the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Miri Rodriguez
Book Review
Written by the award-winning storyteller Miri Rodriguez at Microsoft, Brand Storytelling: Put Customers At The Heart Of Your Brand Story is an actionable guide that goes beyond content strategy. Instead, it demonstrates how to leverage brand storytelling in the marketing mix to strengthen brand engagement and achieve long-term growth, with advice from brands like Expedia, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Adobe and Google.
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By the Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
‘Doing right’ means different things to different people, but in business it is absolutely essential and represents your core values. The above photo showing the impact that UZURI K&Y, the Rwandan business founded by entrepreneurs Kevine Kagirimpundu and Ysolde Shimwe, has had on so many lives as a perfect example of this. So, “What are the core values of your business?” could have been the title this week…
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Indrani Govender, founder, Ricinz Construction (South Africa)
Impact Partner Content - Absa
Indrani Govender is the founder and owner of Ricinz Construction, a business established in 2010 in South Africa which today employs 20 people. The single mother of two boys, Indrani is an award winning entrepreneur recognized for her business and the number of jobs she has created in the community. Her passion is to uplift women and youth and ensure a better life for those who have given up on life. She now strives to create wealth for all her employees.
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Mavis Nduchwa, Founder and CEO, Kalahari Honey (Botswana)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Kalahari Honey, changing the world sustainably, one bee at a time
Mavis Nduchwa is the Founder and CEO of Kalahari Honey, a honey aggregator from Botswana whose mission is to build sustainable communities using bees. Founded in 2015 the company uses beekeeping as a tool to mitigate human and wildlife conflict by training and supplying rural farmers with beehives. Kalahari Honey creates jobs for more than 500 families and counting. Mavis is a former BBC Food Chain 2019 Judge, UN SDG We Empower Awardee 2020, and a 2020 African Business Hero.
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by Charmel Flemming
As I moved gently into 2021, I was extremely aware of the negativity surrounding the impact 2020 would have on us. It was, by all accounts an unprecedented year! My husband and I each run our own businesses from home. We have two daughters aged four and seven. 2020 encouraged us to work smarter and brought us closer as our family shared the same space 24/7, for months at a time. I am by nature, a life-loving entrepreneur, with a positive outlook on life and all the possibilities open to us, just waiting to be grasped and explored.
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By Emily Kandanga
We are a sum of all of our habits. Habits run our lives. Who we are and what we can accomplish are largely dependent on our daily routines and behaviours. You are either getting better and working towards becoming your best self or you’re moving in the opposite direction.
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by Kathryn Main
2021 is the best time to become savvy with your money. We learnt the hard financial lessons last year and now it is time to use those lessons to build a better financial future.
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By Catia Mondlane
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has placed us in a very uncertain situation, in almost everything and in our daily lives. But the tricky part of this whole situation is having governments that are working to keep their citizens safe, while on the other hand, economies are struggling to remain stable. Nobody was spared, all businesses are facing financial challenges, being forced to adapt to new ways of selling. As we go through the pandemic and organize ourselves for its end, there are several ways for companies to create strategies to make the most of the situation they are experiencing at the moment.
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Book Review
Doretha Howard White’s new book, Quarantine Queens: The Stories of Forward-Thinking Women Entrepreneurs During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, is a book of its time and records one the experiences of women entrepreneurs during one of the toughest business periods on record. It is a collection of inspiring essays written by women entrepreneurs in various stages of their entrepreneurial journeys and how they dealt with the challenges that the pandemic posed for their businesses.
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Femi Oyedipe, CEO & Co-Founder, Loshes Chocolate (Nigeria)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Loshes Chocolate, adding economic value by processing raw cocoa into luxury products
Femi Oyedipe is the CEO & Co-Founder of Loshes Chocolate in Nigeria, a company birthed in 2015. With a diversified wealth of experience in Biochemistry, Human Resources, Client Relations and Business Management, Femi owns the expertise to successfully manage day-to-day business operations and the organization’s key asset; employees and clients. Having lived and worked in different parts of the world, she has honed the craft for design and aesthetic management and understands what excellent customer service delivery entails.
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Startup Story
In Uganda, if you are looking for the most exciting apparel and home decor brands, then you need go no further than the Bold in Africa retail outlet, launched back in 2012 by co-founders Nunu Mugyenyi, Angel Nkwaya and Janet Mugume. Today, the business is going from strength to strength, now showcasing over forty emerging apparel and home décor brands from countries across the African continent including Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa.
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Miranda Abrahams, founder, Birthmark of Africa Wines (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
South Africa is renowned around the world for its fine wine-making, and this month sees the launch of a great new collection of wines from Birthmark of Africa Wines, founded by Miranda Abrahams. Customers can select from a great choice of Red and White wines, Blends and Champagne. The new collection includes Brut Chardonnay MCC – Méthode Cap Classique; Heritage Premium Red Blend; Heritage Premium White Blend; Premium Chardonnay; Premium Chenin Blanc; Premium Merlot; Premium Pinotage; and Premium Pinotage Rose.
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Gladys Kgorane, founder, Caleb's Farm (South Africa)
Impact Partner Content - Absa
Gladys Kgorane is the founder and owner of Caleb's farm in Potchefstroom, South Africa, a niche agri business that supplies farm fresh products, eggs, free range chickens, sheep packages and pork packages for its customers. As a family oriented entrepreneur, Gladys is married with three children, she started her farming business on her smallholding back in 2013. Today she has seen it grow substantially from those early days, and now supplies 30 trays of eggs daily to customers, in addition to a wide range of farm fresh meat and fresh vegetables.
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By Lionesses of Africa Operations Dept
Since our previous letter in March on the EU’s move to legislate ESG to all via the financial world (here), where financial companies marketing their products within the EU now have to prove if they are ESG compliant (or not, they do have the choice). To take this seriously at a high level and to show this is not just a tick-box exercise, there is no doubt now (as we foretold) that this will filter quickly through to corporations and their supply chains. The finance world (if it wants the ESG tick) must pay attention, research, investigate and invest with ESG in mind.
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by Altina de Jesus Lisboa
It is well known that we do not always have good days, there are those bad days too. Days that seem like nothing is going to work, a pile of work to do, that call to be answered, and a lot of problems to solve. Yes, there are those days, days when we feel like a complete failure, days that arise with the thought of wanting to go back, days that seem like business is not going ahead. For those days: Relax and believe.
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Noreen Asenkenye, founder, Tell a Story Foundation (Uganda)
Startup Story
Stories have always had the power to enthrall, to engage, and often to change lives, and for Noreen Asenkenye, founder of Tell a Story Foundation Uganda, that is her motivation. She is passionate about looking out for the vulnerable, and through storytelling she is helping them deal with their distress. Noreen is an enthusiastic fundraiser, and through Tell a Story Foundation, she has successfully run fundraising campaigns for children with autism, two young girls raised by single mothers, and the current Together for Good campaign, a Covid-19 relief fundraiser benefiting vulnerable families with income relief. Noreen is a cohort 35 Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Fellow, Cohort 18 Reignite Africa Young Leaders Fellow, and a recent graduate of the 2020 Zimba Women Business Program.
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by Usha Maharaj
When chasing a challenging goal, it is possible to feel lonely or alone even when there are people all around you. Being the first in my family to go to university was an honour and a privilege. But, university was unlike school. Being the first to experience it meant that, in many respects, I was doing it on my own.
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by Elsa Figueiredo Tchikanha
Due to the financial crisis the country is facing as a result of the fall in oil prices, and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic, part of the strategy of companies to avoid bankruptcy and remain competitive is to reduce costs, among which are lay-offs. The layoffs have been throwing a significant number of people into unemployment, and thus many women have no choice but to become entrepreneurs and start small businesses, from catering to personal shoppers and influencers.
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By Lori Milner
“If a problem can't be solved within the frame it was conceived, the solution lies in reframing the problem.” — Brian McGreevy
I started my career at an advertising agency at the age of 21 as an account executive. I was privileged to work on a luxury car brand as part of my first portfolio. A few months into my role, an international client was visiting from Germany and the agency needed to present some work rather urgently one Friday afternoon. My boss was unavailable so I took it upon myself to go through to the client’s office and present to this executive. The following day I get called into my MD’s office and asked me to explain why this client is so furious.
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Trisha Lewis
Book Review
The Mystery of the Squashed Self: How to stop self-sabotaging and make your business thrive by author Trisha Lewis, is a book for frustrated female small business owners who deserve more rewards for their efforts. If you are suffering from a sudden confidence dip; or you sense that life as an entrepreneur is resulting in you having your personality squashed; or you are losing your motivation; then this is a business book with a difference that is well worth a read.
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