SMARTS: De-couple Your Business
Your business is stuck, bogged down, cannot move forward... That’s when many of my clients come to me, so this week we’re going to look at how a de-coupling strategy can help some ventures to move forward.
Read moreEssential Read: Enterprising Women: A Practical Guide to Starting Your First Business by Melina Druga
Melina Druga
Starting your own business is one of the most empowering things you’ll ever do, especially if you’re a woman. It’s also one of the most challenging. This is something that author and entrepreneur Melina Druga knows only too well. Her new book, Enterprising Women: A Practical Guide to Starting Your First Business aims to help aspirant women entrepreneurs to overcome some of the initial hurdles and challenges that can prove the hardest in the early months and years.
Read moreKendi Sapepa - The startup story of a South African fashion brand builder with a love of bespoke design and red-carpet event glamour
Kendi Sapepa, founder of Barbara McKenzie (South Africa)
Every fashion designer dreams of one day having their designs worn by the stars and photographed at red-carpet events, and for Johannesburg-based clothing brand builder, that dream is already starting to come true. Kendi Sapepa may be in the early days of creating a brand to be reckoned with, but already her designs have graced the red carpet of the prestigious SAFTAs, the South African Fashion and Television Awards. This is a brand to watch in the future.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Deola Sagoe
Deola Sagoe
"The truth is, for every stereotype of corruption or extremism you hear of, there are a million motivated and driven Nigerians who add value and impact positively in and out of Nigeria."
- Deola Sagoe, leading lady of African fashion, is a haute couture fashion designer from Ondo State in Nigeria. Deola has been at the cutting edge of high fashion since 1989 and became the first black woman to present a collection at AltaRoma, Rome’s celebrated fashion week, back in 2004. Her "globally appealing" style has earned her an enviable clientèle that ranges from Africa's first ladies, to society girls like Lydia Hearst, top model Alek Wek, and famous personalities such as Oprah Winfrey.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Njeri Rionge
“In my experience women and men suffer the same experience; the only difference is that women have more responsibilities. As a player in the business world, you are still expected to be a mother, wife and homemaker. That increases the number of things you are responsible for. Men in our African culture, all they do is business and everything else at home is taken care of.”
- Njeri Rionge is one of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs and one of the very few women pioneers in the ICT sector on the African continent. This serial entrepreneur founded numerous companies including co-founding the internet service provider Wananchi Online, one of east Africa’s leading providers of pay-tv, broadband internet and VoIP services. Today she splits her time between strategy consulting, speaking engagements, and investment work, either personally or through one of her portfolio businesses. Her focus is on working with SMEs and entrepreneurs to grow indigenous businesses that can be scaled across Africa.
Read moreAfrica's Women EcoWarriors: Meet the women entrepreneurs building businesses to solve the Continent's most pressing environmental problems
The environmental issues confronting Africa today are well documented. The issue is pressing, but where will the solutions come from? In Africa, many of the innovations to solve Africa's most pressing environmental problems are emerging from women. Specifically, from young women entrepreneurs who are successfully linking sustainable business to environmental consciousness and concern for societal well-being. This is the basis for a new wave of women-led ecopreneurship taking root in Africa, resulting in a new generation of women-led startups with environmental consciousness at their core.
Read moreShikha Vincent - The startup story of a Kenyan entrepreneur who has founded a business based on her passions for jewellery design, travel and conservation
Shikha Vincent, founder of SHIKHAZURI (Kenya)
Many women entrepreneurs in Africa are inspired to start their businesses because of a personal passion, and in the case of Kenyan entrepreneur Shikha Vincent, her jewellery design company SHIKHAZURI, was motivated by just such passions. Her fascination with ethnic and tribal jewellery from across the African continent, combined with her desire to support wildlife conservation in her country, resulted in the creation of a jewellery brand with a strong backstory and purpose which is resonating with customers at home and abroad.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Olajumoke Adenowo
Olajumoke Adenowo, founder of AD Consulting (Nigeria)
"African entrepreneurs must be the alternative government and take up the task of human capacity development....We must see our staff, not just as resources for the business, but as human beings whose potentials we are to discover, develop, and deploy."
- Olajumoke Adenowo, founder of AD Consulting, is a Nigerian Architect, Speaker, Radio Host, Philantropist and Author. CNN has described her as “Africa’s Starchitect”. She has been featured in the World’s foremost Architectural Journal; Architectural Record and has spoken on several platforms including the Global Women’s Forum and Harvard Business School (African Business Club). Olajumoke also hosts a Syndicated Radio show on Leadership called “Voice of Change”.
Read moreFidelis Wanjiku - The startup story of a Kenyan marketing specialist creating winning solutions for her clients and their businesses
Fidelis Wanjiku, founder of Round Square Marketing Limited (Kenya)
Any successful business knows the importance of strong marketing campaigns to get key messages to customers and connect them to brands and services. One Kenyan company, Round Square Marketing Limited, founded by entrepreneur Fidelis Wanjiku, is demonstrating a powerful track record in creating campaigns and solutions that delivers to its clients.
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