the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Lori Milner
Perfectionism is often worn as a badge of honour, something to strive for. The intention is that it makes you better, but the impact is devastating. In the words of Ann Wilson Schaef, "Perfectionism is self-abuse of the highest order”. Perfection is an illusion and stops you from your best work because behind the façade of being a perfectionist are the deepest fears of being judged, failing or not being enough.
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Thuli Zikalala, founder of Yellow Owl (South Africa)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
For the deaf and hard of hearing, being able to keep up to date with news, information and powerful digital content is so important to maintain those all important connections in life and in business. Thuli Zikalala, founder of specialist business Yellow Owl, is playing her part as a professional sign language interpreter.
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Jayne McQuillan
Book Review
Expert business coach and author of The Value Journey: How to Drive Profits, Build Wealth, and Exit Your Business on Your Own Terms, Jayne McQuillan, challenges you to change your perspective on exit planning! Instead of thinking about your exit as the last step in your journey as a business owner, she suggests you could view it as an essential way of doing business.
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by Phillipa Geard
If you find it challenging to find good talent, you are not alone. In my dealings with other CEOs and business owners, I often hear this statement: “There is no good talent out there”. Similarly, this Future of Jobs 2023 World Economic Forum report states that, on a scale from 1 to 7, the ease of finding skilled employees in South Africa is only 3.89. Despite the doomsayers there are ways to find and attract good talent.
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by Nicolene Schoeman-Louw
As technology evolves, so does the way we communicate and conduct business. In today's digital age, emojis have become integral to our daily conversations. These little pictographs have played a significant role in modern communication, from expressing emotions to conveying complex messages. Surprisingly, emojis have even found their way into legal matters, with some jurisdictions recognising them as a form of contractual agreement.
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by Sonya Skipp
A lifestyle audit is a check that looks at the way that someone lives and compares that to their known revenue stream. These checks look at elements like home ownership, cars and vehicles, visible luxury items owned by the person in question, and more to determine whether that person is living within their means.
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by Lori Milner
Why do some people always appear to have it together? They are calm in the chaos and take life in their stride. They dance with life's challenges rather than go to war with them; it's not to say they don't feel stress, but how they navigate their days sets them up for success.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
Well, Andy Warhol got that wrong, didn’t he - no one these days has that long an attention span! But he did come very close and with the advent of the internet, ‘fame’ has become a real possibility for all of us. And so we dream of joining the Creative Economy, getting a zillion ‘hits’ overnight and earning a $million, all before our first pot of coffee in the morning. That is not only Fame, but serious Power as you then start to influence others…
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by Sonya Skipp
In today's rapidly evolving landscape, organisations face a multitude of security challenges, one of which is the insider threat. The insider threat refers to the risk posed by individuals within an organisation who have authorised physical or cyber access to an organisation but intentionally or unintentionally misuse or compromise them. No company, regardless of size, is immune to this security concern.
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by Thembe Khumalo
The truth is, being good at what you do is just the beginning — it’s like the minimum entry requirement. Many talented individuals like yourself often find themselves wondering why they aren’t getting the opportunities they truly desire, despite their skills and expertise. The answer lies in the importance of personal branding. Here’s why this might be happening and what you can do to unlock the opportunities you deserve.
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by Margaret Hirsch
As you know I am a huge advocate for family businesses. Where do they start? Well with a couple getting married and one or both deciding that they want out of the usual routine of working for someone else and making a living, they decide they want to work for themselves and make a fortune.
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by Lori Milner
Questions are a conduit to unlocking the resources within you. They are an essential coaching tool because they are a permission device between what someone already knows and what they want to acknowledge. Change happens when a client reaches a new insight, a perspective they never considered previously. However, the insight can only reveal itself when the person is completely honest with themselves.
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Jill Celeste and Deborah Kevin
Book Review
Entrepreneurs Deborah Kevin and Jill Celeste, co-authors of the book, Your First Year: What I Wish I'd Known, believe that there is no one “right way,” to build a start-up and you will make mistakes. That’s part of growing. In their new book they bring together the insights, experiences and shared wisdom of fellow women entrepreneurs who have all got through their own business growing pains and emerged to find success.
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Sian Louw
Lioness Launch
The K3Y launches its new name and brand in Africa, with a unique customer offering that integrates cutting edge innovations with human centric business solutions to help individuals and organisations unlock results. A suite of powerful diagnostics tools, as well as solutions, underpinned with a cutting-edge technology platform, allows for tracking measuring and execution of strategy. The addition of The K3Y mind-setting interventions allow for the unlocking of potential for individuals and teams.
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Hadija Jabiri, founder & MD of GBRI Business Solutions (Tanzania)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
GBRI Business Solutions, on a mission to be a leading horticultural company in Tanzania.
Hadija Jabiri is the founder and MD of GBRI Business Solutions in Tanzania. She is an entrepreneur committed to making agricultural production a sustainable and profitable business through empowering smallholder farmers. Hadija is an IVLP alumnae and holder of multiple awards and nominations for her work and business which is making a real difference in people’s lives.
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by Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa
Attention quite rightly gets focused on creating greater access to funding for Africa's women entrepreneurs in growth mode, but getting access to markets is just as important. After all, you have a sustainable business with a continual flow of customers and sales. We see many women business owners who have created world-class products and brands but need help accessing new markets, particularly in Europe. They need to get into the game of reaching these more significant markets, allowing them to expand their horizons and take their businesses to the next level. Start-Up Night Africa in The Netherlands is part of our strategic approach at Lionesses of Africa to create a gateway to important market opportunities in the country and across European markets for the high-growth potential women entrepreneurs in our 1.7 million-strong community.
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by Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa
The challenge of accessing much-needed investment, European markets, technical knowledge and strategic partnerships by Africa’s high-growth potential women entrepreneurs was a key focus for discussion at Start-Up Night Africa in The Hague on 11 July 2023. With first hand knowledge of the challenge, Lionesses of Africa, an impact driven social impact organization with over 1.7 million women entrepreneurs across the African continent, set-up the Start-Up Night Africa event in The Hague with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands and the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank (FMO).
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Goretti Kat, CEO, Minzoto Club (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Startup Story
Goretti Kat is the founder and CEO of Minzoto Club, an educational cultural centre for teenagers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She has a degree in organizational and corporate communications and is a member of the global network of educators HUNDRED.org. She is also a facilitator and trainer in entrepreneurship, leadership and personal development. Goretti first worked for young people’s development as an activist for 5 years. During this time, she acquired 3 leadership certifications after helping to set up 4 youth support structures in universities. After that, she then set up Minzoto Club in early 2021. In 2018, she was awarded the title of "100 young pages of hope in the DRC", an annual diploma honouring the 100 country's most active young people of the year.
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Queen Uwabuofu, founder and Creative Director, CloveKids International (Nigeria)
Startup Story
Queen is the Founder and Creative Director of CloveKids International in Nigeria. Her business, founded in 2019, is focused on raising and building the African child for the future through a range of innovation products that promote black representation, inclusion, diversity, child education and sustainability. Queen is an award winning innovative entrepreneur with 12 years of experience in Business administration and handcrafting. She is a graduate of International Studies and Diplomacy from the University of Benin.
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by Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa
Women entrepreneurs are an incredible force for economic and social change in Africa. And why do we believe this? It’s simple: women entrepreneurs are powerful change agents.
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