Leading a company or organisation is a service

May 14, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

“We’ve placed over time so much emphasis on notions of assertiveness and strength that we have assumed it means you can’t have those other qualities of kindness and empathy.” – Jacinda Ardern.

Having run New Zealand as Prime Minister for many years, Jacinda Ardern knows a thing or two about assertiveness and strength. She also led from the front in kindness and empathy during some very tough times. Indeed many believe that her ability to marry these two seemingly diverse (for some) groups, made her the global leader that she absolutely was and is still to this day.

7 Ways to help create an accountability and ownership mindset

May 14, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

What do you do when someone doesn't do what they committed to? They were due to deliver something, but when you follow up, there's always an excuse or someone else to blame - 'they never replied to my mail, finance is too slow or fill in the blank’. Most people don't say anything, and then the passive-aggressive behaviour begins. When there is no consequence for non-delivery, it becomes culture because, ultimately, silence is permission.

Harnessing my biggest strength

May 10, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Brigette Mashile

My biggest strength in running a business in South Africa is that I am multilingual. I can comprehend Sesotho, Sepedi, Setswana, isiSwati, Xitsonga, Tshivenda, isiXhosa, isiZulu, English and Afrikaans. I am struggling with isiNdebele, and lately Shona; the reason for Shona is merely the fact that we have over 700 000 Zimbabweans living in SA, and a portion of them are definitely Shona. If they are Ndebele, I can comprehend it too as it sounds (to me) close to isiZulu.

Being good at what you do is no longer enough

May 10, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Naike Moshi

Being good at what you do is undoubtedly an essential component of success, but it is not enough to guarantee that you will get all the opportunities you want. There are many other factors that come into play when it comes to getting ahead in your career or achieving your goals.

Award-winning Rio Largo Olive Estate launches its Tree to Table event on 14 May

May 10, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Launch

If you are a fan of great olive oil and you want an unforgettable experience, then the place to be on 14 May (Mother’s Day) is the special Tree to Table event at the Rio Largo Olive Estate in South Africa’s Scherpenheuwel Valley, Breede River, Western Cape. Co-owners Brenda and Nick Wilkinson are celebrating their olive harvest and the growth of their multi-award winning brand of olive oil. This will be an event to remember, providing the chance for guests to experience the picking and processing of olives from the Rio Largo Olive Estate, and then a tasting of FRESH olive oil, together with a celebratory meal incorporating the finest Rio Largo Olive Oil. As Brenda says, you never forget the day you taste FRESH olive oil...ever!

Business Uniqueness

May 10, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Helena Naitsuwe Amadhila

The world today is characterized by businesses operating in various sectors of the economy. Every sector is unique thus calling for business uniqueness in identity, operation, services, products, structure, and culture. Business uniqueness is imperative for the business to be different and unique in the sector of operation. The business would be identified easily because of the unique features embedded within the services being offered and products being sold. It is also important that the uniqueness of the business is engraved in the structure for it to be recognized easily by potential customers.

Matubatsi Motsoeneng, a South African entrepreneur building a platform for modern mothers

May 7, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Matubatsi Motsoeneng, CEO & founder, The Feme Platform and Femme Foodie Lover (South Africa)

Startup Story

Matubatsi Motsoeneng is the CEO and founder of The Feme Platform and Femme Foodie Lover in South Africa. She's a passionate entrepreneur, facilitator, and coach, dedicated to making modern mothers’ lives easier. Matubatsi aims to expand The Feme Platform internationally, internally, and work with female brands worldwide to grow employment.

Vivian Savia, a natural skincare brand builder in Nigeria

May 7, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Vivian Savia, founder and CEO, Nature's Bar (Nigeria)

Startup Story

Vivian Savia is the founder and CEO of a natural skincare brand, Nature's Bar in Nigeria, which has been in operation since 2017. It currently creates job opportunities within her environment while partnering with local suppliers of raw materials and supplies. She is a chartered accountant with an MA in International Business Management from Middlesex University, London, and B.Sc. in Accounting from Imo State University. As a chartered accountant by profession, her basic skills and experience were in accounting, grants management, retail marketing, financial management, donor reporting, procurement, and communication within the banking and non-profit sector.

Katherine-Mary Pichulik, an ethical jewelry and accessory brand-builder based in South Africa

May 7, 2023 Melanie Hawken

PICHULIK, a brand celebrating sacred feminine wisdom through its unique and intentional jewelry designs.

Katherine-Mary Pichulik founded PICHULIK in 2013 and is Joint CEO and Creative Director. Prior to establishing the jewelry and accessories brand, Katherine completed a BA Honours in Fine Arts at Cape Town University. PICHULIK is sold in up to sixteen countries around the world and has collaborated with Copenhagen luxury brand By Malene Birger, and LVMH winner Lukhanyo Mdingi. Katherine has received multiple design accolades including, Accessory Designer of the Year by African Fashion International, TWYG Sustainable Fashion Accessory Award, and Vogue Italia’s top 10 jewelry brands. PICHULIK is regularly featured in global publications, including VOGUE US, VOGUE UK, Conde Nast Traveller, and L” Official Mexico. Katherine is a South African Gazelle top 40 SMME, and United States International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) alumni.

The Business Transition Handbook: How to Avoid Succession Pitfalls and Create Valuable Exit Options by Laurie R Barkman

May 7, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

In her new book, The Business Transition Handbook: How to Avoid Succession Pitfalls and Create Valuable Exit Options, author and entrepreneur, Laurie R Barkman, asks you to consider a key fact - 100% of owners will leave their business one day, but few are prepared. The question she asks is, are you prepared? When you’re ready to sell, the company may not be sell-ready–leaving you out of time and unrewarded. Most entrepreneurs are too busy to begin thinking about the end. But you may be leaving money—and your happiness—on the table. It’s crucial to start planning for your transition, whether it comes next year or in a decade.

Use your values to guide decisions

May 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

Groucho Marx once said that one should learn from the mistakes of others, adding: “You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.” As usual, there is so much truth in humour.

Creating access to markets

May 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Kathryn Main

When you are ready to start your new business venture, you need to think about all the ways this product or service can make you money. How many sources of income can you get from this one business? Can you build multiple income streams and make those income streams passive income streams?

Do you need a bestie in business?

May 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lizl Naude

Friendship between women can be the most beautiful thing. It can be a safe place and is very important to your overall well-being. But...it can also be challenging. And as we navigate through seasons and life, it can sometimes also be very heart-breaking.

How to manifest anything you want in your life

May 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Margaret Hirsch

My mother came from a reasonably middle to upper class family where she had been brought up with everything she needed. She had married the boy next door, and they had moved to the old Rhodesia where they went to seek their fortune. They had two children, myself - and my brother five years later - and everything was perfect. My mother was living her dream, playing tennis at the country club and socialising over weekends and being the proverbial housewife. My father’s sudden death was devastating to her! She was quickly swindled out of the pension money she had been left and found herself having to cope with two children, no job and no money and she was only in her mid 30’s.

From Toxic to Terrific: Transforming Your Workplace Culture

May 5, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach

A toxic workplace can have a devastating impact on employees and organisations alike. It can cause high levels of stress, low morale, and high turnover rates. In extreme cases, it can even lead to legal action. For leaders, especially the HR leader who is often seen as the custodian of culture, managing a toxic workplace is a critical responsibility that requires a strategic approach.

Dalia Ibrahim, a serial entrepreneur and education innovator in Egypt

April 30, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Nahdet Misr Publishing House, EdVentures, Ta'heal for VET Skills Excellence, a group of businesses empowering through learning

Dalia Ibrahim is an accomplished business leader, angel investor, mentor, and mother of three children. She is the CEO of Nahdet Misr Publishing House, a prominent learning company in Egypt; the founder and CEO of EdVentures, MENA's first CVC specializing in Edtech; and the founder of Ta'heal, which offers vocational education solutions. Dalia began her career at Nahdet Misr in 1994, a family business founded by her grandfather as a small publishing house in 1938. Over the past 28 years, she has transformed Nahdet Misr into one of MENA’s leading learning and capacity-building companies. Dalia has received recognition for her entrepreneurial journey several times, including being a finalist in the "Leadership" category of the AMBA & BGA Excellence Award, a finalist in the "Lifetime Achievement" category of the AWIEF Awards, acknowledgment as one of the "Top 50" most influential women in Egypt, and receiving the "Corporate Social Responsibility Award" for Arab Women.

Leocádia Yurca Chau, a Mozambican environmental impact and sustainability change-maker

April 29, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Leocádia Yurca Chau, founder of Ecoplus Mozambique, Lda

Startup Story

Leocádia Yurca Chau is the founder of Ecoplus Mozambique, Lda, a business which operates in the environmental, agribusiness and provider of training and consultancy services with the aim of providing innovative solutions to the market in which it operates, through the use of work tools that produce superior gains to the investment made by the customer or partner. Since its creation in 2020, Ecoplus Mozambique has tried to become a leading SME of excellence in the services it provides, and with extensive experience in the design and implementation of Environmental and Business Sustainability projects. The business has created 5 jobs.

Saajidah and Mubinah Esat, entrepreneurs creating a great Indian food cafe experience in Zimbabwe

April 29, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Saajidah & Mubinah Esat, co-founder, Zen Cafe (Zimbabwe)

Startup Story

Saajidah Esat and her sister Mubinah are the co-founders of Zen Cafe in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Having being brought up in an Indian home, where the focus was always around food, they spent most of their time whipping up new recipes and cooking for the family. They first ventured into the food industry while living and studying in South Africa. They sold food at a popular Johannesburg food market and catered for several corporate events. Zen Cafe was born out of a desire to create and bring something different to the Zimbabwean market. The cafe employs 6 full time staff, including the 2 sisters and has been in operation for the past 6 months.

RAISE: The Female Founder's Guide To Securing Investment by Julia Elliott Brown

April 28, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

If you are a female founder, in need of investment to start or scale your business – and struggling to get it, author and entrepreneur, Julia Elliott Brown, says ‘You’re not alone.’ In her book, RAISE: The Female Founder's Guide To Securing Investment, she says that when it comes to funding, female founders are seriously up against it. In the pale, stale and male world of venture capital, less than 2 per cent goes to businesses led by women. But Julia says, it can be done.

Calm amidst the storm. How do great leaders do it?

April 28, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”

— Mark Twain

Many of us who have visited the UK will laugh at the shock felt by Mark Twain in his description of Spring in the States when this happens almost everyday in the UK, let alone in Spring (why else would the English be so obsessed with discussing the weather all year?). But it feels to us as if for the past 3 years this type of crazy volatility has also covered our business lives.

“In the spring, I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours.”

— Mark Twain

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