the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Zuwaira Ikharo Shuaib, founder of Amal Botanicals Baby Care (Nigeria)
Startup Story
When you are a mother to triplets, you have first hand knowledge of just what babies need when it comes to natural skincare, and that is certainly the case with Zuwaira Ikharo Shuaib, founder of Amal Botanicals Baby Care. She has a big vision to be a leading natural baby skincare brand in Africa.
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Tshegofatso Dludla, founder of RoboSTEAM Train (South Africa)
Startup Story
In a world where technology is changing so many aspects of our daily lives, it is so important that children get the opportunity to grasp and embrace maths and science at an early age. Tshegofatso Dludla, founder of RoboSTEAM Train in South Africa, is making a huge difference to the lives of underprivileged children in the country by making robotics and coding fun and accessible.
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Sherry Deutschmann
Book Review
If you want to see the concept of transformational leadership through empathy in action, then look no further than Sherry Deutschmann’s book, Lunch with Lucy: Maximize Profits by Investing in Your People. This is a very personal book by someone who knows just how important employees are to the success of any business. She has a fascinating and unique business model to share with readers that will transform not only the way we think about our people, but how we embrace them as the genuine drivers of our business success.
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by Usha Maharaj, Speaker, Coach, Facilitator
Asking for help at work, at home, in any area of our lives is tough. But asking for help could be the game-changer that you need in order to reduce the stress, make more time available, and lessen the burden you’re carrying.
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by Kelebogile Makhafola
A crisis presents challenges that provoke a sense of community within brands and organisations. Tough times push brands to reinforce the value and refuge in belonging. This article explores how you as a business owner, marketer and leader can reassure your customers, employees, and followers of the benefits of belonging to your eco-system.
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by Lelemba Phiri, Enygma Ventures Operating Partner and Fund Manager
Before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the importance of mental health was being highlighted and the crisis has amplified its importance even further. As business owners and investors, we are not exempt from the compounding effects of poor mental health if we do not take the time to understand these issues and how they can negatively impact us, our businesses and families.
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Every year, the first week in August is a time of reflective celebration for me. I celebrate the choices I made and the mistakes I didn’t. I take this time to exhale and be proud of my story.
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by Catia Mondlane, Founder Estética & Cosméticos
When I decided to open a natural cosmetics firm, I was aware that I really had to study and understand at all levels what I was getting myself into. Merely absorbing what people say or think about a certain product they’ve used or had previous unpleasant experiences with wouldn’t get me as far as I wanted. Without discarding how important those were and how they could influence the business’s progression, I really needed to deepen many aspects of each market to bring the ideal visionary concept to life.
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by Dr Ashika Pillay
Most of us are in some way pre-occupied, occupied, or think often about physical fitness, exercise, keeping fit, eating well (even though we may not really..). The physical side of fitness, strength, vitality, and resources - yes? Have you ever wondered if you are looking at, and working on the other aspects of your life with respect to building strength and vitality? What about the mental, emotional, spiritual dimensions as an example?
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Faraja Nyalandu, founder Shule Direct (Tanzania)
Faraja Nyalandu, founder Shule Direct (Tanzania)
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Maria Baryamujura, Founder and CEO of COBATI (Uganda)
Harness your talent!…
Maria Baryamujura, Founder and CEO of COBATI (Uganda)
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Mellisa Mazingi, Managing Director, Gone Rural Swaziland (Eswatini)
Mellisa Mazingi, Managing Director, Gone Rural Swaziland (Eswatini)
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Tlangelani Nkuna, founder, Placement Junxion (South Africa)
Stay true to yourself!…
Tlangelani Nkuna, founder, Placement Junxion (South Africa)
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by Mandisa Makubalo, Unlimited Experiences
Every business leader agrees that INNOVATION is important, yet they cannot agree on what it means? It has become a rather confusing buzzword which has been positioned in a very complex way as it comes in many flavours.
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Dana Mroueh, founder of MonChoco (Côte d’Ivoire)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Meet MonChoco, a proudly Ivorian chocolate brand, reflecting the country’s exceptional terroir.
Côte d’Ivoire is renowned for the quality of its cocoa beans, but up until now, the world has not had the opportunity to widely celebrate those beans in the finest of chocolate forms. But that is rapidly changing as artisan chocolatier Dana Mroueh and her company, MonChoco, are producing a very special raw chocolate brand and range of products that is exciting taste buds in the country.
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Achenyo Idachaba-Obaro, founder of MitiMeth (Nigeria)
Lioness Launch
MitiMeth is an award-winning, cause driven brand, transforming waste and building livelihoods in Nigeria via the Creative Economy. The company has just opened its new “All Things Water Hyacinth” Showroom in Lagos. The new retrofitted “for-purpose” Showroom and Production Hub will be a centre for the transformation of water hyacinth into Home Goods and Accessories.
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Chrissa Amuah, founder of AMWA Designs
Lioness CoLAB
An exciting CoLab has just been announced between the talented textile designer, Chrissa Amuah, founder of AMWA Designs, and Allbirds, the highly innovative and sustainable global footwear brand, well known for its trainers. Chrissa collaborated with the Allbirds team to design a special edition of the Dasher trainer - and the results were incredible.
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Dr. Shellie Hipsky
Book Review
Dr. Shellie Hipsky’s daughter noted that her mom no longer wore power suits daily for work. As a successful motivational media company’s CEO and the nonprofit leader of The Global Sisterhood, Dr. Shellie helps inspire and empower the women of the world. Her daughter Alyssa stated she was always wearing either, “ball gowns for charity events or running around in yoga pants with her kids making deals on the phone.” This practical book takes you step by step from vision to startup and beyond as Dr. Shellie describes her rise from tenured professor to becoming an award-winning “Best Business Woman” and “Entrepreneur of the Year” whose company has grown massively in impact and revenue. The book takes you through 10 key Success Secrets, from how to be authentic in your leadership and marketing to attract the right customers and clients, through to building your dream team in your business.
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From the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Our Head of Finance (HoF) was in an excited mood and called us in to watch an interview from Stanford University with Marc Andreessen (founding partner of the massive and highly successful USA VC firm A16Z). One hour later and shocked, we began to realize why this was so important. A16Z look at 3,000 of the 4,000 startups in the USA searching for VC funding each year in A16Z’s sectors. Of those they only look at 200 in depth and of those they only invest in about 20 a year.
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Impact Partner Content: Absa | By Ulrich Janse van Rensburg, Head of Fraud Strategy for Absa’s Retail and Business Bank
A heartfelt call to exercise vigilance when it comes to money matters.
The past few months have been a really tough period for Jack and Sarah. While they are committed to curbing the spread of Covid-19 and have gone out of their way to protect themselves and the people around them during this time, they co-own a popular barber shop, which was closed for business during the first phases of the national lockdown. The lack of income has been a massive worry. Fortunately, the couple had accumulated some savings over the years, which was seeing them through this tough period, but it was fast running out.
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