the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Lori Milner
What does stillness mean to you? For most high achievers, it ironically creates a sense of anxiety because there is a belief that stillness equals stagnation. What if you replaced the word stillness with self-reflection, a strategic pause or personal mastery? What if I could convince you that stillness is the key to your success rather than something that prevents you from your goals? It's what master life coach Rich Litvin says, 'slow down to speed up’.
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Nadine Farrag, CEO & Founder, Farahy (Egypt)
Startup Story
Nadine Farrag is the CEO & Founder of Farahy, the first and largest one-stop-hub for everything wedding related in Egypt. Since 2020, Nadine and the team have been utilizing technology to transform the Egyptian wedding industry from a very fragmented market to a one-stop service and product marketplace. During the process, they haven't only been helping out couples achieve their stress-free dream day, they've also been empowering women all over the industry by bridging the gap between them and their clients. Internally, they're very proud to have a 100% female team.
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Barbara Kamba-Nyathi, founder, Bold Dialogue Investments PVT Ltd (Zimbabwe)
Startup Story
For those looking for a safe space for healing and personal transformation, entrepreneur Barbara Kamba-Nyathi has created Bold Dialogue Investments PVT Ltd. Launched in 2019 in Zimbabwe, this lifestyle and wellness business helps people to live a more purposeful, authentic and fulfilled life.
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Stacey Menga Onyango
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Minkoti Agencies Limited, a specialist, high-growth, Kenyan construction company specializing in building and civil works
Stacey Menga Onyango is the Director / Founder of Minkoti Agencies Limited in Kenya. Stacey is the sole director of the company that was founded in 2009 as a small enterprise business dealing in general supplies, and has since grown into a middle enterprise business with over 60 employees. Stacey has a background in Human Resources and Strategic Management but decided to defy the odds and get into the construction sector in 2018. The company offers quality building and civil construction services both to the government and private sector, and has in the past year upscaled the operations of the company to South Sudan.
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Silvie Tamanda
Book Review
All women worldwide who struggle to balance parenthood, love, and a fulfilling profession should read How to be an A+ Partner, Mom and Entrepreneur by author Silvie Tamanda. Sylvie has experienced what most women do as a partner and mother of two young children, but she eventually found a way to make it all work. Women who are now having difficulties will discover all the answers to their queries, and those who have not yet stepped foot in these three worlds will have plenty of information to get them ready for what lies ahead.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
How can one truly compare the funding of male founded companies with those female led? To simply state that there is an iniquitous relationship between funding for male dominated companies and those female - which at first (second and third) glance does appear to be the case, opens one up to the answer that perhaps one is comparing apples with pears. That it just so happens that of the particular set of companies funded, the male dominated companies are ‘better’, more ‘fundable’ than female ones, more ‘noticeable’, or ‘better educated’ (obviously, ‘better’ in all these contexts is very, very subjective - just ask Richard Branson who left school at 16), but there is no doubt (here from ‘Africa: the Big Deal’), that at least a top western university on the cv makes a huge difference to funding success.
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by Teboho Seretlo
I am an independent business consultant, meaning I earn my revenue from paying clients, who are prepared to pay for my time and expertise. I get most of my clients from word-of-mouth, followed by social media. In the last few years since I started this consultancy, I have realized that it is very important to know your worth and be confident in what you can deliver. If you don’t know your worth, you will be chopping and changing things such as your fees, the minute a client complains about your fees. You don’t want to get into such a debate with a client, especially if the client is not even one of those that contribute a lot towards your monthly revenue. Once you get into such a debate, then rest assured the client will always come back to you with this line of cornering you into lowering your fees.
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by Lori Milner
As much as you dread public speaking and presentations, this is one of your most incredible opportunities to demonstrate value and catapult yourself in your career. If it's not your strong suit, you'll shift away from speaking opportunities and convince yourself you're an introvert or prefer to be behind the scenes. How can you shift your perspective and develop these skills, whether conversing with a few people, presenting to your team or addressing an auditorium? Here are seven things to consider:
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by Eldari Visser
Amidst the huge outcry of global warming warnings and several energy crises looming, a group of big corporations and government sectors, NGOs and Greenpeace nature lovers are putting their minds together, to find the next best solution for our planet. Operation “Going Green” seems so be on all the agendas. Some agendas are very close to serious activism if you ask me. We read in newspapers from around the globe on some of action taking place, some even to the tone of tomato purée and art! Gosh…
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by Kulani Shiluvah, Founder of Shiluvah & Chief Solutionist
Quiet quitting is the new hot topic in the human capital space and everyone and their aunty has their point of view, with the majority coming to two conclusions that quiet quitting is a result of an employee:
Setting boundaries with their work (chasing the elusive work-life balance we always talk about, or
The worsening employee engagement levels
So, what is quiet quitting and why is it causing such a global stir?
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Isabel Resende, partner and Managing Director, Control Plus Services, Limitada (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Isabel Resende is a partner and Managing Director of Control Plus Services, Limitada, a Mozambican company dedicated to the provision of gardening services and pest control. It is composed of 10 employees, based in Maputo City, and has representatives in the central and northern areas of the country. She holds a law degree and a master's degree in Business Management. Her journey as an entrepreneur began in 2021, however, she has more than 10 years of experience in the job market.
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Vivian Ozoemena, owner and ceo, LaBelle Sporties (Nigeria)
Startup Story
Vivian Ozoemena is the owner and ceo of LaBelle Sporties in Nigeria. She is a seasoned entrepreneur with a passion for sports, hence the name. The business renders services in the designing, production, and selling of sportswear. Since its inception in 2021, the company has employed two staff members who have grown with the company. LaBelle Sporties seeks to empower more people, especially women, from all across Africa through employment in the next few years to be their own bosses and enjoy the journey.
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Ararat Tamirat
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Tuba by Ararat, an ethical Ethiopian lifestyle brand, specializing in hand-woven basket-ware for home accessories and textiles.
Ararat Tamirat is an architect and basket weaver, and the founder and ceo of Tuba by Ararat in Ethiopia. She established her business in April 2020, but has already won recognition by the Female in Business Acceleration Program 2022. The focus of the business is on improving the lives of the local women by using their skills and establishing a viable, high quality basket production industry in Ethiopia. Ararat has already created sustainable job opportunities for almost 40 women in rural areas, and has a big vision to employ up to 500 women by the year 2030.
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Didintle Leatile Moreki
Lioness Launch
Organic Naturals Skincare, the Botswana-based business and brand founded by entrepreneur Didintle Leatile Moreki, is launching its new Niacinamide Brightening Botanical Serum in October 2022. The scientific potency of the Niacinamide Brightening Botanical Serum is proven to brighten and clear the skin by reducing hyperpigmentation; reduce fine lines by improving skin roughness, colour and elasticity by strengthening the skin barrier; reduce severe acne by fighting acne-causing bacteria and reducing sebum production; and hydrate the skin.
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Tricia M Taitt
Book Review
Just as dancers strengthen their physical core to dance at peak performance, small business owners need to strengthen their financial core to be at peak financial performance. Dancing With Numbers: Grow a Financially Healthy Business and Choreograph the Life You Want by Tricia M Taitt lays out the dance moves that established small business leaders can take to engage in a harmonious relationship with their numbers, step confidently in their CEO shoes empowered with actionable financial advice, and grow a profitable enterprise.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
It has been 30 years since the Rio Climate Summit, when a global system was set up to bring countries together on a regular basis to try to solve the climate crisis. On Nov 6th the COP27 meeting in Egypt starts. Usually we wait with bated breath as to what the ‘great and the good’ pledge on behalf of their countries and how this will reduce the warming of the world to a level at which we as a species can continue to survive on this beautiful planet we call home. Alok Sharma, the President of COP26, summed up the agreement a year ago as one that was “on life support”. He wrote (here) “The 1.5°C limit lives. We brought it back from the brink. But its pulse remains weak.” Bringing back from the brink is a good description as just before the end of COP26 brinkmanship was taken to a new level when China and India both refused to sign the agreed text pledging to ‘phase out’ coal, instead insisting at the last moment that it be changed to ‘phase down’.
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by Nontobeko Mbuyane
We all have big dreams, big goals, and big ideas on what we think our life should look like, or how we think life will end up. Some of us meticulously plan out our lives, envisioning and letting ourselves daydream as we think about all the stuff we would love to accomplish. The problem is, a lot of us have trouble reaching the potential we have set for ourselves. Time kind of flies by, and we end up looking back and wondering what went wrong. Well, one reason stands out like a sore thumb: We never really get started doing the things we truly want to do.
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by Tsitsi Mutendi
This week we continue on our journey with Ms. Olivia Simbajena. Ms. Simbajena is a businesswoman whose business falls under the category of SME and MME. Hers also falls under the category of Family Business. As we have defined before Family Business is a business started by an individual for the benefit of his or her family and is then run by the individual to serve the interests of their communities as well as those of their family. Family Business’s main characteristics are that a family owns the majority shareholding of the business. However, from the characters and their situations, although fictional, we are starting to see that there are dynamic intricacies that effect Family Businesses. Laying down a foundation by introducing our fictional business owners will help to establish context when we go in-depth and unpack more problems and solutions for Family Businesses.
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by Jenny Reid
In 2018, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) partnered with the Charles Koch Institute to launch research on individuals with criminal records in the workforce in the USA. In 2021, they revisited the topic with some interesting findings. Recently the 2021 Getting Talent Back to Work Report was issued by SHRM. Whilst the findings are US based, it is worth unpacking the main elements of the report.
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by Lori Milner
The relationship with yourself is the foundation upon which every other aspect of your life develops. Your health, wellbeing and happiness are directly proportional to how you treat yourself. If you want a different life, it's nothing to do with more money or career success. It is all about making decisions that are in your best interest. I remember asking my coach for the unconditional self-love and acceptance checklist; I wanted an excel spreadsheet with a bullet list I could work through and tick off each item. By the time I'm done, voila – a new friendship with myself!
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