the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Mignionette Fair, founder of Edita Services
Have you ever sat down in front of your computer to write a blog or newsletter and then… your mind goes blank! It’s a terrible feeling to watch that blinking cursor appear and reappear… like it’s taunting you. The good news is, it’s happened to the best of us. The better news is, there are certain principles, tips, and tricks you can apply to make your story shine brightly every time.
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by Julia Pimsleur, author, speaker and coach, and the founder of Little Pim
No matter what size your company is now, growing it in a smart, lean way and recruiting the best people is – or should be – one of your top priorities. Maybe you’ve already started building your team, or you’re just beginning to think about making your first big hire. Either way, establishing your company’s core values helps you make smarter decisions in moving your business forward and creates a foundation for your company’s culture.
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by Aleshia van der Ploeg, founder of VDP Legal Consulting (Pty) Ltd
We enter into contracts every single day, most of the time, not realising we are doing it! When it comes to your business, it is very important to know when you are entering into a contract or an agreement, and what the terms of the contract/agreement are, as this can have an impact on your business.
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Samantha Rice, founder of Creative Compass (South Africa)
For many successful businesses, it’s all about ensuring they stay on message and have a strong brand identity and digital presence to support that goal. For entrepreneur Samantha Rice, founder of Creative Compass, that’s where her specialist expertise and insights can make the difference.
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by Brigette Mashile, founder and ceo of Roka Roko
Did you have targets for 2017? I remember sitting with my friend, who is an accountant; feeling very silly making goals for 2017. I was wondering how am I going to achieve these crazy numbers? And what is the guarantee that we can have such numbers? Anyway, my friend had more faith in this business and less fear than me. So, we did revenue, expenses, monthly and weekly budgets for 2017.
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Lindiwe Mafavuneh, founder of LCM Capital (Botswana)
- Lindiwe Mafavuneh, founder of LCM Capital (Botswana)
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Jess Binns, founder of Hector & Bailey (South Africa)
Keep moving forward…
- Jess Binns is the founder of Hector & Bailey in South Africa, a niche Interior & Exterior Design business. She established Hector & Bailey back in 2009 in the UK before moving over to Durban, South Africa where the company has continued to expand. Jess is currently breaking ground with other African countries, such as Mozambique, designing interior spaces that connect with those who use them, and beautiful exterior spaces for those that view them.Read Jess’s startup story.
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- Esmeralda De Souza-Obwaka, founder of Spez Limited in Kenya
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Kristi Kyle, founder of Love Long Length Clothing (South Africa)
Find a mentor in your industry…
- Kristi Kyle is the founder of Love Long Length Clothing, a clothing brand producing a range of clothing for tall women in South Africa. Kristi has established the first business in South Africa to exclusively cater to tall women, manufacturing locally and supporting local women machinists. The quality of her garments is comparable to any high end brand in the market.
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Janine Starkey, founder of House of Janine (South Africa)
As many successful entrepreneurs will tell you, achieving that success is often down to confidence, and lots of it, but for many women entrepreneurs, confidence doesn’t always come naturally. But South African entrepreneur, Janine Starkey, founder of image consultancy House of Janine, is about to change all that.
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by Karen Wessels, co-founder of SnappSales and VA Connect
I have a love-hate relationship with networking. Sometimes it makes absolute sense to me and at other times I feel no benefit at all from networking. Reflecting on why I experienced these two extremes on an activity that really should be fun and beneficial, I was able to determine where I, and most people, go wrong with networking and how we can make it one of our top skills going forward.
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by Lizl Naude, founder of Lilly Loompa
It was 12 September 2015, and I had hit rock bottom. I remember the day clearly. I was a visitor at a ladies church conference in Sandton, and with every speaker that took the stage I seemed to feel more and more confronted by my flaws. It was like they were speaking directly to me. These ladies were well rounded, well dressed, confident, and experts in their respective fields. It was their whole demeanour, paired with God’s message that actually gave me a wake-up call!
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by Eldari Visser, Managing Director, Picketfence.Life
Ask any child of Africa what a thunderstorm over the plains smells like. Crisp, clean and the promise of life. Nature itself rejoices when rain is near. It brings joy and deep gratitude to man and beast.
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Mariana Agness Francisco Eria, founder of House Of Agness (Mozambique)
- Mariana Agness Francisco Eria, founder of House Of Agness (Mozambique)
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Claudia Castellanos Roques, co-founder Black Mamba (Swaziland)
Believe you can do it…
- Claudia Castellanos Roques is the co-founder of Black Mamba, a fair trade brand of gourmet chilli products from the Kingdom of Swaziland made with organically grown ingredients and no artificial flavours or preservatives. The range includes chilli sauces, pestos, and chutneys. Black Mamba partners with a local NGO called Guba that trains small farmers in organic farming. Black Mamba then buys at negotiated prices all the organic produce grown by these farmers to manufacture their products. Products are currently exported to South Africa, the UK, Germany and Australia.
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by Tania Reid, Chief Experience Officer, Ithemba Office Solutions
We recently came up with an idea to create a ‘morning after’ survival kit, to help conference attendees recover from a team-building event the night before. So there were SUPER C sweets (to replenish the vitamins lost) and Orbit chewing gum (to help them stick with the programme) and it got me thinking that if there was an entrepreneur survival kit, what kind of things would I want in it?
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J. Kelly Hoey
In Build Your Dream Network, acclaimed business columnist and networking expert J. Kelly Hoey offers a fresh new approach to mastering the timeworn skill of networking in a world where everyone is posting, liking, and friending fast and furiously, but many are failing to leverage their connections successfully.
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Phindi Msomi, founder of Olwazini Consulting Services (South Africa)
Creating a working environment where employees can thrive and excel is a challenge for many companies and organisations. For South African company, Olwazini Consulting Services (Pty) Ltd, founded by Phindi Msomi, this represented a key business opportunity.
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by Leigh Ann Gowland, founder of Employee Driven Change
Entrepreneurs wear a variety of interchangeable hats every day. Business owner, customer service, sales, marketing and finance are only a few. Imagine if while juggling all the hats of an entrepreneur a new hat is introduced; the change agent hat.
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by Lynette Hundermark, managing director of Useful & Beautiful
Never under-estimate just how fiercely personal your mobile device is. It may be hard to believe, but it’s 7 years since the explosion of the smartphone market, and with the increased availability of low cost smartphones there is now a phone in almost everyone’s hands. But…before we can start talking about any trend, as marketers we need to understand that mobile starts with an understanding of how fiercely personal this device is. It has become more of an appendage rather than a device.
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