the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Daniela Samakosky, founder, Walk The Talk Africa (South Africa)
Startup Story
Daniela Samakosky is the founder of Walk The Talk Africa in Cape Town, South Africa. Following in the family footsteps of a long line of Italian shoemakers, the idea of upcycled fabric shoes, slides and slippers was born in 2016. A lifetime of reverence for nature coupled with sustainable living underpins the values that drive the vision of creating a brand that creatively transforms fabric books and remnants into beautiful ‘one of a kind’ slippers and shoes.
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Navalayo Osembo
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Enda, a proudly Kenyan running shoe brand on a mission to be one of the top three running shoe brands globally
Navalayo Osembo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Enda Athletic, Inc. Enda creates original men’s and women’s running footwear and apparel made in Kenya, for sale under its branded name, on both online retail and wholesale to running and athletic retailers. As a made-in-Kenya running shoe, Enda possesses a unique brand and selling point that no existing competitor can match. Navalayo is a graduate of the London School of Economics and has worked internationally, including in the US, UK, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Kenya where she utilizes her diverse skills as an accountant, a lawyer, risk manager, and in international development. She is from a town near Eldoret, Kenya that has produced generations of the world’s greatest distance runners. Prior to creating Enda Athletic Inc., Navalayo started a sports academy in Bungoma, Western Kenya to provide sports proteges from disadvantaged backgrounds access to much-needed professional training without compromising their education. In order to maximize social impact in Kenya through sports, Navalayo teamed up with her Co-Founder to create Enda Athletic Inc., a made-in-Kenya running shoe brand that creates jobs, invests in local communities, and spurs economic development through exports.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
by Alice da Silva
I share my thoughts on how to prepare for the return to the office, with the aim of minimal disruption - emotionally or to productivity. The preferred objective is for the change to be as seamless as possible, so that one’s energy can rather be spent on being positive to embrace the new challenge, instead of ruminating on the negatives, and focusing on resistance to leaving the home office.
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by Sinal Govender and Claire Keet, cofounders of life.file in collaboration with property specialists, Araujo Attorneys
“Buy an investment property,” they said. “It’ll be a fantastic long term investment,” they said. Before making this enormous life decision, it’s important to think about all the aspects of being a landlord. There’s a lot to consider - like calculating when you’ll start turning a profit, finding (and keeping!) a reliable tenant, handling a lease agreement, becoming a member of a body corporate, hiring a managing agent, dealing with burst geysers, furnishing (or not furnishing) your property. A lesser discussed item on the list is what will happen to your properties and tenants when you kick the bucket one day...
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by Kathy Mann
One of the things that contributed to my recent health collapse is poor emotional boundaries. I didn’t have strong boundaries established and that meant that anyone could impose almost anything on me. I wasn’t firm enough, even with my children, in articulating what is for me and what is for them.
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by Paula Quinsee
Do you find it difficult to say no to others? Do you find yourself agreeing to things that you don’t want to do or functions you don’t want to attend? Are you constantly worried about what others might think of you and that you don’t want to disappoint or let others down? You might very well be a people pleaser. The important thing here is to know the underlying causes of what has contributed to this type of behaviour.
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Lioness Radio / The Business of Funding Podcast Ep.3
There are 3.5 million searches a day on Google. If your business is not advertising on Google you don't exist to online customers. That is why Lionesses of Africa is collaborating with Adbot to change this. Adbot is giving away 1000 Free Google ads campaigns to 1000 women business owners, each to the value of R1000. The campaign runs until 31 January 2022.
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Chikondi Michongwe, co-founder, Serene Vegan Co. (Tanzania)
Startup Story
Chikondi Michongwe is the co-founder of Serene Vegan Co. in Tanzania. She is a passionate plant-based lifestyle entrepreneur who believes in the wellness of both the mind and body. Chikondi's start-up aims to raise awareness of the goodness and benefits of a plant-based diet and to do away with the stereotype that a vegan diet is bland and unexciting. She has more than 15 years of entrepreneurial experience and has gotten her hand in many business ventures over the years.
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Sabina Ali, founder and executive partner, SAB Consulting (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Sabina Ali is the founder and executive partner of SAB Consulting in Mozambique, a company recognized for its strategic leadership, tailored business strategies and support in the areas of organization, implementation, monitoring and coaching. She is also the co-founder of Dr. Moz, a pioneering digital platform for the health and wellness industry, recognized as the first Mozambican platform to provide telemedicine services.
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Seynabou Dieng
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
MAYA, a food processing business in Mali integrating local producers into its value chain
Seynabou Dieng is a social entrepreneur and the founder of MAYA in Mali, a food processing company founded in 2017 which uses raw materials from local agriculture and integrates small producers into its value chain. The finished products are distributed in Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. Seynabou is committed to the cause of women and young people; 80% of her staff are women and and she devotes a great part of her time to coaching young entrepreneurs. Seynabou’s leadership in entrepreneurship and her social commitment have earned her several distinctions, the latest being the Cartier Women Initiative, she was 2021 laureate for Sub Saharan African.
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Rainat Komolafe, founder, Babies Essence (Nigeria)
Lioness Launch
Babies Essence is a one-stop-shop selling baby, toddler and maternity items for parents in Nigeria, founded by entrepreneur Rainat Komolafe. She believes that at Babies Essence every step matters, and so is launching an inspirational series of two new books for kids between the ages of 5 to 12 years. The first book is the A-Z of Positive Affirmations for Kids, and this is accompanied by a Positive Affirmations Workbook, both written and produced by founder Rainat.
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Book Review
If conventional business and marketing advice has not landed in your heart and soul very well, and keeps you chained to your screens (when you'd rather spend more time off line), then Quiet Marketing by Danielle Gardner is for you! Quiet Marketing is a book for highly sensitive solopreneurs who are seeking a calm, uncomplicated, minimal approach to business and online visibility.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
We woke to find it was Davos week! The gathering of the ‘Great and the Good’ of the finance world under the World Economic Forum banner who meet once a year in Switzerland to discuss, deliberate and invest, is as regular as a one of their famous Cuckoo Clocks. Sadly, at the last moment, and especially for those already in their Ski Jackets, Covid hit again and Davos was postponed until the summer and replaced by a few on-line speeches. All was not lost however, because one who is always at this event, a certain Mr. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest investment firm with many US$ billions under management, recently published his annual letter to shareholders. In this there is a call to arms for all CEOs:
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by Edna Reis
We constantly trap ourselves in the past or future and forget to live in the present. But the thing is: we have to learn to let go, we need to release the things we no longer need, things that have hurt us, things we will no longer experience. We all know this; we all have read books or came across a quote about it. Psychology has been showing us the facts on the dangers of being stuck in the past and the future.
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by Charmel Flemming
Are you an entrepreneur or small business owner who feels like there aren't enough hours in the day? Do you feel so bogged down with daily tasks that you can't get around to implementing strategic plans in your business? Do the phrases "accounting", "tax submission", "compliance", "forecast" make your skin crawl? Don't worry; this is not one of those tiresome infomercials.
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by Justina Luelo
When I came across Human Centered Design it was love at first sight. The thought that I can innovate with Humans and for Humans was a new concept for me and I wanted to explore it. The idea of exploring HCD for new innovations and improve services and products was great but, the idea of working with people who are looking to innovate getting into the entrepreneur life style was even greater, well, why not?
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by Brigette Mashile
This week I read another meme which reminded me that it has been close to 3 years of Covid reality! I mean, I know but why are we counting? Who felt the need to remind us? This year, I no longer have a fear of Covid because of the amount of things, people and realities I have lost from it. It’s a ‘whatever happens’ kind of relationship now. Covid must Covid, and I will Brigette every day. I am so nonchalant about it because of the amount of times it has tried to trap me, for example:
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Awards & Accolades
Rwanda-based eco-friendly shoe brand, UZURI K & Y, which uses recycled tires from sub-Saharan Africa and employs local young people, has been announced as the joint winner of the 2021 Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge. Kevine Kagirimpundu, co-founder and CEO of UZURI K & Y together with Ysolde Shimwe, CFO & Co-Creative designer, were awarded the prize of € 100,000. Speaking about the recognition and award win, Kevine said: “We are honored to be the winner of the Tommy Hilfiger Fashion Frontier Challenge. This opportunity provided us with mentorship and strategic guidance, and a platform for sharing our dream of bringing sustainable shoe options from Africa to the global market. We are dedicated to creating a real impact and inspiring young people today to build a cleaner future.” The other join winner was Lalaland, a Dutch-based platform that uses artificial intelligence to generate customized and comprehensive synthetic models of different ethnic groups, which was also awarded € 100,000.
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Khadija Elbedweihy
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
PraxiLabs, an award-winning business in Egypt providing STEM education through 3D interactive virtual science lab simulations.
Khadija Elbedweihy is the founder of PraxiLabs in Egypt, an award-winning tech business founded in 2016 and which now employs 30 people. She graduated top of her class four years in a row, and went on to receive her PhD from the University of Sheffield to be the youngest lecturer in her faculty, with a PhD focused on human-computer interaction and user experience. Together with her belief in adopting technology for improving education and enabling equal opportunities, Khadija founded and is currently managing PraxiLabs with an amazing team who have the same vision as she does. This is her true passion and daily quest. PraxiLabs aims to provide equal opportunity for an enhanced STEM education for students everywhere by providing 3D interactive virtual simulations of science labs that are accessible, usable, and affordable for educational institutions and students alike. PraxiLabs not only provides an immersive virtual lab experience, but adds enriched content that provides students with more understanding and knowledge according to their own pace and learning style.
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