the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Nadia Marillier, founder of Tranquil & Tenacious Minds
How am I going to cope? Will I be able to sustain my business and see to my family? How will I remain relevant? These are questions many entrepreneurs, including myself, asked when COVID-19 became our reality.
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by Robyn Keet
A strategy for Creatives to earn an income during location restrictions.
Are you a Creative at home waiting for the lockdown to be lifted so you can go back to work? Or you can get back to work but your clients are a little concerned to be going out or going ahead with your services? If this is you, then I might have an idea or two on how you can either add or adapt your current creative business to service your audience while making a living during these uncertain times.
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by Phindile Ndlovu, Founder and Director of Bhekizenzo Foundation
Facing the same dilemma too? We actually don’t have to. A few weeks ago, I wrote on how moms can use screen time to get some work done. Screen time is awesome in the sense that your child gets entertainment, learns and sees new things but too much of it can really disempower your child. So, what do we do?
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by Dr Ashika Pillay
My training as a medical doctor initially unearthed in me, the great desire to solve mysteries and problems - and make puzzles fit. I would listen to patients for clinical signs and symptoms and be quick on the button with solving the “issue”. As I trained though, I started to really sense into “why is this person really here?” What is the unsaid, unseen, and unheard symptom that they are wishing to reveal - given the right time and attention. I suppose this is where my “coaching” started early on. In a GP practice that I worked; I was known for taking an incredibly long time with patients. Patient’s moved from “needing weight loss medication” to revealing deep insecurities about themselves, their marriages, and lives.
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by Nancy Ernesto, founder of Avon Nancia Comércio Geral (SU) LDA (Angola)
The biggest problem facing any industry that is required to go to the customers’ location, is that people are becoming increasingly impatient. A survey sponsored by Interparcel out of the UK, found that 50% of Brits admitted to becoming more impatient in the past 5 years. While it’s no surprise that patience is waning in our society, there are ways to monitor and measure customer satisfaction, and also improve the accuracy of your daily schedules.
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Maria Auma, founder of Blue Luxury Investments (Uganda)
Maria Auma, founder of Blue Luxury Investments (Uganda)
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Ngozi Opara, Founder, Heat Free Hair (Nigeria)
What’s your why?…
Ngozi Opara, Founder, Heat Free Hair (Nigeria)
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Stella Langat, Co-founder, Double Dee's (Kenya)
Stella Langat, Co-founder, Double Dee's (Kenya)
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Snoekie Mabena-Saleh, Founder and Director, S.MAB GROUP (South Africa)
Believe in yourself!…
Snoekie Mabena-Saleh, Founder and Director, S.MAB GROUP (South Africa)
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Christelle Kwizera, Founder & CEO, Water Access Rwanda (Rwanda)
Christelle Kwizera, Founder & CEO, Water Access Rwanda (Rwanda)
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Thiitu Karega, founder, Binti Naturals, (Kenya)
Start small but start now!…
Thiitu Karega, founder, Binti Naturals, (Kenya)
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Margaret Hirsch
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Hirsch’s is a truly South African family business and was founded 41 years ago by Margaret Hirsch and her husband Allan. Today, it is the largest independently owned Appliance and Electronics retail outlet in South Africa - Margaret now has the role of Executive Director of the company, Allan is the Chairman, son Richard is CEO and daughter Luci is Brand Manager. Lionesses of Africa chatted to Margaret this month to hear her shared insights during this Covid-19 pandemic, and its impact on her personally and on the business. She opens up very honestly about her personal experiences, and also her people centric approach to business.
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Pretty Kubyane, co-founder of Coronet Blockchain (South Africa)
Startup Story
In Africa, hair is big business, from the supply chain of human hair products, to hair suppliers, salon businesses, and associated services. Pretty Kubyane and her husband co-founded Coronet Blockchain, a company looking to create an end-to-end transparent supply chain by harnessing the power of technology.
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Linda Khumbanyiwa, founder of Lynne Kayenne Studio (Malawi)
Startup Story
Creative entrepreneurs are often inspired by their cultural heritage, and for Linda Khumbanyiwa, founder of Lynne Kayenne Studio, that was certainly the case. Her inspiration came from Malawi, the country of her birth, and a deep desire to change people’s perceptions of it, through her creative work.
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Impact Partner Content: by James Noble, Head of Wholesale, Retail and Franchising – Absa Business Banking
No business has been left unscathed by the COVID19 pandemic. Even businesses in the fast- moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector that trade in groceries, health, hygiene, long-life consumables and pharmaceutical products have been impacted due to shorter trading hours and more conservative purchasing behaviour by consumers.
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Lenka Lutonska
Book Review
So many women entrepreneurs find sales and marketing the tough part of their businesses, it doesn’t always come naturally to them. But in her new book, Energetic Selling & Marketing; A New Way to Create Extraordinary Growth in Your Business, author, entrepreneur and sales guru, Lenka Lutonska, has a different approach. By focusing energetically on five critical areas of business, she shows readers how to change their current ways of thinking and doing, and instead to experience growth by adopting a new way of selling and marketing.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
It was one of those mornings, our coffee machine had broken (to be fair it was very well used and abused, especially by our Head of Operations) and our IT/techno guru who doubles as the go-to expert for all things that involve electricity, plugs and buttons (not the business shirt kind) was nowhere to be found.
Panic, chaos and mayhem ensued!
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by Thembe Khumalo, founder and Managing Director of Brandbuilder
At a time when we are practicing social distancing in real life, we need to do the opposite with our customers. In other words, use this time to get closer. How can you do that?
Communicate, communicate, communicate!
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by Amanda Blankfield-Koseff, Founder and CEO of Empowervate
Mindfulness meditation is a great way to still the mind and stop the thoughts from causing stress and anxiety. Our brains have a default network which creates all kinds of thoughts all the time except when we are focusing on something and being “in flow”. All the other times, our thoughts continue. The problem comes when we get stuck on a thought, and obsess about it, which causes negative emotions like fear, worry, anger etc.
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by Mandisa Makubalo, ceo, Unlimited Experiences SA
We are living in times where the way of doing business and living has been redefined for years to come. Pandemics are generally known for taking years to reach their full destructive potential, it is therefore critical for organizations to behave responsibly during the different phases of the pandemic. The consequence of irresponsible behaviour is a new era of disputes that are going to need to be resolved by employers.
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