5 authors share their business building insights at the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

L-R: Tumi Frazier, Shirley Anthony, Mulenga Kasoma, Lori Milner, Anna Shilina — L-R: Tumi Frazier, Shirley Anthony, Mulenga Kasoma, Lori Milner, Anna Shilina

Delegates attending the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference had the unprecedented opportunity to meet in person some of the leading writers on the subject of women's entrepreneurship. Tumi Frazier, Shirley Anthony, Mulenga Kusoma, Lori Milner and Anna Shilina, were all on hand with their latest books and considerable insights to meet with women entrepreneurs and to share their experiences and knowledge.

Done is better than perfect

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

As women, as leaders, professionals, mothers, and wives, in all the roles we play as human beings, we need to finally get it through our heads that there really is no such thing as perfect. ‘Perfect’ is not only a total myth, it’s a deeply destructive and limiting myth.

Opening Address by Melanie Hawken to the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference 2017

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa — **Melanie Hawken**, founder & ceo of Lionesses of Africa

The Opening Address by Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo of Lionesses of Africa delivered to the more than 300 women entrepreneurs who attended the Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference 2017, on 6 September in Johannesburg, South Africa.

100 Lionesses: Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee wins prestigious SEED Award

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (Uganda) — **Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka**, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (Uganda)

Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee, the game-changing for-profit social enterprise which aims to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers whilst at the same time protecting mountain gorillas in Uganda, has just been recognised by this year’s prestigious SEED Awards.

How to Protect Your Greatest Asset

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

When did you last take a proper one or two-week vacation? One where you didn’t check email and created space to remember who you are as a friend, traveler, lover, wife, mother or whatever other parts of your identity are meaningful to you? I just came back from a two-week vacation with my boys in Europe, and I want you to have one too. It’s good for your health, your family and yes, your business.

Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference 2017 Speaker Highlights in Pictures

September 10, 2017 Melanie Hawken

This year's Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference welcomed some of the most inspirational women entrepreneurs from across the African continent to share their stories, inspire, and connect with each other and the next generation of women entrepreneurs.

Quote of the Day by Nkemdilim Begho

September 8, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"Engaging women and girls in ICT sector work is not only the right thing to do from the point of social justice. It is also smart economics. Gender diversity in high value ICT jobs in both management and on companies' boards is good for business performance."

- 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.

Entrepreneur Advice from Mumbi Muturi-Muli: Just start!

September 8, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Mumbi Muturi-Muli, founder of Harvest of Sunshine (Kenya) — **Mumbi Muturi-Muli**, founder of Harvest of Sunshine (Kenya)

Take that first step....

"Just start! Small, big or in-between, that does not matter at all, what matters the most is that first step out into the unknown."

- Mumbi Muturi-Muli is the founder of Harvest of Sunshine in Kenya, a company that creates hair and body products with butters and oils from the trees and bushes that grow under our African sun. Mumbi was inspired by her kitchen which was full of sunshine, warmth and light. It was a place where she cooked, baked and later on started to whip up butters and oils that were to become the Harvest of Sunshine range of hair and body products.

Quote of the Day by Victoria Kisyombe

September 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Victoria Kisyombe, founder of SELFINA — **Victoria Kisyombe**, founder of SELFINA

“If I can change the life of one person it makes a whole difference because behind that person there is a whole family. It’s a family, it’s a society, it’s Tanzania.”

- Victoria Kisyombe founded SELFINA in 2002 and pioneered micro-credit in Tanzania through micro-leasing with a focus on widows and young girls. Victoria helped women overcome many of the traditional stumbling blocks that made it difficult for them to own land and assets. SELFINA has gone on to economically empower more than 25,000 women with a total credit worth 25 billion Tanzanian Shillings (approximately $16 million US dollars). Over 200,000 lives have been impacted through the benefits accrued.

Quote of the Day by Ally Angula

September 6, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ally Angula, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia) — **Ally Angula**, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia)

"It is a myth that it is okay to be a micro-business... Africans just need to believe they can manufacture goods themselves because the main opportunity lies in the production of goods for African consumers."

- Ally Angula is a qualified chartered accountant and co-founder of Leap Holdings, a group of companies involved in the growing of fresh produce, garment manufacturing and retail in Namibia. She is also the founder of My Republik Brand, Namibia’s first locally designed, manufactured and retailed clothing brand with a flagship store situated in the Grove Mall in Windhoek's Kleine Kuppe suburb. She currently serves as non-executive director for Old Mutual Life Assurance (Namibia) and Rio Tinto's Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia. Ally was chosen as a Desmond Tutu Fellowship programme Associate in April 2013 and was one of two Namibian entrepreneurs selected to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Kenya.

Quote of the Day by Kate Quartey-Papafio

September 5, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Kate Quartey-Papafio, founder of Reroy Cables (Ghana)

"Nothing is impossible, it does not matter what you are doing, I encourage you ladies out there to work hard and pursue your dreams with seriousness and perseverance and you will get there."

- Kate Quartey–Papafio is a pioneering industrialist who founded Reroy Group Ltd in 1992 to distribute high quality electrical cables in Ghana. Today, Reroy Cables is an iconic brand name in Ghana’s manufacturing sector producing and distributing power cables, conductors, electrical power distribution systems, and providing strategic contract services to the electricity sector. The business is also now linked to electricity distribution and transmission. Over the last two decades, Kate has led the Reroy brand to become become synonymous with values of excellence, integrity and continuous improvement.

Entrepreneur Advice from Tara Fela-Durotoye: Find people that fit and add value to your business

September 5, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Tara Fela-Durotoye, founder of House of Tara (Nigeria) — **Tara Fela-Durotoye**, founder of House of Tara (Nigeria)

You must find people that fit and add value to your business ....

".... you need to attract people that will add value at a sustained level. In terms of people again, not everyone is going to be with you from start to finish. As the business grows, seasons will come where some people don’t fit for the new season. It is not an easy exercise but it must happen."

- Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian-born lawyer turned Africa's leading beauty and makeup entrepreneur. She started House of Tara at the age of 20, from her living room, whilst an undergraduate at university back in 1998. She's since gone on to launch Nigeria's first ever bridal directory in 1999, and in 2004 she opened the country's leading beauty academy. Today, Tara has over 5,000 representatives spread across Nigeria and 14 makeup schools to her name and she is steadfastly dedicated to realising her vision of building a globally respected beauty company of African origin. Tara remains an inspirational role-model and mentor to make-up artists and aspiring beauty business owners across Africa.

Quote of the Day by Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka

September 4, 2017 Melanie Hawken

“Follow your dreams and the rest will follow. Being a social entrepreneur is often a journey of hills and valleys, and very fulfilling if you always keep your goals in sight.”

- Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gorilla Conservation Coffee (GCCoffee) established in 2015, which is a social enterprise of a 14-year-old award winning NGO and non-profit, called Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) that promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, wildlife and livestock to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around protected areas in Africa. CTPH implements and champions integrated approaches to conservation, health and community development, with field programs at Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas, and in other protected areas in Africa. GCCoffee promotes livelihoods of coffee farmers around Bwindi reducing their dependence on the gorillas' habitat to meet their basic needs for food and fuel wood. A donation for every coffee bag sold to primarily LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) consumers is given to CTPH to continue the critical health and conservation programs.

Entrepreneur Advice from Monica Musonda: Start at home

September 4, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Monica Musonda, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods (Zambia) — **Monica Musonda**, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Java Foods (Zambia)

First focus on establishing your business in your home country....

“Let people know your product in your home market – it has to have a home, it has to be from somewhere – before you start spreading yourself too thin [by] exporting... There are all these nuances once you get your product outside of your country that you might not be able to control. I think build a strong successful brand, a strong successful distribution network, build supply chains which you understand in your country."

- 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.

Half-time anecdotes

September 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Life demands so much of us, we’re constantly performing, pleasing others and busy with stuff. Is it any reason, therefore, that we find ourselves so tired, depleted from doing our long list of to-dos, meetings to attend, deadlines to meet. We are enslaved to the other side, the other person, the competitor, the client, the customer; living in fear to secure acceptance, the deal, the market share, the sale, some semblance of happiness. When we start a business, the ‘busyness’ consumes us creating a constant avalanche of activity and expectation of high performance, and if we don’t take a break, we will start to underperform. Most performances have an interlude, a break, half-time, an interval, an intermission.

Linda Makatiani, a Kenyan entrepreneur on a mission to support all those who are left-handed in her country

September 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Linda Makatiani, founder of Lefty Kenya — **Linda Makatiani**, founder of Lefty Kenya

Have you ever wondered about the challenges experienced by those who are left-handed? Some of the things e take for granted each day, such as the implements we use, can be a real problem for those who use their left hand as their primary task hand. But Kenyan entrepreneur, Linda Makatiani, founder of Lefty Kenya, is on a mission to change all that.

Jacqueline Boulos, a South African entrepreneur helping businesses expand into Africa using powerful, localized content

September 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Jacqueline Boulos & Natalie du Toit - Innocomm (South Africa) — **Jacqueline Boulos & Natalie du Toit** - Innocomm (South Africa)

All too often, brands try to break into new markets without having enough local insights. For one strategic communications agency, that scenario was simply not an option for their clients. Innocomm, the brainchild of entrepreneur Jacqueline Boulos, believes in spending time in and getting to know key markets in order to get brand messages to really resonate with local audiences.

ESSENTIAL READS: Meet 5 authors who are helping women entrepreneurs to achieve greater success

September 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Africa’s women entrepreneurs need access to a wide variety of business support, advice, inspiration and motivation from others who have been there and got the proverbial t-shirt in the world of business building. There are an increasing number of inspirational women authors across the African continent and globally who are publishing fascinating books to fulfill this need, and at this year’s Lionesses of Africa Conference we are introducing five of them, all based in South Africa. These highly knowledgeable writers will be showcasing their latest books, offering their insights and expert knowledge, and of course, networking to help women entrepreneurs to greater success.

Women entrepreneurs set to gather in Johannesburg to share, inspire and connect at the 2nd Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference

September 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

On Wednesday 6th September, 300 of Africa’s leading and next generation high growth women entrepreneurs will gather in Johannesburg to take part in the 2nd Lionesses of Africa Annual Conference. On the agenda will be the opportunity for these ground-breaking women to share their experiences of building successful businesses in their own specialist fields, to connect with like-minded women, and to inspire one another to reach greater entrepreneurial heights. This important event is once again held in partnership with Standard Bank and Liberty as Lead Impact Partners, in the inspirational surroundings of the Inanda Club in Sandton, Johannesburg. The event is also supported by impact partners IDF Capital, the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and Yves Rocher.