the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Kofo Akinkugbe
Lionesses Weekender Cover Story
Secure ID, Africa’s market leader in smart card technology and digital security.
Kofo Akinkugbe is a Nigerian innovator and technology market leader. This remarkable woman entrepreneur founded a company that today is recognised globally as a market leader in Africa's smart card technology and digital security industry.
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Nosisa Dhlomo, founder of Afrizulu Tech (South Africa)
Startup Story
South Africa needs vibrant, bright young women with ideas and entrepreneurial ventures that have the potential to transform the economic landscape of the country and bring with it a wealth of opportunities. Nosisa Dhlomo, founder of Afrizulu Tech is one such pioneering woman entrepreneur. She believes in building African female leadership through industry platforms and hubs to produce more female leaders.
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Gércia Sequeira, co-founder of Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS (Mozambique)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
ITIS, creating local, innovative technology solutions for business and people.
Gércia Sequeira is a leading techpreneur in Mozambique and the CEO and co-founder of Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS. As President of the ICT Association in Mozambique (AMPETIC) and Master trainer in business development service providers, as well as a trainer of various associations and single business owners concerning the use of ICT and Management tools, she is an influential tech voice in the country.
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Awards and Accolades
Emerging technology company, Niche Integrated Solutions, a100% Black women owned business, has won the Innocentrix South African Innovation League 2020 in the small enterprises category. The award was presented at a special ceremony held on 27 August 2020.
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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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Darshani Persadh, co-founder of Darjyo (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)
Startup Story
As 4IR becomes the key talking point for business, ushering in the second wave of the internet, South African entrepreneur Darshani Persadh, co-founder of Darjyo (Pty) Ltd is bridging the gap between ideas and reality.
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Kerryne Krause
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Meet the Chief Excitement Officer at I-Slices Innovation.
Kerryne Krause, who calls herself "The Chief Excitement Officer", is the founder and CEO of I-Slices Innovations, a Top Technology 100 Company in South Africa. I-Slices® Technology is a first in the world, and is a unique Cryogel dermal delivery system with its applications in the cosmetics, veterinary & medical industries.
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Adv. Lufuno T Khorommbi and Sharmantha Valjee
Lioness CoLAB
Growing awareness of the need to protect personal and corporate information in cyberspace has led to the need for expert training and development of staff in these knowledge areas. In South Africa, two companies - DesignTech Training Academy and Orizur Consulting Enterprise - have collaborated on a range of solutions to address this skills deficit.
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Prudence Seya, founder of Web Training Academy (Cote d’Ivoire)
Startup Story
For any business looking to get the best from its people in a rapidly changing digital business environment, help is often needed to develop new skills and expertise. In Cote d’Ivoire, entrepreneur Prudence Seya, founder of Web Training Academy, is making e-learning more accessible.
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Wilma Cavaleiro, founder of KUJINGA (Angola)
Startup Story
Ask any beauty or hair salon owner or freelance stylist about the biggest challenges facing the successful running of their businesses and they will tell you that interacting with potential customers in the digital environment is one of them. In Angola, Wilma Cavaleiro, founder of app management company KUJINGA, has the solution.
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Lineia Caldeira, founder of LC3D Produções (Mozambique)
The development of 3d printing technology means that today, if you can visualise it, you can make it. In Mozambique, entrepreneur Lineia Caldeira, founder of LC3D Produções, is literally bringing her clients’s ideas to life through the use of 3d printing.
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Jacqueline Rogers, founder of My Pregnancy Journey (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
This month sees successful South African serial entrepreneur, Jacqueline Rogers, launching a new educational pregnancy app and mobile solution, My Pregnancy Journey, for Africa’s women.
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Larissa Pienaar, co-founder of Elemant Applications (South Africa)
Find a problem and develop a unique solution that will fix it - that’s often the starting point for any business, especially in the tech sector. For the all women team behind South African startup business, Element Applications, their goal in life and in business is to develop smart apps that will solve a range of challenges for other businesses and organisations. Their first foray into the commercial app space sees them creating a much-needed solution for salon owners who need to manage their businesses more efficiently.
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Maneo Mapharisa, Co-founder of Girls Coding Academy (Lesotho)
Giving young women and girls access to opportunities and stimulating careers in the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), is the mission of Girls Coding Academy. By doing so, the organisation’s 7 co-founders are making a tangible and lasting contribution to the reduction of the gender gap in Lesotho.
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Ngwana Matloa, co-founder of ABOT Technology (South Africa)
How often do you see companies and organisations investing in IT and technology solutions but not actually ensuring they are aligned to overall business strategies? As a result, maximum efficiencies and highly functional systems never realize their full potential. IT specialist, Ngwana Matloa, co-founder of ABOT Technology, is on a mission to change that.
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Benji Coetzee, founder of Empty Trips (South Africa)
How many times a day whilst we are travelling on the highways, railways and flightpaths of countries across the African continent do we see underutilized freight carriers. This results in more expense and a bigger environmental impact. But that is about to change with the entry into the marketplace of EmptyTrips. This innovative, digital company is a game-changer in the logistics and freight transportation business.
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Sazia Sousa, founder of Technoplus (Mozambique)
Mastering the art of the career pivot is something that Sazia Sousa knows well, having originally studied to be an architect and then making the move into computer engineering. This adventurous move has led to her becoming a key player in this highly competitive field with the creation of her company Technoplus.
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Gérsia Sequeira, co-founder of Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS (Mozambique)
Africa needs more women innovators and change-makers, particularly when it comes to harnessing the power of technology to find solutions to key challenges. Mozambique has one such woman innovator in Gérsia Sequeira, co-founder of the Instituto de Tecnologias, Inovação e Serviços - ITIS in Maputo. She is on a mission to innovate for continuous improvement in areas such as education, e-government and entrepreneurship development.
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Mariéme Jamme, Senegalese-Born CEO, blogger, technologist and social entrepreneur
- Mariéme Jamme is a Senegalese born-British businesswoman, who runs a technology consultancy business. She is best known for her role in promoting technology, good governance, transparency and a better education standard in Africa. She was recently named as one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2014 by the Africa Business Magazine and Forbes Magazine.
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Judith Owigar, co-founder and executive director of Akirachix
- Judith Owigar is co-founder and executive director of Akirachix, an organisation centred around building, supporting, and inspiring African women in technology. Judith is passionate about all things women and all things tech. She believes that exposure, education and use of technology can increase the quality of life and as such change the world. Apart from Akirachix, Judith is the founder of JuaKali, an online micro jobs site for skilled manual workers. Through the Akirachix activities she seeks to increase the number of women who are creators of technological solutions and in effect change the perception of women in technology.
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