the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Nicolene Schoeman-Louw
Business crises often strike with the force of a bolt of lightning or the sudden flight of a startled horse. Clients then seek legal counsel, hoping to salvage the situation and mitigate the damage. As a lawyer, I have witnessed this scenario play out countless times, with clients urgently seeking assistance once the "pawpaw hits the fan."
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by Tsitsi Mutendi
The digital revolution is transforming industries and economies worldwide, offering unprecedented opportunities for growth and expansion. For women entrepreneurs in Africa, digitalizing their businesses can lead to increased efficiency, broader market reach, and enhanced competitiveness. This article explores how digital transformation can drive growth for women-led businesses, provides real-life examples, and offers practical strategies for successfully embracing digital technologies.
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by Margaret Hirsch
I have to say that I have had an ongoing affair with Google since I first discovered it. In business today, we need all the help we can get, and staying ahead of the curve is not just an advantage – it’s a necessity!! Connecting with your audience is the name of the game- it’s like having a dinner party, cooking the food, laying the table, and not inviting any guests! How do you get those guests (customers) into your store?
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Kelebogile Phendu, founder and ceo, Kells Ginger (Botswana)
Startup Story
Kelebogile Phendu is the founder and ceo of Botswana ginger drink brand, Kells Ginger. Her business manufactures traditional recipe ginger drinks but with a contemporary freshness and a purity of ginger taste. She founded the business in 2019 and now employs 2 people from the local community. Kelebogile brings more than 5 years of experience as an entrepreneur in different fields to her business and brand.
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Elisa Marcos Ouana, founder, Ariel EcoArte e Serviços, EI (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Elisa Marcos Ouana is the founder of Mozambican upcycled accessory brand, Ariel EcoArte e Serviços, EI. She is also studying for a degree in Environmental Engineering at Eduardo Mondlane University. The daughter of a tailor and passionate about sewing since childhood, at the age of 13 she started her career as an entrepreneur in the sewing sector. She reused the scraps of fabric and capulana that her father discarded and made items for girls (hair ribbons, bows, cat ties, pencil cases, etc.). At the age of 18, she discovered the world of upcycling and made her first backpack out of recycled jeans. Since then, Elisa has had the opportunity to expand her business and register her company. It’s a journey with a lot of learning and improvement. With her business, she aims to reach many more people of all age groups and be able to generate sources of employment for more women.
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Catherine Wijnberg
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Fetola, a business providing world-class entrepreneurial support programmes for African entrepreneurs
Catherine Wijnberg is a pioneering entrepreneur and visionary leader, serving as the Founder and CEO of Fetola in South Africa. With over 18 years of experience in entrepreneurial development, Catherine is renowned for her expertise in SME growth strategy, scalable business acceleration, and transformative leadership. She is also recognised on the Forbes Africa 50 Over 50 List of Africa's Female Powerhouses. Under her guidance, Fetola has emerged as a beacon for sustainable business solutions, fostering economic growth and social impact across Africa. Catherine founded Fetola in 2006 and today it has 34 employees.
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by Lori Milner
When delivering feedback, you tend to focus on the conversation itself. While important, have you considered what must happen before the conversation? There is work before the work to ensure you can deliver your feedback with grace and compassion and the outcome of building this person rather than breaking them. Sometimes, you need to deliver hard outcomes, but how you do it will leave the person appreciative and inspired to change rather than defeated and resentful.
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by Yolanda Matine
Patience and persistence are two essential qualities that can make all the difference in the journey towards entrepreneurial success. While they may seem like separate concepts, they go hand in hand. But my hand now is full of patience, and I am working on taking persistence along too, as there are days when I do feel like giving up.
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by Sharon Castle - Lifestyle and Wellness Coach
When last did you spend time in the company of little children? I’m talking about little people between the ages of 1 and 2 years old. This past week, this is exactly what I did. I was invited by a friend to join her on a trip to her house in Ponta d’Ouro, Mozambique and we were joined by her daughter and her two young sons, while their husbands were away on a business trip.
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by Jenny Reid
Often you will hear employers in South Africa complaining bitterly about the complex regulatory landscape that they have to operate in. This now includes the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA). While FICA primarily focuses on combating money laundering and financing terrorism, its impact extends beyond financial institutions to encompass various sectors, including many other businesses and employers. Ignoring FICA requirements can have significant consequences and it is now essential for employers to understand and comply with FICA regulations.
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Heather Hays
Book Review
The new book by author and entrepreneur, Heather Hays, The Business Diaries: 10 Startup Secrets for the Female Entrepreneur is for all those women who dream of owning a business, or who are running a business but it’s not quite what they envisioned. It’s also for those women who are on a mission to find more time, money, and peace of mind to focus on making their ideal clients happy while also enjoying a better quality of life. If these things resonate with you, then The Business Diaries was written for you.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
“Those with the least resources have the least capacity to adapt and are the most vulnerable.”
“Almost 80% of the respondents…foresee at least 2.5C of global heating, while almost half anticipate at least 3C (5.4F). Only 6% thought the internationally agreed 1.5C (2.7F) limit would be met. Many of the scientists envisage a “semi-dystopian” future, with famines, conflicts and mass migration, driven by heatwaves, wildfires, floods and storms of an intensity and frequency far beyond those that have already struck.” - according to a large survey done of hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists (see here) who make up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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Estelle Dogbo
Lioness Launch
The Yawoa Foundation, founded by Estelle Dogbo in Nigeria & Togo, has recently expanded into Francophone Africa and launched “Dreamy Memory”, a caritative project using the arts to positively impact women's lives. With the support of Ellipse Art Projects, the concept started the production and exhibition of a portfolio of exclusive photographs created by Togolese emerging artist Parmenas Awudza, who was selected for his original and immersive work, and his sensitivity towards female empowerment. The works will then be showcased in Lome, and sold for the benefit of female patients of a neonatal unit at the CHU in Lomé, in order to contribute to their healthcare needs.
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Keneilwe Latoya Molomo, founder, Toya's Homemade Chilli (Botswana)
Startup Story
Keneilwe Latoya Molomo is the founder of Toya's Homemade Chilli in Botswana. She is new to the entrepreneurial world and launched her company in December 2022. A Diplomat by profession, Keneilwe hopes to get her product into retail outlets countrywide and eventually to break into export markets.
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Oluwadunsin Bolaji, founder and Creative Director, DunsinCraft Collection LTD (Nigeria)
Startup Story
Oluwadunsin Bolaji is the founder and Creative Director of DunsinCraft Collection LTD, an Afrocentric accessory brand in Nigeria. With over 7 years’ experience, Oluwadunsin's passion for promoting African culture through fashion accessories is truly inspiring. By designing bags and jewellery using indigenous African fabrics, she showcases the richness of our African heritage and the immense potential embedded in our fabrics.
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Precious Gondwe
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Precious & Partners Legal Practice, an award-winning legal practice in Gaborone Botswana.
Precious Gondwe, founder of Precious & Partners Legal Practice, is a visionary executive with a progressive legal background. She has a record of accomplishment as evidenced by the multi-awards, accolades, and nominations conferred on her by reputable awards bodies over the past five years. She brings a strong focus on servitude leadership and growth coupled with confidence in decision-making and experience in leading organizations through periods of change and development. Precious is very articulate and driven, with top strengths in relationship-building, planning, strategic management experience, and operations. She is a Corporate Lawyer with nine years post qualification experience and previous litigation experience. These skills and experiences, expertly provide world-class legal services on a variety of Commercial and Corporate Law matters at a Global level. With the Leadership skills she possesses, Precious ensures that the team remains results-oriented, and the results of a proven track record of exceptional outcomes for clients and impeccable growth in revenue for the organizations she has worked with, speak for themselves. The business was launched in 2018 and has created jobs for 15 people.
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Salma Bougarrani, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer GREEN WATECH (Morocco)
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
GREEN WATECH, a Morocco-based company with a low-tech solution for wastewater treatment and reuse for irrigating vegetables destined for human consumption
Salma Bougarrani is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GREEN WATECH, a Social Enterprise founded in 2018, and specializing in decentralized sanitation. Salma holds a PhD in Advanced Water Treatment Process from Med V University (Morocco), and Leipzig University (Germany). She worked as a project manager for "Women in Water Field" at Peking International University. In 2015, Salma joined the Institute of Chemical Technology, Leipzig University in Germany, as a researcher. Salma has been involved in several international projects in collaboration with teams from Malatya University and NIBEC Institute. Salma is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, and she works as an expert consultant at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
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Wendi Blum Weiss and Patricia Wooster
Book Review
If you feel you are ready to leave the traditional 9-5 and embark on an entrepreneurial journey, then co-authors Patricia Wooster and Wendi Blum Weiss in their new book, Impact Entrepreneur, say you are not alone! It could be time to unleash your superpower and impact the world. A growing number of people seek meaningful work, aspiring to create a legacy, achieve independence, and contribute to the causes they believe in.
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by Yolanda Matine
I often compare my entrepreneurial journey to all the magic that happens in the kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of a home, the same way that finding a problem to solve is at the centre of beginning an entrepreneurial journey. The kitchen is where creativity rises, passion flourishes, and hard work comes together to create delicious meals, just as in Ejourneys where innovative ideas, dedication, and perseverance combine to build a thriving venture.
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Taryn Marcus, co-founder, Reinvent CoLab (South Africa)
Startup Story
Taryn Marcus, co-founder of Reinvent CoLab in South Africa, prides herself as a devoted change agent and positive disruptor, with an enterprise perspective. She collaboratively works to create organizations where people perform better, feel engaged, deliver customer value, and have fun - all at the same time. Taryn has a special focus on methodologies that aid individuals, teams, and organizations build mindsets, skillsets, and toolsets to make continuous reinvention a competitive advantage. She brings almost two decades of Human Capital experience in both established and emerging markets, 15 of which have been at Executive management level for listed complex multinational (pan-African, Asia, Europe, Oceania, North American) organizations. Taryn is a registered Industrial psychologist and Harvard Business School Alumnus.
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