the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Diana Lidstone
Despite the fact that more Canadian women are starting small businesses than ever before, a whopping 79% of them earn less than $22K a year; Statistics Canada reports that fewer than 5% earn more than $100K annually. For business mentor Diana Lidstone, author of Shift into Rich: Navigate the 9 Roadblocks to Small Business Success, this just isn’t good enough.
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Judith Msonthi, founder of Judie Emcee (Malawi)
Every successful event needs a great Master of Ceremonies to keep things moving according to schedule and importantly to keep audiences engaged. In Malawi, one of the most popular MCs currently is Judith Msonthi, founder of Judie Emcee, bringing her unique style and personality to enliven any event.
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Phanice Shamalla, founder of Iris Management (Kenya)
For many people, staying fit and healthy is a real challenge and often requires a combination of specialist help, advice and access to resources, to make those essential healthy living choices. Iris Management, the business venture of health and wellbeing entrepreneur, Phanice Shamalla, is working hard to change mindsets and make it easier for people to think and live healthier lives.
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Angela Dick, co-founder and CEO of Transman (South Africa)
- Angela Dick is the co-founder and CEO of Transman the largest privately owned, temporary-employment service provider in South Africa. This one-time schoolteacher, who was the SA Business Women’s Association’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006, has grown her company’s revenue from a mere R85 000 back in 1983 to well over half a billion rand today. Angela was recently elected the first woman president and chairperson of Board of Directors of The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa).
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Tarina Du Plessis, founder of SkyRidge Business Solutions (Namibia)
You just have to belief in yourself....
- Tarina Du Plessis is the founder of SkyRidge Business Solutions in Namibia, a company that specializes in Financial, Marketing and Business Consulting Services for startup business clients. Tarina offers a wide range of specialist services, from the moment a client has a business idea right through to the moment when that business opens its doors, as well as ongoing support. She launched her business at the age of 19 right after finishing her advanced diploma in Financial, Marketing and Business Management. Tarina is passionate about helping other people in Namibia make their dreams of owning a successful business come true.
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- Johanna Mukoki is co-founder and group CEO of Travel With Flair Travel, a leading black owned travel management company with over 18 years in the industry, 17 branches across South Africa and a team of over 750 skilled professionals. Johanna has accumulated numerous accolades including being named Emerging South African Entrepreneur of the Year at the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards in 2012.
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Liz Kading, founder of five8ths (South Africa)
The fine art of custom shirt making is being celebrated once again thanks to a talented woman entrepreneur who is bringing her love of tailoring and passion for slow fashion and traditional craftsmanship to Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Chantelle Beukes, founder of La Fede (South Africa)
Persist and collaborate....
- Chantelle Beukes is the founder of La Fede in South Africa, creating handcrafted heirloom toys. This 'Maker' and Mompreneur started La Fede in November 2014, after her 12 year career in the corporate world ended abruptly when the company she worked for shut it's doors. With the meagre capital at her disposal she decided to purchase a few meters of fabric and a small straight stitch sewing machine. Out of these negative circumstances La Fede, which means 'Faith' in Italian, was born literally as a leap of faith. Today, Chantelle is successfully producing a range of unique handcrafted toys that inspire imaginative play for kids.
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Jennifer Riria, 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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Clare Jose, author of Dare to Dream Bigger
You know that feeling of getting excited about a great idea that could make a real difference in the world, but you get stuck believing that little voice at 3am that tells you all the reasons why you can't do it? So you don’t. Even though you know that on your 90th birthday you'll wish you had? Or maybe you're trying hard, doing everything the experts tell you to, but it's just not bringing you results? You're secretly ready to give up, feeling like a failure? Clare Jose, author of Dare to Dream Bigger, believes it doesn’t have to be that way.
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The prestigious annual Hirsch Women in Business Awards Gala Evening in the Western Cape for 2017 took place on Friday 7 April at the Century City Conference Centre in Cape Town, South Africa, and as usual, was a star studded affair. The theme was old Hollywood and top business women from around the Western Cape dressed the part! Over 300 people attended the event, which was co-sponsored by Hisense, one of Hirsch’s top suppliers. Robyn Hey, Past president of the Cape Town Chapter of the Business Women’s Association of South Africa was the Guest Speaker at the event, and complimented Margaret and Hirsch’s for their initiative for holding the event.
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As every entrepreneur would agree, we are a special breed of people who have the courage to turn our passions into businesses and make our dreams a reality.
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Starting a business is for the brave. It takes courage, optimizing on resources and having a big personality. We all know that a business that makes it is a reflection of who the entrepreneur is.
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Tarina Du Plessis, founder of SkyRidge Business Solutions (Namibia)
For many business startups, the list of things that need to be done and put in place to ensure a good foundation can be daunting. But entrepreneur Tarina Du Plessis, founder of SkyRidge Business Solutions, is on a mission to make it simpler. She is there to walk each step of the journey with her clients, making it less stressful and very much solution oriented.
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Chantelle Beukes, founder of La Fede (South Africa)
La Fede, which means ‘faith’ in Italian, is a handcrafted heirloom toy company with a difference, as each individually created piece is inspired by a character or a story. The company, created by South African entrepreneur, Chantelle Beukes, is on a mission to bring a smile to young children’s faces as they harness the power of their imaginations to play with the beautiful, quirky toys she makes.
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Mary Spio, founder and CEO of Next Galaxy Media
- Mary Spio is a lifelong game changer. Born in Syracuse, New York, to Ghanaian parents, she had humble beginnings growing up in Ghana, West Africa. Mary didn’t see her first computer until she was seventeen, yet she became a deep space engineer, designing and launching communication satellites. At Boeing, she helped pioneer digital technology that redefined how major motion pictures are distributed to movie theaters throughout the world. From there, she focused on her passion for matchmaking and founded One2One.com, a specialty media company dedicated to resources for singles. Mary also founded Gen2Media (now Vidaroo) an emerging leader in the digital media industry. Leveraging the power of online video, search and social media, Mary’s companies provide engaging user experiences for consumers and delivers quantifiable results for some of the most iconic brands, high profile entertainers and events in the world, including Microsoft Xbox, WalMart, Toyota, Coca Cola, Justin Timberlake, Will Smith, Britney Spears and The Billboard Awards Show. She is currently founder and CEO of CEEK VR Inc.
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Tabitha Karanja, founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries
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.
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A few days ago, I scheduled a quiet morning to analyze my business as I needed to get some clarity…some balance. I am sure you know the feeling. I needed to re-group and gather myself so I decided to visit the library. Not wanting any interruptions, I unplugged my laptop and switched off my phone. Taking a notebook and pencil, I started doing a SWOT analysis. As I worked through my business’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, I made a startling discovery! Imagine my surprise when I suddenly realized, my business has been stealing from me!
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Jazeera Suwani, founder Say it with Chocolate (Kenya)
For the many people who long for the wonderful taste of chocolate but their dietary regimes mean it is not an option, Kenyan entrepreneur Jazeera Suwani, founder of Say it with Chocolate, has the answer. She has created a business making fabulous handmade chocolates that specifically cater for those who are lactose intolerant or vegan.
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Beth Malatji, founder of Wealth Ladder Magazine (South Africa)
- Beth Malatji is the founder of Wealth Ladder Magazine, a South African digital publication providing information on the opportunities and challenges of entrepreneurship and self-employment. Beth wanted to create a publication that speaks directly to passionate entrepreneurs with inspiring content that practically addresses the problems, frustrations, wants, needs and desires of other budding entrepreneurs.
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