Many startups become isolated and insular, focusing on their product to the exclusion of all else - like the squirrel in Ice Age, who is so preoccupied with his nut that he never really interacts with any of the other animals. This is not good, or healthy. These startups are cut off from the support, camaraderie, flow of ideas, and connections that can prove so vital to a product’s success, and from a vital source of ideas for new offerings.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Njeri Rionge
Njeri Rionge
"Africa is the next economic frontier. There is a huge opportunity ahead for family business and for existing businesses that have been around a long time. Let’s create a work culture; let’s have integrity in our processes; let’s be passionate about doing it right the first time; and Africa will enjoy the fruits of our labour."
- 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. She has co-founded internet service provider Wananchi Online, Ignite Consulting, Insite Limited, Business Lounge, and Njeri Rionge Business Consulting Inc. These days Njeri describes herself as a global citizen cross-pollinating her business interests in Africa, North America and Europe. She 'telecommutes' and regularly travels between her offices in Nairobi and Toronto.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Angela Dick
Angela Dick, founder and ceo of Transman, South Africa
"...don’t let anyone tell you that you are not good enough because you are."
- Angela Dick is founder and CEO of Transman, the largest privately owned, temporary employment service provider in South Africa. Since the company’s inception in 1983, Angela and her team have been responsible for finding employment for and recruiting and placing between 7,000 to 10,000 temporary and contract staff daily into the workplace, with a focus on previously disadvantaged individuals. She has driven her company’s revenue from R85 000 in 1983 to R640 million today. Angela was the inaugural winner of the South Africa Business Woman of the Year Award - Entrepreneurial category in 2006.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Mimi Shodeinde: Be a master of your craft
Mimi Shodeinde, founder of Miminat Designs (UK)
Be a master of your craft....
"The art world is fast moving and competitive, so I’ve learnt that the only way to succeed is always be at the top of my game. I want to always create fresh and innovative content that strikes a chord with my buyers. Design is an expression of many contradictions; it is simple, yet complex, it considers form and function whilst possessing timeless quality that continually pushes design boundaries. So my only advice will be stay on TOP of your game, be a master of your craft."
- Mimi Shodeinde is the founder of Miminat Designs in the UK, a company that specialises in furniture and product design for commercial and residential projects both in the UK and internationally. Mimi's philosophy is simple: to constantly innovate and explore and push the boundaries of the furniture and design world. Mimi's work exploits a combination of quality materials and textures to develop avant-garde pieces using methods of construction enriched with history.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Alison Barnard: Take baby steps to grow
Alison Barnard, founder of African Kaleidoscope Events (South Africa)
Take baby steps to grow....
"If your gut is telling you to startup in business, you should listen to it and go for it - take baby steps and grow slowly so that you can feel the success, and build up the finances and confidence in yourself and in your customers."
- Alison Barnard is the founder of African Kaleidoscope Events in South Africa, a specialist event management company. Alison has been providing event management services for the past 13 years to Government, Corporate and Private Individuals. She was a finalist in the SMME Category of the Top Women Awards in 2010.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Heather Cresswel: Have a vision that you can hold onto
Heather Cresswell (L) & Savannah Sefor (R), founders of Firebrand (South Africa)
Have a vision that you can hold onto....
"Find a friend who loves and supports you on your worst days and who believes in you when you doubt. Surround yourself with good people. Most importantly, I think it’s essential to have a vision that you can hold onto and focus on during those challenging days."
- Heather Cresswell is the co-founder of Firebrand in South Africa, a consulting company that creates strategic, bespoke organisational transformation programmes for its corporate clients. Heather is a qualified Facilitator and Coach in the Thinking Environment, and has spent the past 20 years working in the field of personal, team and leadership development. As a successful entrepreneur she knows the challenges faced by leaders and teams in business during these uncertain times. She’s passionate about what it takes to create workable relationships and believes your relationship to yourself, others and life largely determines your level of joy, fulfillment and happiness.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Adenah Bayoh: You have to put the work in
Adenah Bayoh, serial entrepreneur (United States)
You have to put the work in....
“There is no substitute for hard work. You have to put the work in if you want to be successful. My grandmother would always say: ‘You have to wake up before everyone else gets up and do more than everyone else.’ I watched my grandmother navigate her way through almost any challenge because of her willingness to put in the work.”
- Adenah Bayoh is a very successful real estate entrepreneur in the United States. She embodies the American dream. At age 13, she escaped the civil war in her native country of Liberia, immigrated to the United States and is now one of the most successful entrepreneurs in her home state of New Jersey. Adenah is the founder and CEO of Adenah Bayoh and Companies, which is the parent corporation that owns IHOP franchises in Paterson and Irvington, New Jersey and a real estate development portfolio with over $225 million in urban redevelopment projects. Because of the success of her flagship IHOP in Irvington, she is the second largest employer in the area. Next year, Adenah will launch Cornbread, her signature line of fast casual, farm-to-table, soul food restaurants.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder of soleRebels and Republic of Leather
“I wanted to show that it is possible to be a local person, in Ethiopia and in Africa, and to be globally successful.... It is possible to deploy local resources while creating a market-leading global brand, and to do it all from scratch.”
- 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 has 18 stores around the world, including in Silicon Valley (USA), Japan, Singapore, Austria, Greece, Spain and Switzerland, along with an aggressive e-commerce marketing strategy. It expects to open another 50 to 60 stores in next 18 to 36 months. In 2015, Bethlehem launched an new venture, Republic of Leather, offering bespoke, hand crafted leather wear and accessories.
Read moreMentoring could provide the turbocharge your business needs
Mentors are invaluable to entrepreneurs - why? Because so often as entrepreneurs we need to get counsel on a specific business challenge or bounce an idea off someone who has a wealth of experience and the capability to take a birds-eye view of our business - and then be really honest with the feedback. It's what helps entrepreneurs to grow and thrive.
Read moreIn Focus: Meet Africa's leading women-led artisan enterprises
Almost exactly one year ago, the #ChooseArtisan campaign was launched by the prestigious Aspen Institute and the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise in the US. The aim was to get the world to recognise the real importance and value of artisan enterprise in contributing to global economic development, poverty alleviation and women's economic empowerment. The campaign certainly got people talking, and rightly so, about the incredible work being done by forward-thinking women artisan entrepreneurs, particularly in places such as Africa, where traditional crafts are being elevated today to a whole new status.
Read moreTabitha Karanja, founder of Keroche Breweries in Kenya unveils plan to expand mentorship programme to other African countries
Tabitha Karanja (L), founder & CEO of Keroche Breweries with young mentees of the Keroche Foundation entrepreneurship mentorship programme
Tabitha Karanja's Keroche Breweries has announced plans to expand its young mentorship programme to other parts of the continent as part of supporting emerging young entrepreneurs. The Keroche Foundation has set aside Sh50 million this year as part of empowering and connecting the group with masters of industry, experts and consultants.
Read moreMimi Shodeinde, a Nigerian entrepreneur pushing the boundaries of the furniture and design world globally
Mimi Shodeinde, founder of Miminat Designs (UK)
Many global consumers have a traditional concept of African design, but creative entrepreneur, Mimi Shodeinde, founder of Miminat Designs, is looking to change all that with her contemporary design outlook. She is demonstrating that African design is not only exciting in a minimal context, particularly when it comes to furniture design, but can also celebrate the best of tradition and technological innovation.
Read moreEssential Read: The Great Escape - The Successful Woman's Guide to Escaping the 9 to 5 by Amy Mewborn
Amy Mewborn, author and serial entrepreneur
This new book by author Amy Mewborn is written for the woman who either wants to start a business or is new to business and wants to be successful! She gives great advice on building the essential foundations of a new business including how to hire the best staff, how to build the best team of professionals, how to read a Profit and Loss Statement, and importantly, how to create balance between your business and your life.
Read moreAlison Barnard, a South African entrepreneur bringing creativity and flair to the world of eventing
Alison Barnard, founder of African Kaleidoscope Events (South Africa)
For many companies and organisations, planning events can be a challenge and often a headache. But for event planner Alison Barnard and her company African Kaleidoscope Events, she embraces that challenge with enthusiasm, a great eye for detail, and an established track record of high quality event delivery. She is on a mission to bring events to life for her growing list of clients.
Read moreHeather Cresswell and Savannah Sefor, two entrepreneurs on a mission to ignite the hearts and minds of employees
Heather Cresswell & Savannah Sefor, founders of Firebrand (South Africa)
Firebrand is a South African business that lives up to its name when it comes to employee engagement, literally firing up their minds and imaginations and getting them to work differently. The company is the brainchild of business partners Heather Cresswell and Savannah Sefor who have been co-facilitating personal development programmes for years, but who are now taking their work to the next level through their company Firebrand.
Read moreThe First Step To Becoming Confident In A Sales Meeting
I was privileged enough to attend the very first #LionessMentoring session at the Standard Bank Incubator in Rosebank, Johannesburg this week. One of the things that really struck me, besides the passion and resilience each women entrepreneur displayed, was the complete lack of confidence in themselves and their sales abilities.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Janet Nkubana: Get your PR going and keep talking to people
Maximising your Public Relations is important....
"Public Relations is key to any initiative, not only business initiatives... (to) implement any idea you have – talk about it. Be free and say what you think, share what you want to achieve. Use the partnerships and nurture them."
- Janet Nkubana, co-founded Gahaya Links Cooperatives with her sister Joy Ndungutse shortly after the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994. These inspiring sisters had a vision to turn ancient basket weaving skills into a source of livelihood for thousands of rural women. Many of the women, like Janet and Joy themselves, were returning refugees or survivors of the genocide. The women started weaving baskets in exchange for food. Initially bringing together about twenty women, the sisters taught them how to weave and how to enhance their weaving skills with new design techniques. Today, Gahaya Links manages a network of over 4,000 weavers across the country, organised into around 52 cooperatives that help provide much needed income and stability. The sisters have successfully opened the business to international markets, partnering with the likes of Macy’s, Walmart, Oprah Magazine, and Kate Spade. Today, Gahaya Links "Peace Baskets” are sold and admired the world over.
Read moreVIDEO: Aisha Pandor talks about how her startup SweepSouth is using technology to provide home services
Source: Soweto TV | Tonight with Tim Modise | Published on July 15, 2016
The idea for SweepSouth came in December 2013 when husband and wife team Alen Ribic and Aisha R. Pandor struggled to find a part-time domestic cleaner over the holidays. The aim was to make getting your home cleaned, at short notice, a hassle-free experience. SweepSouth currently operates in most areas of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion and Pretoria and will be expanding into other regions soon.
Read moreSaloni Kantaria, a Kenyan entrepreneur bringing the world of high tech fitness to Nairobi’s residents
Saloni Kantaria, founder of Reform Cycling and Strength Studio (Kenya)
The current global trend for fitness is now being seen in Africa, and in Kenya, one athlete turned entrepreneur, Saloni Kantaria, founder of Reform Cycling and Strength Studio in Nairobi, is bringing something fresh to the exercise scene.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Monica Musonda
Monica Musonda, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods (Zambia)
“Don’t happily be a spectator in your own economy,”
- Monica Musonda is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods, a food processing company based in Zambia. Monica's vision is to revolutionize the eating habits of the youth market by offering them affordable and nutritious food options made from local products. Monica is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Zambian advocate with over 15 years of experience in legal practice and corporate management, including being corporate counsel at the International Finance Corporation and for Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries Limited
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