The Power of Vulnerability

August 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Refilwe Sebothoma

Starting and growing businesses without many resources is very scary to say the least, and through my start-up years I learned the power of being vulnerable to the right people. Start-up businesses often carry the pressure of looking, talking and behaving like big businesses because they are worried that their weaknesses may disqualify them from opportunities. While this is true, I have experienced that there are corporates which are not looking for perfect suppliers and are willing to invest and support SMEs grow and become sustainable.

Happiness is not about positive thinking but creative thinking

August 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

Your thoughts are the turbines that generate the energy of happiness. Affirmations and positive thinking are 'part of the furniture' of personal growth. You can tell yourself you're terrific, but if you don't inherently believe it, there's always an inner critic inside whispering to you – what a load of rubbish, no you're not. If you can't always rely on positive thinking when you need it most, what if you experimented with creative thinking instead?

Paving the way to a brighter business future

August 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

by Rochelle Roos

Ten important tips for women in business

Rochelle’s advice for other women looking to find their niche in the tech and business world can be summarised in these ten simple points:

Safia Shatta, a woman entrepreneur empowering others through language learning in Sudan

August 25, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Safia Shatta, founder and CEO, Mango Gate (Sudan)

Startup Story

Safia Shatta is the founder and CEO of Mango Gate in Sudan, a specialist language learning platform. She is an urban planner, education activist, and a passionate polyglot, and is also proud to be an alumni of Orange Corners Sudan, a member of Women in Africa (WIA) and eTrade for Women. Additionally, she has been recognized as a UNDP-4YFN women innovator and the winner of North Africa's Most Promising Entrepreneur Award at the AfricArena Summit 2022. Through Mango Gate, Safia is dedicated to empowering people through language learning and breaking down communication barriers. She started the business in 2020 and today it employs 12 people.

Emi-Beth Aku Quantson, a Ghanaian social entrepreneur creating impact through coffee

August 25, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Emi-Beth Aku Quantson, Founder & CEO, Kawa Moka Coffee Company (Ghana)

Startup Story

Emi-Beth Aku Quantson is the Founder, CEO and Chief Caffeination Officer at Kawa Moka Coffee Company, Ghana's leading social enterprise coffee company and roaster, where she drives investment and growth. She has raised over $200,000 in debt and equity investments; created over 250 jobs in coffee through farmer partnerships and employment of marginalized groups; and established Accra's largest roastery, supplying major supermarkets and cafes across the country and internationally. Emi-Beth has been recognized by the President of the Republic of Ghana, President Akuffo Addo. Prior to founding Kawa Moka in 2015, Emi-Beth worked as a tax consultant and transfer pricing expert at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Ghana and Kenya.

Lionesses of Africa launches its new digital Playbook to help women entrepreneurs get their businesses funding ready

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Media Release

17 August 2023

Getting access to funding can be a real game-changer for women entrepreneurs looking to grow their businesses to the next level. It can help them to take control of the future trajectory of their businesses and fulfill their potential. Yet, applying for funding support from a bank can be a daunting process for many women entrepreneurs. But it doesn’t have to be, according to Lionesses of Africa, a fast-growing community of 1.7 million women entrepreneurs on the African continent. This month sees the launch of the latest in the series of digital Playbooks, this one titled, Get Your Business Funding Ready. Produced by Lionesses of Africa, in partnership with Absa, the new Playbook helps women entrepreneurs to prepare their businesses to be ready for those important funding conversations with their bank or other financial organizations.

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.

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