the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Lizl Naude, founder of Lilly Loompa
The other day a friend and I were having a WhatsApp conversation, and we were specifically sending each other voice notes. It was a rainy day here in Cape Town and I was sitting behind my desk working. I assumed she was at her flat where she still lives in Johannesburg. As we were catching up she started venting on how difficult the road of entrepreneurship is.
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Melissa Schilling
What really distinguishes the people who literally change the world--those creative geniuses who give us one breakthrough after another? What differentiates Marie Curie or Elon Musk from the merely creative, the many one-hit wonders among us? The science behind the traits and quirks that drive creative geniuses to make spectacular breakthroughs is explored in this new book Quirky, by Melissa Schilling. It’s insights make for fascinating reading for all those entrepreneurs interested in innovating and changing the world in their own unique way.
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Melanie Finch-Keshwar & Ann Finch, co-founders of The Chocolatiers (South Africa)
There is nothing quite like a retail store experience when you want customers to see, smell and taste your luxury artisanal chocolates. That’s why this month, The Chocolatiers opened their first retail store in their trendy local village of Linden in Johannesburg.
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Mishingo Aaron, founder of Naga Earth (Botswana)
There is a huge trend in the global beauty, bath and body products industry to get back to nature to source the finest ingredients and essential oils, and Botswana has a wealth of these ingredients. For entrepreneur Mishingo Aaron, founder of Naga Earth, the abundance of nature’s healing and restorative ingredients was the inspiration for the launch of her new business.
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by Phindile Ndlovu, Founder and Director of Bhekizenzo Foundation
Gone are the days where cellphones were limited to phone-calls and messaging. Gone are the days where communication was slow and restricted by borders. Globalization, a cliché that remains relevant, has changed the way we do things. We talk, brand ourselves and trade differently. Ultimately business has changed.
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Christine Wanjiru, founder of Ayari Ani Cosmetics (Kenya)
They say in business that if you find a pain-point in the marketplace and one that is not being adequately serviced, then you have the basis of a business opportunity. For entrepreneur Christine Wanjiru, founder of Ayari Ani Cosmetics in Kenya, that pain-point came in the form of not being able to find quality, hand-made, organic cosmetics to alleviate certain skin conditions and needs.
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Dorothy van’t Riet, founder and principal designer at DVR Design & Decor Consultants (South Africa)
Internationally renowned interior design guru, Dorothy van’t Riet, founder and principal designer at DVR Design & Decor Consultants in South Africa, is to be celebrated with this year’s 2018 Decorex Designer Spotlight feature stand. The timing is perfect given that DVR is celebrating 30 years in the design industry this year. At Decorex, Dorothy will be creating an individual curated living space filled with beauty, style and colour using some of her favourite pieces that evoke a personal sense of joy. Decorex takes place from 8 to 12 August at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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by Tania Reid, Chief Experience Officer of Ithemba Office Solutions
Last year, I was approached by an investment fund with an opportunity. The brief from their client was to find a majority woman-owned stationery company that they could invest in. After hearing my pitch at an event, they were sufficiently impressed to put Ithemba forward for this fantastic opportunity. 'That is the power of a good sales pitch' but that is a discussion for another day.
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by Eldari Visser, founder of PicketFence Life
Have you ever been on a trip with a backpack? Maybe across continents or on a short student holiday, even a great big one through the jungle or Africa? You will understand the day that you start off to ensure that you have packed your backpack just right? Right?
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by Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko
I have written many pieces on the issue with operational capital…in simpler language, money. Others call it petty cash, pocket money, or disposable income. This is money every business or person should have to spend on unforeseen circumstances. This is a tricky thing because you are already trying to juggle what you have amongst the expenses you have; now I need extra cash for ‘in case’! Well…ok then.
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Further, Together! That was the main message coming from the latest Lioness Lean In Breakfast event for women entrepreneurs held in Johannesburg on Thursday 2 August. Over 100 women entrepreneurs gathered in the wonderful surroundings of the new Hogan Lovells building in Sandton, as the company joined Lionesses of Africa as its latest impact partner to co-host the event for the morning.
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Adele Dejak, founder of Adele Dejak (Kenya)
In the highly competitive world of international jewellery design, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd. But this is certainly not the case for Kenyan jewellery and accessory design entrepreneur, Adele Dejak, founder of the striking global luxury brand that carries her name.
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by Lori Milner, author, entrepreneur, thought leader and founder of Beyond the Dress
In our technologically driven world, we become more and more dependent on technology for everything. My go-to app for driving is Waze. Even if I know the route, I refer to it to view the quickest way by traffic flow, anything to scrape even those precious 5 minutes off the commute. Now have you ever scrolled ahead on the screen to look and see where its taking you. You then get a screen that looks something like this…with a big Re-centre message.
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by Karen Wessels, founder of VA Connect and SnappSales
I remember like it was yesterday, starting out in business and taking on clients and suppliers that in your gut just didn’t feel right. We’ve all been guilty of this. We feel that when we are a start-up or new to the entrepreneurial world that we should take on any client to gain the much needed experience and exposure. And who is going to say no to that additional income, right?
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Dr Levashni Naidoo, founder of The Dermatology Room (South Africa)
For many people, dealing with challenging skin conditions can be confidence sapping and daunting. But for Dr Levashni Naidoo (or Dr Lev as she is fondly known) and her dedicated team at The Dermatology Room in South Africa, their inspiration is provide effective and life enhancing solutions.
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Fatuma Abdullah, founder of Akiki Dolls
South Africa based publishing entrepreneur, Fatuma Abdullah, founder of Akiki Dolls and the visionary behind the Akiki series of children’s books, has just won The AfriCAN Authors’ Awards 2018. The awards which celebrate Self-Published African Authors recognised Fatuma’s engaging books in the category of Children's Travel Books. Africa is rich in culture, language and tradition, and Fatuma celebrates these facets through her Akiki books which take children on imaginary travels across the continent through the eyes of the engaging lead character of Akiki.
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Sharon Rowe, founder of ECOBAGS
In The Magic of Tiny Business, by ECOBAGS founder and pioneering green business champion, Sharon Rowe shows entrepreneurs and business owners how to build a profitable, right-scaled, sustainable business that doesn't compromise their values.
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Flora Mutahi, founder and ceo of Melvin Marsh International (Kenya)
This month saw leading Kenyan woman entrepreneur, Flora Mutahi, founder and ceo of Melvin Marsh International, founder of the popular Melvin’s tea brand, taking up two influential global roles. She has been appointed to the board of the United Nations Global Compact by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres where she will be using the platform to support responsible business practices in Kenya and the continent through the integration of the UN Global Compact in business. She has also stepped down from her Chairperson’s role at the Kenya Association of Manufacturers to take up a new role as Head of the Anti-Counterfeit Agency in the country.
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Eugenia Langa, founder and ceo of Nweba (Mozambique)
Mozambican entrepreneur Eugenia Langa, founder and ceo of the successful specialist procurement and logistics firm Nweba, has just been acknowledged with a prestigious global industry accolade this month. The company received the award for star leadership in Quality by the Business Initiative Directions in Paris.
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Pamela Wigglesworth
There is no such thing as job security. Across the globe, there is an increasing forced exodus of 50 to 60-year-old employees happening within companies across multiple industries. Losing your job at 50+ brings with it a host of major issues that can have a long-term impact on your lifestyle, your immediate family and financial well-being. In The 50—60 Something Start-up Entrepreneur, fifty something entrepreneur and author Pamela Wigglesworth shares her concrete, step-by-step process that will show you exactly how to start and run your own small business using the entrepreneur path framework.
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