Quote of the Day by Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka

July 20, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka, founder of Spez Limited (Kenya) — **Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka**, founder of Spez Limited (Kenya)

"When opportunity comes knocking, do not ask it to come back another day! Take it and RUN!"

- Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka is the founder of Spez Limited in Kenya, a premium outside catering service operating under the brand 'Spez' and they also create decadent cakes and pastries under the brand 'The Missing Slice'. Her culinary journey began at university where Esmeralda began baking small cookies and sold them at a nearby restaurant. Today, her thriving business boats a client list that includes many of the leading corporates and multi-nationals in Nairobi.

Entrepreneur Advice from Njeri Rionge: The buck always stops with you as an entrepreneur

July 20, 2017 Melanie Hawken

You must take responsibility for all aspects of your business....

“When you’re in business you are responsible for the good, the bad and the ugly, pay attention at all times and take responsibility for all that you and your organization does throughout its tenure.”

- 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 co-founded internet service provider Wananchi Online that has since been transformed into Wananchi Group Holdings – one of east Africa’s leading providers of pay-tv, broadband internet and VoIP services. Today, she describes herself as a global citizen doing business with internationally trained experts from Africa and the African diaspora. Njeri leverages global abilities with local needs and offers 'glocal' expertise to champion African business opportunity.

Quote of the Day by Jessica Bonin

July 19, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Jessica Bonin, founder of Lady Bonin’s Tea (South Africa) — **Jessica Bonin,** founder of Lady Bonin’s Tea (South Africa)

"Failure is the only way that you learn and it’s absolutely necessary."

- Jessica Bonin is the founder of Lady Bonin’s Tea, a Cape Town-based company that blends and distributes organic loose leaf teas sourced direct from farms that use sustainable farming practices and are community driven. The teas and herbs, by their source, are exceptionally high in quality, improving nutritive content and flavor density. Tea is Jessica’s business, her passion and her practice.

Eugénia Langa, a Mozambican entrepreneur making waves in the construction sector with her dedication to high quality procurement and logistics

July 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Eugénia Langa, founder of Nweba (Mozambique) — **Eugénia Langa**, founder of Nweba (Mozambique)

The construction sector in Africa is traditionally a tough sector to enter, and a complicated one from a procurement and logistics perspective. However, for entrepreneur Eugénia Langa, founder of specialist company Nweba, this is a challenge she is meeting head-on, providing the best procurement and logistics management practices and risk management to her clients.

Entrepreneur Advice from Ola Orekunrin: Getting your business funded can be really tough

July 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Getting your business funded can be tough....

"It’s the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, without a doubt. Now my company is actually running I can laugh at all the times I spent carrying my laptop around sourcing for funding and coming home in tears."

- Dr. Ola Orekunrin is a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and the healthcare entrepreneur founder of Flying Doctors Nigeria, West Africa’s first Air Ambulance Service. She's dedicated to bringing trauma care to the most remote parts of Western Africa and her company, an air ambulance service based in Lagos, is doing just that. She was motivated to start the company after her younger sister tragically died whilst traveling in Nigeria as a consequence of there being no medical air service available to transport her to hospital. Ola graduated as a medical doctor from the University Of York in the UK and is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Medicine.

Quote of the Day

July 18, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"I admire anyone who turns what they believe into a reality, despite the obstacles along the way."

- Khanyi Dhlomo is the 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 into 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.

Mariana Agness Francisco Eria, a Mozambican entrepreneur turning her passion for flowers into a contemporary floral design business

July 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Mariana Agness Francisco Eria, founder of House Of Agness (Mozambique) — **Mariana Agness Francisco Eria**, founder of House Of Agness (Mozambique)

The art of flower arranging has a long and beautiful history, but today has been taken to a whole new level as floral gifting and interior decoration has become part of our everyday lives. For Mozambican entrepreneur Mariana Agness Francisco Eria and her floral design business, House Of Agness, this represents a wonderful opportunity to bring her unique floral design aesthetic to her customers.

Quote of the Day by Janet Nkubana

July 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Janet Nkubana, co-founder of  Gahaya Links Cooperatives (Rwanda) — Janet Nkubana, co-founder of Gahaya Links Cooperatives (Rwanda)

"We take pride in the fact that we are a socially responsible firm and believe that giving back to our community and sharing our wealth of knowledge and experience is the only way of building a healthy and economically sound future."

- 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. 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.

Entrepreneur Advice from Emma Kaye: Choose your team very carefully

July 17, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Emma Kaye, founder of Bozza (South Africa) — **Emma Kaye**, founder of Bozza (South Africa)

Choose your team very carefully....

“You can see your company turn in a heartbeat from just a couple of bad people. So the most powerful thing for me is choose your team very carefully because your team is you. Always employ people who are far better than you at what you do, and empower them.”

- Emma Kaye is the founder of the Cape Town-based company, Bozza, a Pan-African digital music distribution platform that provides African artists a formal platform to promote and sell their work. Bozza offers a service that is trusted and transparent, enabling artists to connect with fans who want locally relevant content via their mobile devices or desktops. It is the platform to discover the next generation of talent. Emma Kaye has a number of other seminal and enduring business and industry ventures to her name.

Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka, a Kenyan entrepreneur taking her flair for creating delicious patisserie and creating a leading food brand in the country

July 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Who doesn’t love a decadent slice of cake, or a platter of beautifully crafted pastries, enjoyed with a cup of coffee or created for a special occasion? Kenyan entrepreneur, Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka, founder of Spez Limited, is building a culinary name for herself in the patisserie world with her deliciously decadent brand “The Missing Slice.”

Pesika Odera, Winnie Ochieng and Doreen Okal, three Kenyan entrepreneurs creating a beautiful natural soap brand

July 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Winnie Ochieng, Pesika Odera, and Doreen Okal — Winnie Ochieng, Pesika Odera, and Doreen Okal

Many entrepreneurs are driven not only by passion, but also a desire to make a difference, particularly when it comes to creating employment opportunities in local communities. In the case of the Kenyan natural soap manufacturing company, Wipedo Ltd, its three women founders are not only creating world class natural soap products, but also creating employment for others, extending the value chain of this unique and proudly Kenyan brand.

Sea, Salt and Sand

July 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

There’s something breathtaking in the shimmering beauty of a moving blanket of water and foam that seems woven together by microscopic gems of different hues. Spread across a vast expanse of space the body of water moving rhythmically swaying gently to its own tune, to its own invisible authority. The breadth, depth and width of the sea inspires supernatural possibility in our measured humanness, thinking beyond the immediate on what we can envision, what is possible, what can be. This great expanse that kisses the edge of the horizon unearths desires for equaled greatness lying within us. Picture the scene of designs that can be visualized, dreams that can be realized, and concepts that can be materialized. There’s something freeing and foreboding about the sea all at once.

On the journey to wealth, consider this important step first!

July 16, 2017 Melanie Hawken

On your journey to wealth, you have decided to take the jump or the first step and that is already gutsy. It takes a certain kind of mindset to decide that you want a better life for yourself or family, and all that is necessary now is to get going! But wait....there are many things to consider.

ESSENTIAL READ: Real Tales of a Mompreneur - True Stories of Babies, Business and Balance by Kendra Garcia

July 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

There is an art to attempting to balance the challenging demands of motherhood and career, and it only gets more strenuous for those mothers who decide to take the risk and bank on their business idea. The demands and pressure of that lifestyle are extremely difficult to understand without actually experiencing it. In her new book, Real Tales of a Mompreneur, author and business coach Kendra Garcia tells it like it is.

Own your Positive Headspace

July 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

The world of an entrepreneur is a daily emotional roller coaster ride. When we don’t get the deal we wanted or wished we had said something different in a meeting, we tend to focus on the negative and ‘should have’s’. Here are some tried and tested steps I incorporate into my daily routine to stay focused on the positive.

Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, co-founder of Recycle Points takes 2nd place at the Chivas Venture Competition in Los Angeles

July 15, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, co-founder and COO of Recycle Points (Nigeria) — **Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu**, co-founder and COO of Recycle Points (Nigeria)

Earlier this year, The Venture, a global competition staged by Chivas Regal, was launched with a mission to find promising, up-and-coming startups that also have a positive impact on the world. After a rigorous voting and pitching process involving inspirational social entrepreneurs from 32 countries, the grand final has just taken place in Los Angeles and Nigeria’s Chioma Ukonu, co-founder and COO of Recycle Points has scooped 2nd place and a prize of US$ 200,000.

Entrepreneur Advice from Judith Owigar: Do not stop

July 14, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Do not stop....

"Dream big, start small, start now. Just because you're not where you want to be does not mean you should give up. As long as you do not stop you will progress. I think this journey has developed some courage that I never thought I had within me."

- Judith Owigar is a coder, blogger and technologist; and the co-founder of Akirachix, a revolution for African women and technology. This social entrepreneur who uses technology as a tool to empower youth and young women, believes that exposure, education and use of technology can change the world. Through Akirachix she sought to increase the number of women who create technological solutions and in effect change the perception of technology by women. Judith is currently an ICT Advisor to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme.

Entrepreneur Advice from Deola Sagoe: Celebrate your cultural roots to build globally competitive products

July 12, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Deola Sagoe, haute couture fashion designer from Nigeria, on 'African Spirit' — **Deola Sagoe**, haute couture fashion designer from Nigeria, on *'African Spirit'*

African designers need to celebrate their cultural roots and fashion history in order to become globally competitive….

“When I started out, it was with a certain philosophy, because at that time it wasn’t cool to look African. Africa wasn’t on the map as it is now. … There was nothing really happening in terms of African fashion going global, or Africans being able to make a business of African fashion outside of the shore of Africa. So I went into it, sort of, to prove a point and to say ‘Listen. We can do this. We can add value.’ And to also bring the attention of the world to our own native abilities.”

- 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 and Will Smith.

Quote of the Day by Sandra Idossou

July 12, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Sandra Idossou, founder of The ServiceMag (Rwanda) — **Sandra Idossou**, founder of The ServiceMag (Rwanda)

"I am a strong believer in Africa's potential and a great advocate of all things 'African'."

- Sandra Idossou is the founder of The ServiceMag in Rwanda, an insightful, colourful magazine in English, French and Kinyarwanda, with a 5000 copy print run and a dynamic online version. Sandra has a solid and diversified experience of more than 13 years in the hospitality industry as a trainer in 32 hotels [from 2-5 stars] in 25 countries in Africa. She is the author of the book titled “The Customer Care Handbook” and a weekly columnist on raising awareness on Customer Service in the Rwandan “The New Times”.

Entrepreneur Advice from Jacqueline Rogers: You need to adapt

July 11, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Jacqueline Rogers, founder of Label of Love (South Africa) — **Jacqueline Rogers**, founder of Label of Love (South Africa)

You have to be open to adapting....

".... you might have one plan in your head but your journey or business might have another plan for you. You need to adapt to where your business and journey goes. And just never, never, never give up. I still have to push and work hard to keep my business alive and push to the next level, and most of the time it's not easy, so its important to realize that. But when you hard work and effort comes together, it makes all the pain and sweat worthwhile. And ask for help, ask anyone and everyone that can help you - put yourself out there and talk about your business - you never know who might hear you or your story."

- Jacqueline Rogers is the founder of Label of Love, a South African company that designs feminine comfortable maternity wear. Jacqueline is 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.