The 2nd Start-Up Night Africa event in The Hague connects Africa’s high-growth women entrepreneurs to European investment, and women entrepreneurs in the Netherlands looking to access African markets

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Media Release

Highlighting the critical role of investment and the power of partnerships to address the gender finance gap for high-growth women entrepreneurs in Africa and the Netherlands, were the key focus of discussion at the 2nd Start-Up Night Africa event on 11 June 2024, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The event was once again hosted by Lionesses of Africa, a fast-growing social impact organization with 1.8 million women entrepreneurs across the African continent, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands, African Guarantee Fund, AFAWA, and Absa. Opening remarks were delivered by Lionesses of Africa founder & ceo, Melanie Hawken; Peter Derrek Hof, Ambassador Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, Director Social Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Nishdeep Sethi, Group Director, Structured Finance, African Guarantee Fund. Also providing a welcome address was Erik Parigger, Programme Coordinator Orange Corners.

Tuduetso Tebape, an eco-friendly, green beauty brand-builder in Botswana

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Tuduetso Kereeditse Tebape, co-founder, Nubian Seed (Botswana)

Startup Story

Tuduetso Kereeditse Tebape is the co-founder of Nubian Seed in Botswana, a business that produces natural and organic personal care products using indigenous African botanical and bio-derived ingredients. Tuduetso is passionate about educating on the benefits of these natural ingredients and showcasing Africa's natural wonders for personal care. Tuduetso supports holistic, sustainable living and strives to teach Nubian Seed product users that 100% natural products benefit not only the skin but also foster a connection to the Earth, promoting mindfulness about holistic well-being and a state of Oneness with Mother Earth.

Kgomotso Twagirayezu, a natural cosmetics manufacturer in Botswana passionate about indigenous botanicals

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Kgomotso Twagirayezu, founder, Shedol Group (Botswana)

Startup Story

Kgomotso Twagirayezu is the founder of Shedol Group, a natural cosmetics manufacturing company founded in 2015 and which commenced its operations in 2018. She has an extensive background not only in the cosmetics industry but also as a businesswoman with broad experience in varied industries. The company is passionate about the use of sustainable indigenous botanicals from across the African continent while paying special attention to Kgomotso’s homeland, Botswana, by continually incorporating and researching the natural plants that are beneficial not only for ingestion but also for healthy skin. She not only caters for individual personal care but also serves the hospitality industry by manufacturing sustainable and eco-friendly hotel amenities. The business has created jobs for 10 people.

Barbara Gwanmesia, an edu-tech champion in African languages

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Barbara Gwanmesia, Founder, President & CVO, Batazia (Netherlands)

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Batazia, a business building language technologies enabling authentic translation of content into, from, and across African languages.

Barbara Gwanmesia is the Founder, President & CVO of Batazia – a Netherlands-based edu-tech startup that is dedicated to making reading, writing, and learning possible in all African languages, and to using AI and Machine Translation technologies to enable authentic translation of content into, from and across African languages. Barbara is also the creator of the Afribol snack that became a bestseller in The Netherlands' biggest food retail chain Albert Heijn to-go – raising thousands of euros for the maternity bills of women in Africa who could not pay their hospital bills. With a background in anthropology, journalism, and social entrepreneurship, Barbara has dedicated her life to seeking ways to change the African narrative in knowledge dissemination and poverty alleviation. She is also an author and a singer; and holds Masters and MPhil degrees in International Relations and African Studies, as well as a Higher Diploma in Journalism.

Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility by Lauren Perkins

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

In her new book, Think Like a Brand. Act Like a Startup: Drive Growth and Innovation by Balancing Stability and Agility, Lauren Perkins helps you to transform your business with a hybrid approach to achieve revolutionary innovation and long-term success.

Mastering Self-Coaching: Questions to Move from Resolutions to Results

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

Are your New Year's resolutions going strong, or are they a distant memory, and the year feels like it's running away without you? You may also feel that your resolutions are irrelevant because circumstances have shifted beyond what you'd expected, and they seem immaterial in the scheme of things. To recalibrate, consider booking off time for a mid-year annual review. An offsite planning day just for yourself; it doesn't have to be a full day, even a few hours.

CV Reference Checks, A Lifeline for Employers

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Jenny Reid

CV Reference Checks are a valuable part of the pre-employment screening process as these days, it is incredibly simple to falsify prior employment, references, and education. A CV reference check verifies all the information provided by a candidate in their CV and either confirms the information is factual or proves that the information is false or exaggerated.

How Women-Owned Businesses Can Collaborate as Opposed to Competing

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Tsitsi Mutendi

In the dynamic world of business, competition often takes center stage. However, for women entrepreneurs, collaboration can be a powerful strategy to foster growth, innovation, and resilience. By working together, women-owned businesses can pool resources, share expertise, and open new avenues for success. This article explores the benefits of collaboration and offers practical strategies for women entrepreneurs to build and sustain collaborative efforts.

AI – Enhancement or Unprecedented Legal Risk?

June 16, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Nicolene Schoeman-Louw

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising various sectors globally, from enhancing business efficiencies to providing innovative solutions in healthcare, education, and beyond. AI is everywhere, even in applications you may not know about. Therefore, with its rise comes a set of legal implications that must be carefully navigated.

Lionesses in Profile / Meet the 10 women entrepreneurs showcased at Start-Up Night Africa, The Hague 2024

June 13, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Startup Night Africa, The Hague 2024

As a key driver of Lionesses of Africa’s ‘Access to Markets and Investment Programme,’ Start-Up Night Africa in The Hague aimed to connect Africa’s high-growth women entrepreneurs to European investment opportunities, and women entrepreneurs in The Netherlands looking to access African markets and partnerships. We showcased 10 inspirational women entrepreneurs in growth-mode at the event on 11 June 2024, all looking for new investment, markets, and collaboration opportunities. If you didn’t get to meet each of them on the evening, then take a look at their pitch videos below, which have all been published on the Lionesses of Africa website, and make those all important connections now.

Segametsi Mafa, an ICT professional fulfilling a lifelong ambition to build a specialist ICT consulting business in Botswana

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Segametsi Mafa, founder, Service Xcellence (Botswana)

Startup Story

Segametsi Mafa is the founder of Service Xcellence in Botswana, an ICT professional with over 18 years of corporate experience acquired from Government, Parastatals and Private companies. She brings almost 4 years of full-time entrepreneurial consulting experience gained from being the Founder and Managing Director of Service Xcellence, an ICT and Management Consultancy Business focused on IT Governance, IT Service Management, Strategy, Risk and Project Management Consulting. She also serves as an Independent Consultant for other companies.

Nilza Mazive, a Mozambican entrepreneur building a green energy business helping consumers reduce costs

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Nilza Mazive is the co-founder of Xiphefu Digital Ligth, Lda (Mozambique)

Startup Story

Nilza Mazive is the co-founder of Xiphefu Digital Ligth, Lda, a green energy business developing solutions to help consumers reduce energy costs in Mozambique. The business develops solutions to help consumers reduce energy costs, acting on electrical equipment to avoid wasting electrical current. The business also adds the solar component, offers a range of internal and external lamps, and installs solar systems.

Sharon Seanice Lojede, a tech-savvy pan-African marketing leader

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

A tech-enabled integrated marketing communications company headquartered in South Africa with branches in Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Seanice Lojede is the founder of BLU Flamingo Africa, a pan-African tech-enabled integrated marketing communications company founded in 2010 and headquartered in South Africa, with branches in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. The business has a workforce of 55 people. With a master’s degree in digital marketing, and as an alumna of the prestigious Stanford Seed program, Seanice is a tech-savvy marketing leader whose data-driven strategies and cutting-edge marketing technologies have helped global companies crack the Sub-Saharan African market.

The Heart Sell: A guide for women entrepreneurs seeking financial freedom by Dora Rankin

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

The Heart Sell: A guide for women entrepreneurs seeking financial freedom by Dora Rankin was written for women entrepreneurs who want to turn their passion into purpose and their purpose into profit. The book leads you to moments of clarity to help you bring your brilliance into the world because, as a woman, your ability to lead from the heart is more valuable than you know.

How to Remain Compliant While Keeping Track of all the Compliance Requirements of the Companies Act

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Anastasia Machobane

There is a myriad of requirements that a registered company needs to comply with. I can write about many of these compliance requirements, however, at this point, I will be concentrating on the filing of Annual Returns. Later I will write about Annual Financial Statements as well as the new requirements for filing the Beneficial Ownership registers.

Are Criminal Record Checks Relevant to Your Employee Screening Process?

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Jenny Reid

Criminal record checks are one of the world’s leading forms of pre-employment checks. Should you be able to deny a candidate employment based purely on their criminal record check?

The Impact of Female-Owned Businesses and How They Contribute to Food Security in Africa

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Tsitsi Mutendi

Food security remains one of the most pressing challenges in Africa, affecting millions of people across the continent. Women entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in addressing this issue by driving innovation and sustainability in the agricultural sector. Their contributions not only enhance food production and distribution but also empower communities and foster economic growth. This article explores the critical role of female-owned businesses in promoting food security, provides real-life examples, and offers practical strategies for women entrepreneurs to maximize their impact.

Creating Respectful and Trusted Workplaces

June 9, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Paula Quinsee

People work for money but go the extra mile for recognition, praise and rewards - Dale Carnegie

One item that regularly comes up as a low rating in our employee surveys is: "The company makes enough use of recognition and rewards other than money to encourage good performance." Recognition makes a person feel valued, appreciated, and most importantly visible (i.e. I see you).

Small Business, Big Success: Proven Strategies to Beat the Odds and Grow a Great Business by Cynthia Kay

June 2, 2024 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

Small Business, Big Success: Proven Strategies to Beat the Odds and Grow a Great Business by Cynthia Kay offers unconventional but proven strategies to run a better small business. It also provides a road map for owners looking to expand their small businesses by doing more business with big business. It’s an essential guide for entrepreneurs at every stage of business.

How to Coach Your Team When Your Time Feels Stretched

June 2, 2024 Melanie Hawken

by Lori Milner

The most common challenge among leaders is balancing coaching and mentoring their teams with the demands of everyday work. What if you changed your mindset from needing dedicated time to coaching individuals to integrating it into everyday conversations? Can you adopt a coach-like mindset by helping individuals see a solution they couldn't see on their own? The goal is to guide people to think differently and, more importantly, think further ahead than one hour, one day, and one week.

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