the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Ivy Walker
Book Review
In Twelve-Minute Risk Management: Strategies and Tools Small Business Owners Need Right Now to Navigate Today's Business World, author Ivy Walker reminds us that 70% of small businesses will fail within the first ten years. She says that with threats to small businesses multiplying daily, you can't afford to put your head in the sand and hope for the best. But with limited time and resources available, how and where do you begin to mitigate and manage your business risk?
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
If proof that the world was changing for the worse, proof that Climate Change is real, and proof that it was accelerating away from us was ever needed, we got a loadful this week.
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Angela "Camille Storm" Kariuki, founder of CNC Distro and Camille and Company Limited (Kenya)
Startup Story
Angela "Camille Storm" Kariuki is a dynamic music executive with a passion for East African talent and the founder of CNC Distro and Camille and Company Limited. Her career started with the founding of "The Camille Way" music blog and grew to include Camille & Co., a boutique talent and PR agency that represents ground-breaking artists such as Blaqbonez and Lojay. Camille's latest venture, C&C Distro, is a digital music distribution and market platform for emerging artists. She has gained recognition from publications such as The Fader and Apple Music, and became an official juror at the AFRIMA Awards in 2022, solidifying her status as a leading force in the music industry, and elevating African music to new heights.
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Nelly Paulser, co-founder, Graphic House Zim (Zimbabwe)
Startup Story
Nelly Paulser is an Events Branding Designer and the co-founder of a graphic design, printing, branding and events business in Zimbabwe called Graphic House Zim. She is an Alumni of the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs, a Geneza School of Design Scholar, a recipient of a Tony Elumelu Foundation grant, one of the 503 African Women Entrepreneur Finalists selected by Women In Africa for training and mentorship, and now a UPG Biashara Candidate - Class of 2023. She is also a winner of the 100 Voices For Our Planet Award and was nominated for Women Changing the World Awards presented by Dr Tererai Trent. She is also an ImpactHer Ambassador for Zimbabwe. Above all this she is a wife and a mother to three beautiful children.
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Dr Noeline Kirabo
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Kyusa, a purpose-driven organization that empowers marginalized youth and women through enterprise development in Uganda
Dr Noeline Kirabo is the founder of Kyusa, a purpose-driven organization that empowers marginalized youth and women through enterprise development in Uganda. She is a distinguished personal and business development coach/consultant, author, TED speaker, certified mentor, trainer, and life coach. With a doctorate in Entrepreneurship Management and over fifteen years of experience in the civil society sector, Noeline is a recognized authority in the fields of personal and professional growth. As a family therapist and social entrepreneur, Noeline has made a lasting impact on the lives of children, youth, women, and community initiatives. She has also served as a personal and business development consultant for numerous exceptional companies in the East African region and beyond. Noeline is the founder and executive director of Kyusa, a for-impact organization committed to improving the quality of life for marginalized youth through entrepreneurship development. Her dedication to this cause has earned her a reputation as a transformative leader in the field of social entrepreneurship.
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Kabira Dewan, founder, Tamura Enterprises (Pty) Ltd (South Africa)
Startup Story
Kabira Dewan is a serial entrepreneur and the founder of Tamura Enterprises (Pty) Ltd in South Africa. She is also a proud wife and mother of 3 with a successful career pivot from being a 20 year Ex-Banker at one of the 4 Big Banks in South Africa. She is a passionate social entrepreneur with a firm belief in combining profit with philanthropy and is the founder and Craft Director at Bead Expressions, a social enterprise that is creating jobs for women in underprivileged communities in an effort to eradicate unemployment. In addition, she is also a Franchisee for a Famous Brands Combo Store Restaurant Franchise. She enjoys sharing her insights and knowledge of women franchisees, as women are particularly underrepresented in fast food franchise. She is also a guest blogger for Lionesses of Africa.
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Audrey Simbiso Chidawanyika, founder, Simbiso Jumpstart Initiative (Zimbabwe)
Startup Story
Audrey Simbiso Chidawanyika is the founder of Simbiso Jumpstart Initiative in Zimbabwe. She is a multidimensional pan-African leader, a globally celebrated mentor, and an award winning disruptive innovator. She is an innovation, strategy and transformation catalyst, a human capital development and business process re- engineering expert. A community and program management specialist, she has extensive experience working with NGOs, corporates and start-ups in Africa. She is passionate about accelerating human growth and has over ten years of experience working in the African Innovation, Development, Humanitarian and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. She has proven ability working with organizations exploring the role of entrepreneurship, technology, innovation and local knowledge in creating paths to sustainable development. Audrey is a Management Consultant and Strategist in Agile Scrum, Lean Six Sigma, Enterprise and Human Centred Design Thinking. She launched her business in 2019 and today it employs 12 people.
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Ayelet Fishbach
Book Review
If you are struggling to maintain your motivation levels and reach your entrepreneurial goals, then the new book from psychologist Ayelet Fishbach, Get It Done: Surprising Lessons from the Science of Motivation, is a great read. Discover a compelling framework for setting and achieving your goals from a psychologist on the cutting edge of motivational science.
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Camille Rebelo
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
EcoPlanet Bamboo, a Kenya headquartered business on a mission to conserve and restore natural forests
Camille Rebelo is the co-founder of EcoPlanet Bamboo, an organisation with its operational headquarters in Kenya, and working in 4 African countries - Ghana, South Africa, and Rwanda. She has a background in innovative financing mechanisms for the conservation of natural forests, and prior to co-founding EcoPlanet Bamboo in 2011, she developed or managed forestry projects ranging from large-scale commercial plantations to smallholder operations in more than 20 countries across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
The above is a large 1514 engraving by the German artist Albrecht Dürer called ‘Melencolia I’ and one of the most scholarly written about engravings ever made (see here). The print's central subject is an enigmatic and gloomy winged female figure thought to be a personification of melancholy, and… Oh, Girl! We know how she feels! As we become overwhelmed, as we sink, as we flop down in the corner of our warehouse, as exhaustion takes over, both bodily and mentally - so too, everything and everyone else. Our eyes glaze over, our hearing stops (apart from the pounding of our heart in our ears). It is as if we are the puppeteer holding the strings all around us and as we sag, so too the puppets.
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by Naike Moshi
There is no doubt that building a personal brand takes time and effort. The truth is there are many other benefits available and they can lead to more opportunities than you could ever imagine. Using 8C, I transformed my Personal Branding in the following ways:
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by Paula Quinsee
We all know remote working has had a large impact on our mental health with loneliness being cited as the most common emotion being experienced by entrepreneurs, leaders and employees. This can cause us to withdraw and be less committed, creative, collaborative and attentive, and both the quality and quantity of our work can deteriorate. Loneliness has also been identified as a factor in workplace burnout. We often associate loneliness with being on our own or alone.
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by Nicola Mullineux
Choosing the correct business vehicle is crucial to protect your and (potentially) your spouse’s financial wellbeing. Of particular importance when making this choice is understanding the concept of a separate legal personality.
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by Kathryn Main
We have been through a tough two years emotionally and financially after the global epidemic that had us all scared and behind closed doors. In the months that followed, South Africa was hit with flooding, riots and an ever increasing electricity crisis. Throw in the war that started in 2021 and you will find a large number of working class people struggling to make it through each month.
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Kate Dixon
Book Review
If you currently wonder if you are running your business, or your business is running you, then you need to read Kate Dixon’s book, Name Your Price: Set Your Terms, Raise Your Rates, and Charge What You’re Worth as a Consultant, Coach, or Freelancer. Too many consultants, freelancers, coaches, and service providers rely on gut feelings and the rumor mill to make pricing and terms decisions for their businesses. If that’s you, then you already know those strategies don’t work – they can prevent you from earning what you’re worth, keep you up at night, and may even get you into situations that can threaten the health of your business. But you can do better.
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By Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
This is the last of our 3 part look at investment into women’s business that, as the number clearly show, are more of a rounding error rather than the 30 or 50% equality with men that is necessary for the world to truly prosper.
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Adelia Chicombo
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Continental Cleaners, Lda., a local company providing Industrial and Office Cleaning Services, and other highly specialist maintenance services in Mozambique
Adelia Chicombo is the co-founder and Managing Director of Continental Cleaners Lda in Mozambique, a specialist cleaning and maintenance business launched in 2016 and which today employs 300 people. Born in Manica, Adelia comes from a family of seven siblings, and her parent's earnings did not cover the family’s daily needs, a situation which forced them to seek alternative sources of income for the family. It was in this search that we were all directly or indirectly involved in conducting small businesses, including selling surplus vegetables produced in the backyard. Management awareness, in its broad sense, has always been in her mind. This is what led Adelia to take a degree in Management at the Faculty of Economics of Eduardo Mondlane University in 2008. Later in 2015, given her interest in the energy sector, she obtained a master's degree from the University of Cape Town in Energy Development Studies. In 2022, Adelia obtained her PhD degree. This degree was inspired by the awareness of gender issues, in particular the disproportionate impact that the lack of access to clean and modern energy sources has on women.
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Hortense Mbea
Lioness Launch
In March 2023, Afropian, the Pan-african lifestyle brand founded by Ethiopean entrepreneur Hortense Mbea, is launching its brand new website which is a window into everything Afropian: products, processes, artisans, and stories. The business is focused on showcasing 100%, proudly hand-made in Africa clothing, fashion accessories and home decor. The mission is to make you Wear Africa Proudly!
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Hermine Bertolini, founder, Ann Pads (Namibia)
Startup Story
Ann Pads is a social impact business, founded by Hermine Bertolini in Namibia, which addresses the combined challenge of period poverty and menstruation education in the country. Her business manufactures washable sanitary pads, combined with an educational programme approach to helping girls, families and local communities to better understand menstruation.
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Mandy Dube, founder, Yinu Custom Creatives (Zambia)
Startup Story
Mandy Dube is the founder of Yinu Custom Creatives in Zambia, a business which she runs alongside her professional role in international development. Yinu Custom Creatives is a collection of five brands covering fashion (Bonisa Tailoring), beauty (Simple SkinCare), food (Wadya Chani) and entrepreneurship (Atuule Hyesu) all underpinned by mental health or as Mandy likes to put it, Mental Muscle. The focus of the business is to promote mental health, wellness and economic empowerment for women.
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