"Live your life with an open mind, open heart, and open arms; you’ll be amazed at what gifts life has to offer.”
Farai Simoyi, founder of Farai Inc.
Read morethe pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Farai Simoyi, founder of Farai Inc.
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. in 2015, Bethlehem launched a new venture, Republic of Leather, offering bespoke, hand crafted Leather wear and accessories; and in 2016 she launched an equally ambitious new coffee venture called Garden of Coffee with the objective of taking Ethiopia's ancient coffee culture to the world.
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Roomila Roothoorodoo, founder of Focus Events (Mauritius)
Whether you are staging a major conference or special event such a wedding, or you need to produce a video that tells your corporate story, it’s essential to bring in the specialists. In Mauritius, one passionate photographer, Roomila Roothoorodoo, founder of Focus Events, is bringing her creative talents to the table.
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Nondumiso Pikashe, founder of Ses’fikile Wines (South Africa)
Exciting things are happening in South Africa’s winelands with a new generation of entrepreneurs making great wines for the local and global market place and building new brands to watch. Ses’fikile Wines, founded by Nondumiso Pikashe, is one such brand with high aspirations.
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The African Entrepreneurship Award, a $1million prize sponsored by BMCE Bank of Africa for African entrepreneurs with for-profit business ideas that create jobs and improve lives, has just announced the finalists for the 2017 awards. At the start of 2017, 5,349 entrepreneurs from all 54 countries in Africa, and 45 in the diaspora, applied for the Award. Now, one month before the winners are announced, a panel of mentors has selected 41 finalists from 19 African countries, and 39% are women entrepreneurs (15 in total).
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Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva
In the tradition of Kabul Beauty School and Start Something That Matters comes an inspiring story of social entrepreneurship from Jessica Jackley, the co-founder of Kiva, the first online microlending platform for the working poor. Featuring lessons learned from successful businesses in the world’s poorest countries, Jessica Jackley’s book, Clay Water Brick, will motivate readers to more deeply appreciate the incredible entrepreneurial potential that exists in every human being on this planet, especially themselves.
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L-R: Kgotso Masekwameng, Simone Musgrave, Melanie Hawken, Jesslyn Schlamm, Vicki Bain
On a beautiful sunshine filled day on 10th November, in the shadow of Table Mountain, 80 women entrepreneurs from across the Western Cape gathered together for the last Lioness Lean In Breakfast event of the year in the city. The venue was once again Workshop 17 in Cape Town’s bustling V&A Waterfront area. In prospect was a morning filled with inspirational startup story sharing from successful women business owners, and great business networking.
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Johanna Mukoki, co-founder and group CEO of Travel With Flair Travel (South Africa)
- Johanna Mukoki, co-founder & CEO of Travel With Flair (South Africa)
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What are the biggest mistakes an entrepreneur needs to avoid making....
- Divine Ndhlukula founded SECURICO Security Services from humble beginnings in Zimbabwe in 1998. Divine identified a need in the market for a quality oriented security company and she has driven SECURICO to become the market leader in Zimbabwe. She has tackled a previously male-dominated industry head on and her business success story is nothing short of remarkable - marking her as one of Africa's most tenacious and inspiring women entrepreneurs.
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Thato Kgatlhanye, co-founder of Rethaka
Advice on friends as business partners....
- Thato Kgatlhanye is a co-founder of Rethaka, a woman-owned South African business that is focused on improving the world around it. Through the company's green innovations such as the Repurpose Schoolbags, it is redefining societal problems and turning them into solutions. Thato is making it her business to uncover sustainable opportunities that create a far-reaching impact for low-income communities, with a particular focus on children and women.
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Eva Muraya, founder and CEO of Brand Strategy and Design, Kenya
- Eva Muraya, founder & CEO of BSD Group (Kenya)
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By Karen Wessels, co-founder of VA Connect & co-founder of SnappSales
Didn’t think it was possible to outsource your accounting? Not only is it completely feasible, but if accounting is not your forte you’ll be eternally grateful you did.
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Paula Quinsee, Author, Relationship Expert & Life Coach
Be realistic with your expectations....
- Paula Quinsee is a Relationship Expert & Life Coach in South Africa, working with individuals and organisations on EQ skills, conflict management and more. Paula is author of the book 'Embracing Conflict - a self-help guide filled with practical tools to help you navigate conflict and challenges in your life'. As a competitive athlete and adventure seeker, Paula knows from experience what it takes to set goals, overcome obstacles and achieve success, and she has a passion for mentoring the individuals and groups she works with.
Read moreMellisa Mazinga, founder of zedlabel (Zimbabwe)
- Mellisa Mazingi, founder of zedlabel (Zimbabwe)
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Chaymaa Rhou, founder of Nomadic Filmland Academy (Morocco)
We all fear taking risks....
- Chaymaa Rhou is the founder of Nomadic Filmland Academy in Morocco, a new filmmaking platform dedicated for world nomads. Our mission is to help our participants experience adventure while filming it to share it with the world. Chaymaa holds a Bachelor degree in Mass media and Communication, and she was certifed as a wildlife filmmaker.
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- 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.
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Tiguidanke “Tigui” Camara, founder, Chairman & CEO of Tigui Mining Group
Take time to learn....
- Tiguidanke “Tigui” Camara has had a remarkable career trajectory in Guinea, Africa. She is a former fashion model turned mining entrepreneur. As founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tigui Mining Group and Camara Diamond & Gold Trading Network, Tigui is one of the youngest women mining executives and one of the few women mine owners in Africa. A visionary and proactive businesswoman, she uses her entrepreneurial background to pursue her objective of creating a conglomerate of natural resources and innovative technology companies. Tigui is an active advocate of women’s role in the development of the mining industry. A member of Women in Mining International, she co-founded Women in Mining Guinée. Tigui has been featured in numerous high profile-media such as CNN, Mining Decisions and JeuneAfrique, to name just a few.
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Miyanda Katiwa
In her new book, Rising from the Ashes, successful serial entrepreneur and now author, Miyanda Katiwa, brilliantly draws life changing lessons from her experiences in life and business. She shares her moments of struggle, brokenness and hopelessness, and gives some invaluable lessons that will help any other woman entrepreneur to overcome their own challenges. Once broke, jobless and stateless, plus going through at the same time the heart wrenching experience of a painful divorce, Miyanda emerged as a successful entrepreneur and business consultant in her own right, building a strong human resource consultancy firm in Zambia. Today she is a serial entrepreneur, launching another highly successful agribusiness Pamushana Farm, specializing in growing seedlings for food production.
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On 8 November, the Lioness Lean In roadshow returned to Zambia to showcase and empower women entrepreneurs in the city. The event was once again held in partnership with Stanbic Bank at the Taj Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka, and brought around 80 women business owners from across the city from both the Stanbic Bank client list and also from the Lionesses of Africa network. Lionesses of Africa is one of the fastest growing networks of women entrepreneurs with over 450,000 women business and brand builders in 49 African countries and across the Diaspora.
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Deborah Sawyerr, founder of Sawyerrs’ House (Nigeria)
You are never too young to learn about money as a child, and never to old to learn how to manage your money better and create your future wealth as a woman, according to Sawyerrs’ House founder, Deborah Sawyerr. She is passionate about increasing money literacy amongst both children and adult women alike.
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