Natasha Pearce, a champion of the Circular Economy empowering women with new skills

December 23, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Natasha Pearce, founder & ceo of Vivacious Eco Vixon (South Africa)

Natasha Pearce is the founder and ceo of Vivacious Eco Vixon located in Cape Town, South Africa. She is an award winning entrepreneur and her business is focused on the the Circular Economy. Vivacious Eco Vixon was founded in 2018 and creates reusable home and lifestyle products that are the eco conscious alternative to single use items we use in our everyday lives. All products are locally produced in Cape Town from textile and clothing industry discarded waste. Natasha supports different sewing projects around South Africa that empower woman with new life skills by upskilling them through learning how to sew.

Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, a South African HR specialist helping businesses develop their human capital

November 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Nomihlali Ntsunguzi, founder, Nissi Human Capital (South Africa)

Nissi Business Solutions (PTY) Ltd, trading as Nissi Human Capital and founded by entrepreneur Nomihlali Ntsunguzi in South Africa, is on a mission to provide customer-centric human capital solutions to its clients. The business exists to solutions that unlock the full potential (inborn ability) of people. It is Nomihlali’s belief that an organisational culture that nurtures individual diversity will thrive at each stage of its maturity when underpinned by the simple philosophy, “everybody has a role to play”.

Zanele Matome, a South African healthtech entrepreneur leveraging technology to prove access to health in the workplace

November 26, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Zanele Matome, founder, Welo Health (South Africa)

Zanele Matome is the founder of Welo health, a Healthtech startup based in South Africa and launched in 2020. Prior to starting this business, she has been involved in different industries as an entrepreneur ranging from construction to mining. Now she is solving the problem of access to healthcare by merging technology with the human touch. Welo has close to 500 gig nurses nationwide and doctors working with them to deliver access to healthcare. Zanele's other passion is paying it forward to communities with her NGO Innov8 which provides maths lessons to rural schools in South Africa and Tanzania.

South African leading sustainable luxury product design brand, The Joinery, strikes gold at the Eco-Logical Awards

November 19, 2023 Melanie Hawken

The South African sustainable luxury product design brand, The Joinery, based in the Cape Winelands and founded by Natalie and Kim Ellis, has just been recognised as a gold award winner at the Eco-Logical Awards. The brand picked up the Gold Eco-Logic Award in the Eco-Fashion and Lifestyle category, sponsored by Pick n’ Pay Clothing. This latest accolade is a testament to the Joinery team’s unwavering commitment to sustainability. Renowned for its beautifully designed range of sustainable products, use of responsible fabrics, and ethical production, The Joinery has won fans around the world for many years for its passionate belief in being kind to our planet and fair to our people, one plastic bottle at a time.

Lioness Launch / Sustainable South African fine chocolate brand, Rrraw Chocolate, launches two unique new African flavours to excite tastebuds

November 19, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Ana Maria Panait, founder, Rrraw (South Africa)

Fine chocolate lovers in South Africa already know that what makes Rrraw stand out in the world of chocolates is its unwavering commitment to quality. Founded by entrepreneur brand builder, Ana Maria Panait, Rrraw is winning a growing fan base for its combination of exciting flavours which celebrate Africa's food cultures and unique ingredients. This month sees the launch of two new taste sensations in the brand’s growing product range: Rrraw Red Tart Chocolate - in a Coconut White base and part of the African flavours range, this is an homage to West Africa and its sweet and sour bissap /hibiscus tea; and Rrraw Spekboom Chocolate - the only Spekboom chocolate in the world. Spekboom is an indigenous South-African plant with rare and unique qualities, favoured by black rhinos, elephants, and kudus. Its leaves are edible, have a zesty lemon-like taste and are also surprisingly high in Vitamin C.

Christine Chama Mulolo, a South African entrepreneur adding value to people’s beauty and wellbeing

November 19, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Christine Chama Mulolo, founder and CEO, Nailporium & More Beauty Salon (South Africa)

Christine Chama Mulolo is the founder and CEO of the Nailporium & More Beauty Salon in South Africa. She is a motivated entrepreneur who is changing the world of beauty with her company’s focus on natural wellbeing. Christine believes that her business can add value to every person’s wellbeing by offering a range of natural treatments. What inspires her as an entrepreneur is finding new ways to better her business and educate more women to join the beauty industry. As a Trainer, she voluntarily assists and trains women of colour to have a skill as Beauticians and to be able to work and earn money.

Susan Venter, a South African entrepreneur providing all-in-one architectural solutions for clients

November 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Susan Venter, founder, SM Architectural & Town-planning Services (South Africa)

For those property owners in need of updated and approved building plans, Susan Venter is a Professional Architectural Draughtsperson and owner of SM Architectural & Town-planning Services in South Africa is the person to meet. She brings both her passion and a decade of experience in helping her clients with affordable architectural drafting services for their residential and commercial building needs.

Josephine Sidambe, a South African sustainability change-maker

November 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Ingqwele Consulting & Projects Managements Pty Ltd, a sustainability consulting business driving transformative change in South Africa

Josephine Sidambe is a visionary, achiever, and change maker, and the founder of Ingqwele Consulting & Projects Managements Pty Ltd in South Africa which was launched in 2013. As a dynamic agent of change in the world of sustainability consulting, Josephine has continuously pushed the boundaries of continuous improvements. She has an insatiable passion for sustainable solutions and unwavering commitment to reducing the climate change impact. She has contributed to the reduction of carbon footprint in the sustainability consulting industry through leadership and motivation to adopt green sustainable projects. With 25 years of professional work experience, of which 7 years are in the field of sustainability consulting, Josephine has harnessed her expertise to drive transformative change. As a senior sustainability consultant in the business, she leads with vision and tuning challenges into opportunities.

Arashnee Ramjuguth, a South African entrepreneur on a mission to make clean drinking water accessible and affordable

October 29, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Arashnee Ramjuguth, founder, Refresha Trading Enteprises (South Africa)

Arashnee Ramjuguth is the Founder of Refresha Trading Enteprises based in Durban, South Africa. The business is focused on providing clean purified drinking water to the community of South Africa. Refresha Trading Enterprises is a LEVEL 1 BBBEE owned custom bottled water company offering a range of products and services. Arashnee’s mission is to ensure clean, purified drinking water is affordable and accessible to the South African people. Her business aspires to be the go-to place to create an impactful branded bottled water experience by helping its clients to grow their personal brand or businesses through branding water products.

Masanda Peter, a South African magazine publisher shining a spotlight on the stories of mineworkers

October 22, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Masanda Peter, founder, Mineworker Magazine

Masanda Peter is a qualified, seasoned Marketing, Media and Communications Professional and a serial entrepreneur in South Africa who has launched a magazine publishing venture, Mineworker Magazine, focusing on sharing the untold stories of mineworkers. For a long time, mineworkers have not had their side of the story covered and through this magazine their stories will be shared. Masanda has a journalism background having embarked on her Journalism studies and completed her International Diploma in Journalism.

Lioness Launch / South African upcycling business, plasticity, launches its latest new range of brandable products

October 15, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Tessa O’ Halloran, founder, plasticity (South Africa)

The need to find sustainable solutions to transforming discarded plastic waste into useful products has never been greater. Discarded plastic waste is a problem for the planet and for humankind as a whole. South African ecopreneur Tessa O’ Halloran, founder of plasticity, is playing her part in finding those solutions and has launched a new range of upcycled products in the form of brandable key tags and fridge magnets!

Marilize Jacobs, a South African serial entrepreneur leading two innovative yet distinctive business ventures

October 15, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Marilize Jacobs, founder, Pigs Can Fly Interiors & VocalCord Reputation Management (South Africa)

Marilize Jacobs is the founder of two businesses, Pigs Can Fly Interiors & VocalCord Reputation Management in South Africa. She is a reputation strategist with a BCom Marketing Management (UP) and a career spanning interior design, marketing, and PR. Clients, especially in the Financial Services, Legal, Pharmaceutical, Hospitality and Retail industries which revere her strategic skills, thoroughness and tenacity when it comes to building and maintaining reputations. On the personal front, she is a boat skipper and avid cyclist, and also has a pro bono involvement with The Star Academy, an international institution for children with Autism.

Nonopa Tenza, a South African agripreneur passionate about rural economic development and farming

October 1, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Nonopa Tenza, founder of Kevinot Farming (South Africa)

Nonopa Tenza is the founder of Kevinot Farming in South Africa - she is an accountant by training, and a seasoned finance and banking professional. She has fulfilled various roles in financial management, credit risk management, sales, and relationship management roles in SA’s blue-chip companies and has worked in SA and Scotland. In 2017, Nonopa founded Kevinot Farming as a side hustle whilst still in corporate. In 2021 she left a successful career in Corporate and Investment Banking to run the business on a full-time basis. Kevinot Farming is a business that farms in the deep rural Eastern Cape province of South Africa, and is a mixed farming business growing maize and beans and also farming sheep and cattle.

Elmarie Pereira, a social impact innovator combatting gender violence

September 24, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Memeza, a South African social innovation organization using ICT to protect vulnerable women and girls

Elmarie Pereira, co-founder of Memeza, has dedicated her life for the past 9 years to the impact Social Innovation can make in South Africa, specifically using innovative ICT to combat Gender Based Violence and protect the most vulnerable people. Elmarie joined her co-founder, Thuli Mthethwa, in 2015 after the loss of her sister due to gender based violence and her wish to help make a change. Through various pilots done with Memeza's crime fighting technology, Elmarie & Thuli, together with their team, have proven to reduce sexual offences by 67% and murder rate by 9%. Under Elmarie’ s leadership, the Memeza team was also able to develop the Social Partner Mobile Survey tool which to date has created over 2700 youth jobs through auditing over 15 000 liquor outlets Nationally for COVID compliance. Memeza has won over 10 industry awards for the impact made in fighting crime through this woman lead organization and has created 27 jobs.

Linda Young, a South African entrepreneur with a passion for managing people talent

September 24, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Linda Young, co-founder, Pocket People Solutions (South Africa)

Linda Young is the co-founder of Pocket People Solutions, a South African specialist HR business built on a foundation of strong values and a holistic approach to managing people talent for its clients. The business focuses on helping other businesses to build highly skilled and motivated workforces that can fulfill their potential and contribute to overall company success.

Thuli Zikalala, a South African professional sign language interpreter removing barriers for deaf audiences

September 10, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Thuli Zikalala, founder of Yellow Owl (South Africa)

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.

Lioness Launch / The K3Y launches it’s new name and brand to offer customers human centric business solutions to unlock results

September 3, 2023 Melanie Hawken

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.

Nthabiseng Mosia, a South African/Ghanaian solar energy trailblazer

August 27, 2023 Melanie Hawken

Easy Solar, a fast-growing off-grid solar company in Africa powering over 1 million people

Nthabiseng Mosia is a trailblazing African social entrepreneur. She is the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Easy Solar, one of the fastest-growing off-grid solar companies in Africa. Easy Solar distributes and finances high-quality solar solutions for those with limited access to the grid. Created in 2016, Easy Solar has powered over 1 million people, while creating jobs for more than 800 in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Rozelle Abramson, a South African agro-processing brand builder

August 20, 2023 Melanie Hawken

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.

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

August 12, 2023 Melanie Hawken

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.

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