Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo, a game-changing affordable healthcare entrepreneur

March 6, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Market Doctors, a social impact-driven organization bringing accessible healthcare to Nigeria’s communities

Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo is the ceo and founder of Market Doctors in Nigeria, a social impact organisation looking to bring affordable healthcare to people with minimal disturbance to their economic activities. She is a tenacious, self-driven medical doctor determined to ensure that location and financial capacity is not a barrier to access quality healthcare services. Market Doctors has a team of 18 permanent staff and 40 who are employed adhoc on a 2 year contract basis. Yetunde is determined to ensure 100 markets can have access to healthcare in the next 5 years.

Brigette Mashile, a South African fashion entrepreneur creating custom designs for discerning clients

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Brigette Mashile, founder, Roka Roko (South Africa)

Startup Story

Many people dream of wearing clothes that are unique to them, designed to reflect their tastes and personalities. Brigette Mashile, founder of Roka Roko is a South African fashion design entrepreneur who understands how to take a client idea for an outfit and turn it into a wonderful reality.

Lioness Launch / South Africa’s Black Beard Group prepares to launch its new online store

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Bontle Mmapela, founder, Black Beard Group (South Africa)

Lioness Launch

Black Beard Group is an interior design and decor boutique firm in South Africa, founded by entrepreneur Bontle Mmapela. In a drive to deliver innovative and practical solutions to its clients, Bontle and her team utilize their experience across the fields of interior design, decor and project management. The team are currently preparing to launch a new online store selling wallpapers, rugs, vases, sculptures, art pieces, candles, portraits, lamps and coffee tables.

Uncommon Results: Secrets & Strategies of High Performance Entrepreneurs by Patricia Wooster

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

If you are tired of working "in" your business instead of "on" your business, then Patricia Wooster’s new book Uncommon Results: Secrets & Strategies of High Performance Entrepreneurs is a must-read. If you are worried that maybe your business is not sustainable; or you are wondering how to make it successful; or maybe you want to create lifestyle freedom, generational wealth or monetize your life's purpose, Patricia has some great insights and advice shared by eighteen different entrepreneurs. They provide their tactical advice and talk about what they have done to grow and scale their businesses.

3 Incredibly Useful Scarcity Strategies for Creatives

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Robyn Keet

Let me save you some time by sharing what I’ve learned about keeping your customers dialled in. It’s called Scarcity aka FOMO (fear of missing out) You might have seen this strategy been used before by service-based businesses. It’s a great strategy that Creatives can use to boost sales during the year or reduce stock before including a new range in your offering.

It’s Not Just War

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Aleshia van der Ploeg

The recent invasion of the Ukraine got me thinking about the affect war has on all our contracts as well as our insurance. Unfortunately war is never good news.

Own your headspace, own your days

March 4, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

“Your day is determined by a thought you had this morning” – Dandapani

What is your default thought when you wake up? Oh, another day to get through! First you may hit snooze a few times and then ask yourself the same question. This matters because it is the theme song you are planting into your mind which will dictate your entire day.

I Apologize

March 3, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie

They say that confession is good for the soul. If only it weren’t so darned embarrassing! I’m constantly evangelizing and advocating rituals and routines that set us up for alignment with our best intentions for ourselves. And yet, here I am, slowly emerging from an almost week long bender of crisps and TV. Don’t ask me what I watched. I vaguely recall the Romanoffs, but I was indiscriminately captivated and captured by crap. As the new week rolled in, I yearned to come back to myself and to my mission, but the inner chatter of regret and guilt was thick, and it throttled my efforts to return to self and to sanity. I had to find a way to move forward, but I was stuck. Thankfully a friend dropped a gem that was like smelling salts to my fogged-up brain. She had counselled that “you can’t change what you have done; only what you are going to do”. Indeed. Thank you, Friend.

Turning your big vision into a high growth business

February 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Impact Partner Content / Absa

The first Lioness Business Agility Webinar of 2022 took place on 23 February 2022, taking as its theme “How to Turn Your Big Vision into a High Growth Business,” with 143 women entrepreneurs joining to be inspired, to learn, and to connect with their fellow women business builders from South Africa and the African continent. The event marked the start of a new year of powerful webinars ahead, with new opportunities to be grasped and new challenges to meet head on, and, after everything that has happened over the past two years, attendees were more than ready to make the event count! The Lioness Business Agility Webinar series for 2022 is once again a partnership between Lionesses of Africa and Absa.

Chill and Prosper: The New Way to Grow Your Business, Make Millions and Change the World

February 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Denise Duffield-Thomas

For all those who want to make twice as much money with half the work, Chill and Prosper, the new book from money mindset coach and bestselling author Denise Duffield-Thomas, can tell you how to do it? She says it's time to shift your mindset, recognize your worth and become a successful entrepreneur on your own terms!

Mampho Sotshongaye, an award-winning South African leader in construction

February 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Mampho Sotshongaye, founder & Managing Director, Golden Rewards 1981 (South Africa)

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Golden Rewards 1981 cc, a South African construction business empowering and upskilling women in the sector

Mampho Sotshongaye is the founder and Managing Director of Golden Rewards 1981 cc in South Africa. She is an entrepreneur and award-winning business leader, and her construction business has won local awards and received international recognitions. She founded the business in 2010 but started operations in January 2013 and now employs 56 people from disadvantaged communities. On an ongoing basis, she applies various skills transfer and community upliftment programmes, providing training and support for local workers in all projects. Mampho brings 18 years of experience in the construction industry to the business having previously worked as a Construction Manager and Contracts Manager.

Anna Karina de Sousa, a Mozambican entrepreneur passionate about aesthetics and beauty

February 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Anna Karina de Sousa, founder, Executive Nails (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Anna Karina de Sousa is the founder of Executive Nails in Mozambique, a business she launched specializing in aesthetics and beauty in 2019. Her business is dedicated to the treatment of hands and feet, with a range of specialist treatments on offer to customers. Executive Nails is highly differentiated with Anna creating and bringing to the Mozambican market a premium space with investment in the refinement, dedication and implementation of unique details such as gourmet catering, excellent service, investment in staff training, and official distribution of the Andreia Professional brand in the country.

Michelle Geere, a South African entrepreneur empowering SMEs through online advertising

February 27, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Michelle Geere, founder and CEO, Adbot (South Africa)

Startup Story

Michelle Geere is the founder and CEO of Adbot. Adbot empowers all small and medium size business in Africa to successfully advertise online. After 15 years of digital advertising experience working for award winning agencies, as well as managing multiple small businesses, Michelle decided to use her expertise to start Adbot. Her experience in digital advertising coupled with the understanding of small business owner's challenges gives her a unique insight to digital solutions for SMEs.

What really excites Private Equity, Part III? Beware of the Genie!

February 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

Over the past two weeks, we have looked at what excites PE Investors at the back end of your business (production, supply etc) as you come to them to catapult your business into the next stage of its growth. We then looked at the front or sharp end of your business - can your current customers handle the massive increase of products, or will you need to find new customers? If so, why the PE Investor is interested in your cost of acquiring these and just how sticky they are. Oh and what your retention rate is over this time, can you hold onto customers, or are you expensively bringing in new, to replace old as they leave for whatever reason? We also pointed out that we as Lionesses need to expect difficult questions, because as the Harvard Business Review has shown here, there is a dis-balance between questions asked of male founders (promotion orientation) and of female founders (prevention orientation) - as if we haven’t enough issues to work around!

5 Steps to Create Your Personal Brand

February 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Naike Moshi

My personal branding journey started 6 months ago; I did not understand what it meant to have a personal brand. I have been busy promoting my business brands for the last 8 years and have been behind the scenes for a while. People are aware of my brands - CVPeople Tanzania and WIMA (Women in Management Africa) but did not know the person running behind the brands. I was under the radar and have remained hidden for a while. After the Covid-19 outbreak, I was disrupted and had to change tactics, focusing on improving my personal brand. Another major wake up call came when I was nominated for the best female CEO, but guess what, I was the one with lowest votes meaning my personal brand was not working well. For the past 6 months, I have made my mission to work on my personal brand and the journey has been amazing. I will share my personal experience and knowledge so that you can improve your own brand.

Being Human at Work – How to Deal With Emotions in the Workplace

February 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek

Conscious Living, Leadership, Wellbeing

Emotions and the workplace don’t always mix well, but they can if you learn how to deal with them. “It is not the fittest that survive but the ones that can best adapt to their environment,” writes Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species. Over the last few months, we have heard many insights and tips on being more agile and adaptive at work. But what about emotion in the workplace? How do we navigate emotions when we feel overwhelmed by the changes and expectations in the hybrid world of work? Think about emotional agility, consider how emotional agile you are and consider ways to increase this.

Don’t Mix Business and Pleasure

February 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Sylvia Walker

Whether you’re starting a new business, or on your way to success, managing the money aspect can be tough. In the early stages, you are the business and lines are easily blurred between your personal and business finances. You may find yourself paying for business expenses from your personal bank account, or maybe buy some groceries or other personal items, and charging it to the business.

How Much of Your Surroundings Do You Absorb?

February 26, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Edna Reis

The emotions you feel - are they truly yours, or do they come from the environment that surrounds you? We tend to become so absorbed by our day to day lives that we don’t realize how much our surroundings influence our emotions.

Tatenda Rungisa, a Zimbabwean entrepreneur with a passion for catering and event management

February 20, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Tatenda Rungisa, co-founder, Twin Connect Solutions (Zimbabwe)

Startup Story

Twin Connect Solutions, founded by entrepreneur Tatenda Rungisa and her sister Tafadzwa, is a catering and event management business in Zimbabwe, specializing in creating special celebration cakes and event memories for clients. They are also involved in charity work, motivational speaking, blogging and mentorship programs.

Market Doctors, a social impact-driven organization bringing accessible healthcare to Nigeria’s communities

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