the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Rebecca Seal
Book Review
Solo: How to Work Alone (and not lose your mind) by author Rebecca Seal is the self-help guide that solopreneurs, freelancers and all those business owners who are now working from home, have been waiting for. It is a practical source of information and advice for all those who need to be happy and productive working from home, whilst at the same time addressing the emotional and mental challenges that working alone can bring.
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Vhongani Shumba, founder of mi butter (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
Every professional and home chef knows what a difference butter, herbs, spices and seasonings can make to the preparation of any delicious meal. But buying and preparing all those individual ingredients can be expensive and time consuming. In South Africa, entrepreneur and food lover, Vhongani Shumba, founder of mi butter, has the solution for all home cooks. She has launched her new range of flavoured, blended butters, ready to add new taste sensations to the preparation of any meal.
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Claudia Castellanos, co-founder of Black Mamba Foods (Eswatini)
Investment Feature
Enygma Ventures has just announced that Black Mamba Foods, the ethical producer of specialty foods (best known for its chilli sauces) based in Eswatini, and co-founded by entrepreneur Claudia Castellanos, has become the fund's latest pioneering investment.
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Karunas Reddy, ceo of Nonna’s Foods (South Africa)
Startup Story
For all those with a wheat or gluten intolerance in South Africa and looking for healthy, natural products such as plant based pastas and baking mixes, help is at hand from Nonna’s Foods. Entrepreneur Karunas Reddy is on a mission to offer her customers the widest range of delicious and healthy gluten and wheat free products that are tasty, healthy and importantly safe to eat.
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Metsana Kojane, founder of Eden Roots PTY Ltd (South Africa)
Startup Story
Agribusiness is big business in South Africa, and one passionate, enterprising woman entrepreneur, Metsana Kojane, founder of Eden Roots PTY Ltd, is putting bees at the heart of her business. Her production of beautifully natural honey has not only created local agri-processing jobs for women in her community, but also the creation of a natural skincare brand using the wax, propolis and royal jelly from her raw honey hives.
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by the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
“But every person in poverty, they dream of a better life, they want a better house, they want to provide for themselves, they want better roofing, they want water inside, they want electricity inside their homes.”
…so said an inspirational Lioness who is setting the world alight winning awards for her work to bring clean water to villages and into homes in Rwanda. At the tender age of 26 (so she is still a Lioness cub!), she is of course Christelle Kwizera of Water Access Rwanda.
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by Lori Milner
We all experience the typical daily dose of circling thoughts – like a recorder going off in our heads reminding us of what needs to happen in the day from who needs what books for school to what projects and tasks need to get done for work.
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by Josefa Massinga
I have been an entrepreneurial woman for five years. In my opinion, I think it is very important that women develop their own businesses. I am not saying it is easy because until each one of us is sure that she is capable and that she will succeed, it will continue to be challenging.
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by Kathy Mann
Perhaps you have heard of the 10-year rule or the 10 000 hours that are required to become a master at something. This is known as deliberate practice, a concept made famous by Anders Ericsson, a Swedish Psychologist who conducted significant research on the subject. He studied what makes people world-class in their area of expertise, be it violin, ballet or chess.
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by Ashika Pillay
Our worlds are in a state of flux and change and we simply cannot control what’s going to happen around us. This is the nature of the uncertainty in the world and in our worlds. We can make plans for the future to some extent, and even that is somewhat filled with a sense of what might “not happen”. Are we going on holiday? What will happen next year? Will we have a second wave?
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Mapholo Ratau
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Mapholo Ratau, a South African entrepreneur creating a contemporary, clothing and accessories brand.
Entrepreneur Mapholo Ratau knows how to spot a gap in the marketplace, and for her, that gap was creating high quality, contemporary clothing and accessory designs that are a celebration of South African culture. Her solution was to create a premium brand and range of clothing and accessories that are unmistakably her own.
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Emmanuella Aboa, founder of Transolution Services Africa Ltd (Kenya)
Startup Story
For any individual or business wanting to achieve their full potential, it is often essential to get the right training, skills development and advice. Based in Kenya but with a pan-African presence, entrepreneur Emmanuella Aboa, founder of Transolution Services Africa Ltd, is focused on helping individuals and businesses thrive in their eco-systems.
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Anne Drane, founder of The Sawa Sawa Collection (Kenya/USA)
Startup Story
One of the biggest challenges for women artisans in Kenya is getting their handcrafted products into global markets. The Sawa Sawa Collection, founded by Anne Drane and her co-founders looks to help change that narrative, empowering women to make a sustainable living from their work and contribute to local economic empowerment.
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Josephine Katumba, founder of Biakudia Urban Farming Solutions (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
Biakudia Urban Farming Solutions, founded by Josephine Katumba, is an urban agriculture social enterprise based in Johannesburg, South Africa, whose mission is to reconcile city dwellers to their food and environment through urban agriculture. The #WONDER initiative is launching this month which invites city dwellers to experience the #Wonder of food. Whether you have a small balcony space or a backyard, Biakudia Urban Farming Solutions will assist you in creating your own edible wonderland.
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Kara Goldin
Book Review
Don’t let anyone crush your dreams! Whatever you want to achieve, no matter how hard it might seem, you owe it to yourself to read Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters by author and entrepreneur Kara Goldin. Undaunted will inspire you to move past your fears and defy the doubters. It doesn’t matter whether you feel confident; it matters what you actually do.
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By the Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
“Dream with ambition, lead with conviction and see yourselves in a way that others may not, simply because they've never seen it before.”
…and so said the brilliant and inspirational Kamala Harris in a speech that many of us feared might not be possible as we saw the initial numbers coming out of the US Election on the night of the 3rd November 2020.
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Lori Milner
“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
— Ernest Hemingway
Working from home has brought up many challenges - the main one being a pandemic within the pandemic namely ‘performance anxiety’. It’s this need to be constantly on for dread of appearing like you aren’t doing what you need to. Never mind absenteeism, we have gone to the other extreme to overdo presenteeism.
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by Mbaliyethu( Lisa) Mthethwa, co-founder of Frutee Belliez
When we started our journey in 2009, my sister Lona and I just wanted to sell fresh fruit salads to students in school, so we could promote a healthier lifestyle. We are meant to have a minimum of five fruits and veggies a day but some of us don't even have one. Growing up, fruit salads were always perceived as a dessert. Veggies were always seen as something that is nasty.
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by Lufuno Khorommbi
Understanding cybersecurity
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting systems, networks, and data from cyber-attacks. It is important to note that the word practice means that cybersecurity should be embedded in the organisational day to day functions. Thus, it is not an event.
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by Pam Snyman, founder of REDZetc
In order to address the challenges in our specific countries in a true and authentic way, it is imperative that we recognize the essence of social entrepreneurship and take advantage of the opportunities that it offers in real life.
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