Follow Your Bliss

June 18, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Kathy Mann

I’m crazy about MasterChef Australia for a number of reasons. I am, of course, really interested in people who are changing their careers and who have the courage to switch paths, sometimes quite late in life. It’s so interesting to see how the contestants often comment on how they have grown as a person so much more than they anticipated. They entered the competition to gain skills and a head-start in becoming a chef. Not only do they all (not only the winner) pick up new skills in their chosen profession, but they push themselves to grow. In doing so, they discover a profound flow experience in the creation of food. It is a creative exercise and requires imagination, skill and knowledge. What an amazing journey they are taken on and it’s no wonder there are tears as each contestant is eliminated from the competition.

Your people don't want to come back to the office…

June 18, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Paula Quinsee

We live in a world where we glorify professional stress, extensive work hours, extreme dedication. We live in a world where saying ''no'' to extra work is seen as a weakness. As a result you end up over-worked, exhausted, traumatized... which you then simply call ''the price of being successful’'. As my colleague Bogdan Manta says, ''Balance is not something you find; balance is something you create.''

Be Fascinated With Yourself

June 18, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie

Sometimes you just have a good day. Today was such a day!

On the brink of burnout and with a catastrophic loss of confidence after some challenging life events, my client reached out for some support. She wanted more confidence and to be more effective, more efficient, and more organised. According to her, she couldn't organise a drinks-party in a brewery. She lamented that she had been such a go-getter, but now was such a disappointment ... to herself, her family and her boss.

Keep moving!

June 18, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Nontobeko Mbuyane

Most of us will experience hard choices, stressful events and difficult situations that will impact us in one way or another for the rest of our lives. Hard times happen and they teach us lessons, make us stronger, and give us a deeper sense of self. After all, would sitting in the sun mean as much if you hadn’t experienced the storm first? Elizabeth Taylor once said: “You just do it. You force yourself to get up. You force yourself to put one foot before the other, and darn it, you refuse to let it get to you. You fight. You cry. You curse. Then you go about the business of living. That’s how I’ve done it. There’s no other way.”

Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business by Francie Hinrichsen

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Book review

Dream, Build, Grow: A Female’s Step-by-Step Guide for How to Start a Business, written by Francie Hinrichsen, MBA, is your go-to guide to launch, plan, and grow your business so you can create a future you feel giddy to wake up to. This book will sashay you along each step to begin your own dream business and help you fashion your new lifestyle of freedom like a breath of fresh air.

Paula de Morais, a dynamic Angolan entrepreneur passionate about health

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Paula Cristina Cardoso de Morais, founder, Centro de Fisioterapia Ana Carolina (Angola)

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Centro de Fisioterapia Ana Carolina, a centre of excellence in physical and mental rehabilitation in Angola

Dynamic, resilient, proactive, and determined, Paula Cristina Cardoso de Morais, founder of Centro de Fisioterapia Ana Carolina in Angola, is an entrepreneur of recognized merit. Inspired by the health condition of her daughter and believing in the power of overcoming, Paula is focused on making her contribution to the humanization and evolution of health services in her country, with a particular impact on special children and their families.

Lioness Launch / New online engagement ring design service launched in South Africa

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Launch

Preposal is a new online service founded by Lucinda Dabbs in South Africa that helps your partner surprise you with the engagement ring of your dreams. Her newly launched platform allows you to create a profile and you’ll be guided through a set of questions to help you narrow down the specifics of your perfect engagement ring. Then, when it’s time to propose, your partner simply logs in on their side and downloads your Preposal mood board. This single-page tool contains all the information and vocabulary they need to confidently make this life-changing purchase. Thanks to Preposal, you can say yes to them and to your dream piece of jewellery.

Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu, a Kenyan entrepreneur with a passion for training and consulting to elevate opportunities for the youth

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu, founder & ceo, Woven Link Africa (Kenya)

Startup Story

Flacia Wanjiru Nyamu is the founder and ceo of Woven Link Africa, with 19 years of combined experience in youth capacity building programs. Her greatest accomplishments are in setting up systems and structures for design, delivery and management of vocational education, entrepreneurship, and employability programs. She has worked with various organizations in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and UK.

Stacey Spilsbury, a South African entrepreneur helping clients to connect mind, body and wellness

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Stacey Spilsbury, co-founder, Connectable Life (South Africa)

Startup Story

Stacey Spilsbury is the co-founder of Connectable Life in South Africa, an online platform that connects Mind, Body and Wellness specialists with clients. She grew up in the heart of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal. She is married to an incredible man, father and farmer, and they have 4 earth loving, wild and free, little boys. Both Stacey and her husband are passionate about Family, Faith and Business. She has a background in marketing and worked for a few years in London, UK before getting married and settling down back in South Africa.

Greater focus required in the manufacturing sector

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Impact Partner Content / Absa

As the fourth largest contributor to gross domestic product, manufacturing is a key sector to the country’s recovery plan and achieving our future growth by creating jobs and lessening the country’s reliance on imported products.

Absa is proud to be the Platinum Sponsor of the Manufacturing Indaba, which will take place on 21 and 22 June 2022 at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Are you part of something big and important? (Part 2)

June 12, 2022 Melanie Hawken

By Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

Last week we painted the background to Mission Statements. A Mission Statement is far more important than many realize as it gives you, your employees, your customers, and your suppliers something to focus on and believe in when they come into work or when they deal with you. It is a concrete manifestation of why they work for you and why they deal with you. It is the ‘Why’, not the ‘What’ or ‘How’ that makes the difference.

Moving Matters

June 11, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie

By now, this probably doesn’t need mentioning, but I am mentioning it anyway. Moving matters. As a natural stress reliever, moving matters for your body, your mind, heart and soul. It is one of those mysterious things. When we get moving, it’s a restorative experience for us ALL ROUND.

What Do We Really Do When The Past Is Too Bitter?

June 11, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Elohor Oderowho

Almost every successful person has had pivotal moments in their lives that nearly turned their worlds upside down – there was usually a setback, a traumatic experience or an event so painful that made them for a moment, stop believing.

The “why” of Your Why. A closer look at meaning and purpose

June 11, 2022 Melanie Hawken

by Ashika Pillay

The topic of purpose and meaning is often an uncomfortable one. One that feels heavy and sometimes feels undone. Do you know your purpose in life? Do I know mine? It’s sounds lofty and unattainable. We look at those who look like they have found theirs’ with envy and sometimes sadness. When will this bolt of enlightenment strike me too?

Michele Carelse, a passion-driven holistic health entrepreneur in South Africa

May 29, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Feelgood Health, a growing online health store on a mission to promote natural and organic products

Michele Carelse is the founder and ceo of Feelgood Health, an online health store in South Africa. She originally qualified as a Clinical Psychologist in 1992 and ran a private practice for many years. Here, she saw the need for natural alternatives to prescription drugs. Initially a small range, Feelgood Health, which was started in 1998, grew exponentially to an online health store with thousands of natural and organic holistic health, beauty and lifestyle products, all 100% natural, environmentally friendly and cruelty free! Today, the business employs 14 people. Michele has three adult children, three grandchildren and lives in Cape Town with her partner.

InnovateHERs: Why Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurial Women Rise to the Top by Barbara Kurshan and Kathy Hurley

May 29, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

If you want to know how you can foster an entrepreneurial mindset to succeed in business, then authors Barbara Kurshan and Kathleen Hurley will tell you how in their new book InnovateHERs: Why Purpose-Driven Entrepreneurial Women Rise to the Top.

Elohor Oderowho, a Nigerian digital magazine creator promoting women-empowered lifestyles

May 29, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Elohor Oderowho, Founder and Chief Editor, Elowell Max (Nigeria)

Startup Story

Elohor Oderowho is the Founder and Chief Editor of Elowell Max which was established in 2020. Her initial pursuit was to promote healthy living and wellness among African Women. This passion started when she noticed that African women needed a platform solely dedicated to their growth in all aspects. Thus, she vowed to create a women's site like no other, giving every African woman something to feed on. Being a passionate writer, she begun creating awareness for African women on how to go about vital aspects of life including relationships, femininity, fashion and beauty on her website www.elowellmaxpost.com.

Filomena Matimbe, a Mozambican entrepreneur creating business through banana flour innovation

May 29, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Filomena Matimbe, founder and ceo, Finana (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Filomena Matimbe is the founder and ceo of Finana, a Mozambican company specializing in Banana Flour processing and dry banana. She brings five years of experience in this business. Finana has won multiple awards including the world Gold Medal at the II World of Inventors and Innovators Forum, and also a SANBio award in Mozambique 2017. Banana flour is available in supermarkets, convenience stores, and pharmacies. It is also served as a snack in schools and in the largest hospital in the country.

Lioness Launch / The pioneering telemedicine platform, Dr Moz, launches in Mozambique

May 28, 2022 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Launch

Dr.Moz, the pioneering telemedicine platform launched by Sabina Ali and Dr. Natacha Amin in Mozambique, is a digital platform that aims to assist any user and facilitate on services in the areas of health and well-being. One of the objectives is to reduce the distance the population has to travel to find a medical service in the country, but also to decongest some hospital services.

Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletters for Africa's women entrepreneurs.