Business growth and getting funding ready tops the agenda at the Lioness Business Agility Webinar to celebrate Women’s Month

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Event Report

The fourth in the series of Lioness Business Agility Webinars for 2023 took place on 16 August, hosted by Lionesses of Africa in partnership with Absa, and attracting an audience of 160 women entrepreneurs from South Africa. The theme of the webinar focused on “Business growth and getting funding ready,” and provided a focal point for National Women’s Month commemorations in South Africa. The aim was to celebrate women entrepreneurs who are helping to drive economic growth and create much-needed jobs with their businesses, recognizing that when their businesses grow, so too does the country’s economy. The event shone a particular spotlight on the important topic of business growth and how women entrepreneurs can get their businesses funding ready to support that growth.

Cátia Siueia, a Mozambican entrepreneur creating smart energy solutions for low income women and communities

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Cátia Siueia, founder, Smart Energy Initiatives (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Cátia Siueia is the founder of Smart Energy Initiatives in Mozambique. She is an entrepreneur extremely passionate about technology. Her business distinction lies in offering totally environmentally friendly and economically sustainable solar cookers to low-income women. At the end of 2021, Smart Energy Initiatives was created for the purpose of reaching women who do not have access to energy. The company currently has four employees who promote this impact driven initiative.

Yolanda Matine, a Mozambican entrepreneur helping families to prepare healthy lunchboxes for children

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Yolanda Matine, founder, MomlifeMarmitas (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Yolanda Matine is the founder of MomlifeMarmitas in Mozambique, a business idea inspired by her two daughters. Yolanda has taken various entrepreneurial routes in the past 10 years, but has now arrived at her destination, doing what she loves the most, which is cooking. She is using this love to help caretakers (moms, dads, grannies, aunties, uncles, helpers) to make healthy lunchboxes (with less processed food) for their children, while at the same time creating incredible food memories. MomlifeMarmitas offers courses with weekly menus, recipes, weekly shopping lists, lunchbox set ups, bento boxes, accessories, and an eBook with more than 25 recipes, tips on food storage, and lunchbox plans.

Rozelle Abramson, a South African agro-processing brand builder

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Fynbos Fine Foods, an agro-processor adding value by turning ethically grown South African produce into bottled, natural and vegan products

Rozelle Abramson, founder of Fynbos Fine Foods in South Africa, has always been passionate about food, creating recipes and loving layered flavours. She studied early childhood education, specializing in teaching children with learning difficulties. While teaching she worked for various catering companies on the weekends and in the holidays to supplement her income and to feed her passion for cooking and creating delicious food. In 1996, Cape Hot House Vegetables was formed. She began farming Greenhouse Coloured peppers. In that same year the business launched its first value-added product which was a Chilli Ginger Jam, made with red peppers which would have gone to the compost. Within a few years the business was farming for manufacturing! The rest is history! Today, the business employs 130 people.

Dream Big and Win: Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business by Liz Elting

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

In her new book, Dream Big and Win, Translating Passion into Purpose and Creating a Billion-Dollar Business, for the first time ever, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Forbes' Richest Self-Made Woman Liz Elting shares her story on how she co-founded and grew TransPerfect, the billion-dollar translation and language solutions company that began as a dream in a NYU dorm room. This is the story of how every entrepreneur can turn a passion and a big vision into a business success.

Of Love, of Respect, of Water…and slippery Fish!

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

London, February 2020 and a few days before, Melanie had just given her closing speech at our ‘Start-Up Night Africa - London evening at the UK/Africa Summit (said to have been the best event at the summit by the well respected Chatham House - no surprise to us. As usual, Melanie had brought together an incredible group of inspirational Lionesses to showcase to the UK Government and their closest 400 friends from the business and finance world), and together as a team we had started to notice a strange lack of handshakes taking over our follow-up meetings. We had even been introduced to the by now familiar ‘elbow-bump’ in one international bank’s boardroom, but by then all knew of the shock, speed and horror with which Covid was racing across Italy and rushing fast to all international airports and capital cities.

Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership: A Multifaceted Approach

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho

In May, I had the honour to speak at the 1st Annual Corporate Governance Triangle Annual Colloquium with the theme “Diversity and Inclusion; Adopting A Multi-Stake holder approach in the promotion of good governance”. I spoke on a panel with the focus on Breaking Barriers: Advancing Diversity and Inclusion in Leadership Roles, which is a topic that is close to my heart both as a woman and as an advocate for equity and overall good corporate governance.

How You’re Stealing the Future From Young Women

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Thembe Khumalo

“Who me?” You might ask. Yes, you!

You’re stealing the future from the next generation of young women professionals by refusing to make yourself visible. Here’s the thing — you can’t be what you don’t see. So if we want our young women to become leaders in business, in entrepreneurship, in politics, or in the community, we need to give them the opportunity to see such people in action — people like you and me. We need to provide them with visible, accessible role models.

Building Teams and Networks

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Kathryn Main

A few years back, I remember listening to a female business owner share her success story. She said something that has stuck with me for over 10 years. She said “People do business with people, not businesses. Build and maintain your relationships with your customers, suppliers and teams, these are the people who will help you succeed.” At that moment my sales strategy for my own business changed drastically. I was so over cold calling and decided to build a real network and team for my business. I changed my approach and started going to more networking events. Its pretty daunting walking into a room full of people and you don’t know anyone, but this is a great way to meet people. You are forced to talk to strangers, so you don’t look like the outcast in the corner.

Lioness Launch / Botswana skincare brand, Organic Naturals Skincare, launches its Skincare Diaries event dedicated to holistic wellness and self-discovery

August 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Launch

At Organic Naturals Skincare in Botswana, founder and passionate natural skincare advocate, Didintle Moreki, believes that true beauty comes from within, and self-care is an essential part of nurturing our well-being. Her business and brand is announcing this month the launch of Skincare Diaries, an empowering event dedicated to holistic wellness and self-discovery. The event will be held on 27 August 2023 in Gaborone, Botswana and will encourage attendees to delve deeper into the world of self-care, well-being, and natural beauty.

Ama Brenya, a Ghanaian entrepreneur building a wholesale bakery products manufacturing business

August 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Ama Brenya, founder and ceo, LADL Patisserie Company Limited (Ghana)

Startup Story

Ama Brenya is the founder and ceo of LADL Patisserie Company Limited in Ghana. She has about 10 years’ experience working in the mining industry as a Chemical Engineer and three years working in the banking sector in supply and logistics management. She officially ventured in to entrepreneurship since 2017, operating a brick and mortar pastry shop and then added a mobile food truck from which she sold pastries along some streets in the business district in Accra. During the pandemic in 2020, it became necessary to rethink her business strategy in order to remain relevant and resilient. During the lockdown, the idea of producing frozen croissants and bread rolls was birthed.

Kgabiso Palesa Sephai, a South African entrepreneur passionate about socio-economic development in grass-roots communities

August 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Startup Story

Kgabiso Palesa Sephai is the founder and managing director of two entities, KgabisoPalesa Consulting and KgabisoPalesa Cares NPC in South Africa. She is also a director at In Pursuit Renewable Energy. She has over 15 years experience in project planning, project & programme management, PMO setup and management. She holds a B.Eng (Hons) in Electrical Engineering from Multimedia University in Malaysia, a Postgraduate Diploma in General Management, and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. She is also a Project Management Professional and a member of the Project Management Institute.

Mawuse Christina Gyisun, a Ghanaian catalyst for transformative change in Agritech

August 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Sommalife, a social enterprise using cutting-edge technology to create transparency and traceability in West Africa’s shea value chain

Mawuse Christina Gyisun is an award-winning social entrepreneur and esteemed co-founder of Sommalife, revolutionizing the Agritech landscape with her unwavering commitment to rural development. She has become a leading force in driving positive change and empowering smallholder women farmers across West Africa. Within three years at the helm of Sommalife, Mawuse has spearheaded transformative initiatives that have reached over 60,000 women farmers in northern Ghana. Through her visionary leadership, these women farmers have gained easy access to financing, conservation tools, and international markets. As a result, more than 7,000 of these farmers experienced a 22.75% increase in their income in 2022, a testament to Mawuse's dedication and commitment to rural development.

The Most Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes and How to Avoid Them by Lisa J. MacDonald

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

Author and business coach, Lisa J. MacDonald, in her new book The Most Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, believes that we all want to be in charge of our own lives. But her question is what happens when the game of business keeps changing? How can you successfully find new clients, beat the competition, and do it on a shoestring budget? Lisa’s new book shows you how, and at the same time, avoid making the usual mistakes along the way.

Data Rooms - Find your inner Hermione Granger!

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

In our article last week on the power that is Momentum, we wrote that you must be prepared at all times to move fast when you see or even just feel any opportunity, especially when it comes to investors. Something quite obvious we felt you answer, but then we actually asked the question as to who among you even had a half decent Data Room ready just in case, to pull out of the hat when needed? That was a bit mean of us to put you on the spot like that, but hey, that’s why you pay the big bucks for membership [Still all for free and always will be - Ed!], - we ask the difficult questions.

Unleashing the Potential of Generative AI: Exploring the Path to AI-Driven Success

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho

In the age of digital transformation, the rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have revolutionised industries across the globe. For me there is one remarkable branch of AI that stands out — Generative AI — it holds tremendous potential for organisations seeking to optimise processes, unlock new opportunities, and create personalised experiences.

From Success to Sisterhood: Why African Women Leaders Thrive in Community

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Thembe Khumalo

“When women come together with a collective intention, magic happens. We shape our world, we make things happen. That’s what I believe in.” — Graca Machel

We hear often enough about how lonely it can be at the top, but what we don't hear as often is what one should do when one gets there, and finds so many other things to think about. In the realm of leadership, African women are rising to the forefront, breaking barriers, and reshaping the narrative. While they possess inherent strength, resilience, and an unwavering determination to make a difference, African women leaders face unique challenges and obstacles. This is why it’s useful to be part of a community of women in similar positions.

Using Hiring AI to Bridge the Pay Gap

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Sasha Knott

The gender pay gap is a persistent problem in South Africa, with women earning on average 23% less than men. This gap is even wider for women in certain industries, such as technology and engineering. There are several factors that contribute to the gender pay gap, including unconscious bias, occupational segregation, and lack of access to opportunities. AI recruitment can help to address some of these factors and improve the gender pay gap in South Africa.

Ladies, We Are Enough

August 11, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Margaret Hirsch

As we celebrate Women’s Day this week, I thought I would devote this to all of you wonderful women out there. My favourite story of all time - the first part happy - the second part sad. Our job as women is to change this narrative!

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