the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
by Dr Michélle Booysen
“Every process is an opportunity for performance improvement.” – Michael Hammer
Over the past ten blogs, we have explored how processes play a crucial role in delivering outstanding customer service. The next series shifts focus to how aligning processes with business goals drives performance, efficiency, and sustainable growth.
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by Sonja Cilliers and Maryke Groenewald
The legal profession is facing an era of unprecedented change. Rapid technological advancements, evolving client expectations and increasing regulatory complexities demand that legal professionals adapt and innovate. Traditional legal problem-solving methods, while effective in many respects, can often be rigid and slow to respond to modern challenges. Design thinking, a human-centred, iterative approach to problem-solving, offers legal professionals a fresh perspective to enhance client service, improve efficiency, and drive meaningful innovation.
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What we’re loving this week
In this week’s spotlight on all things Woman Made In Africa, we are showcasing Africa’s talented and innovative women entrepreneurs who are creating sustainable, quality products that discerning and impact-driven customers want to buy. Catching our attention this week are: Bio Óleos de Miombo (BOM), a sustainable skincare brand founded by Ana Alecia Lyman in Mozambique; Pichulik, a decade-old ethical jewellery atelier founded by Katherine-Mary Pichulik, based in Cape Town, South Africa; Ledikana, a high quality, contemporary clothing brand founded by Mapholo Ratau, based in South Africa; and the exciting sporting clothing brand for style-conscious cyclists, FiveStars Africa in Kenya, founded by Alice Kivuva.
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Lynda Aphing-Kouassi
Lioness Launch
Kaizene International was founded by Mrs. Lynda Aphing-Kouassi, a recognized leader committed to skills development and business transformation. Her experience and expertise have allowed her to build a strategic network of financial and institutional partners, significantly enhancing the impact of the programs deployed. Thanks to her vision and leadership, Kaizene International has become a key partner for businesses and institutions seeking growth and structured development.
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Adelia Nicole Tique Massangaie, founder, Indico Fish Farm (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Adelia Nicole Tique Massangaie is the founder of Indico Fish Farm. EI in Mozambique, where she is currently setting up her Nile Tilapia Production and Processing Unit. She has a degree in Marine Biology from Eduardo Mondlane University and is currently studying for a Master's degree in Population and Development. Prior to starting her business, she worked as a Research Assistant at the Natural History Museum in the area of marine and aquatic animal collections and also as a Zootechnician at Machado Knowhow in the area of animal production. Her business plan, which focused on Nile Tilapia Production and Processing, was the winner of the Agora Emprega 2023 Program at the national level in Maputo Province.
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Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, Founder & CEO, ZER Consulting Africa (ZER) (Nigeria)
Startup Story
Adeolu Adewumi-Zer is a passionate Afro-optimist, seasoned global strategist, and the author of "Afro-Optimism Unleashed: Scaling African Excellence to the Global Stage." With nearly 25 years of experience spanning four continents, she now channels her expertise into empowering African leaders and businesses as the Founder & CEO of ZER Consulting Africa (ZER), a purpose-driven Pan-African strategy and management consulting firm founded in 2023 and with a workforce of 8 people. ZER partners with development agencies, investment funds, and social ventures, providing strategic guidance for SME growth through their proprietary SCALE framework. Adeolu is a dedicated advocate for Africa’s development, championing financial inclusion, gender equality, and quality education while serving on impactful boards and inspiring global audiences.
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Carrie Kerpen
Book Review
For all those women entrepreneurs who want to know how to scale and sell their businesses, serial entrepreneur and author, Carrie Kerpen’s new book, The Whisper Way, is a must-read. She has written a game-changing guide for women to turn their lifestyle businesses into sellable life-changing assets, closing the exit gap, and ensuring they earn as much as their male counterparts—if not more.
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by Margaret Hirsch
As International Women’s Day has just passed, this one is for the ladies and its simple: you are enough. Too often, women doubt themselves, questioning whether they are good enough, smart enough, or capable enough. Society, pressure, and expectations can weigh us down, making us feel like we must constantly prove our worth. But today, I want to shift that mindset.
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by Dr Michélle Booysen
“Listening to customers must become everyone’s business. You’re either serving the customer or serving someone who is.” – Ken Blanchard
Businesses gain a competitive edge by turning customer feedback into action. Mapping the customer lifecycle highlights problem areas: presenting opportunity for improvements and integrates feedback to enhance experiences, foster loyalty, and drive long-term success.
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by Teboho Seretlo
Fellow Lionesses, it’s been a minute! As we step into a new year, I find myself reflecting deeply on my journey in 2024—the lessons I have learned and the priorities I am setting for the year ahead.
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by Dr. Memuna Williams, DBA
Isn’t it amazing how inspiration can come from the most unexpected places?
For me, one such moment occurred at the University of Liverpool, through a fellow student named Lisa Crockett. Lisa was an energetic and dedicated member of our innovative international DBA program. She quickly became a central figure in our program, always present, always willing to lend a hand, and always making sure we had the information we needed to thrive in our studies. But Lisa’s story didn’t stop at being a helpful senior classman. She went on to complete her thesis on pediatric palliative care—a deeply personal and powerful topic that coincided with my own experience of a loved one undergoing the very care she was researching.
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Wawira Njiru
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Food4Education, an award-winning social enterprise building a blueprint for school feeding programmes across Africa
Wawira Njiru is a Kenyan entrepreneur and visionary leader on African food systems, nutrition, philanthropy and social innovation. As Founder and CEO of Food4Education, an award-winning, locally rooted, and African-led solution to end classroom hunger, Wawira is the architect behind the blueprint to scale sustainable, nutritious, and affordable school feeding programs across Africa. Under her leadership, Food4Education has grown from a passion project that fed 25 children at its launch in 2012 to an established food industry engine that serves more than half a million children daily in Kenya, improving their nutrition and education outcomes while also creating jobs (4400 employees) and opportunities for whole communities. Featured in TIME, Bloomberg, CNN, The Guardian, BBC, Reuters and CNBC, Wawira has also received global recognition for her commitment to feed Africa’s future including the Skoll Award for Social Innovation and the Elevate Prize among others.
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What we’re loving this week
In this week’s spotlight on all things Woman Made In Africa, we are showcasing Africa’s talented and innovative women entrepreneurs who are creating sustainable, quality products that discerning and impact-driven customers want to buy. Catching our attention this week are: Margaux Rusita, founder of sustainable jewellery and accessory brand, Margaux Wong in Burundi; Samantha Skyring, founder of sustainable natural salt brand, Oryx Desert Salt in South Africa; Charlotte Lefebvre, founder of ethical accessory brand, Bush Princess in Kenya; and Natalie and Kim Ellis, co-founders of The Joinery, the sustainable and ethical product design brand based in South Africa.
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Samrawit Fikru
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Hybrid Designs PLC (RIDE), a revolutionary business redefining urban transportation in Ethiopia
Samrawit Fikru is the visionary co-founder and ceo of RIDE Transport Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s electronic-transport unicorn startup. With more than a decade of transformative leadership in the mobility sector, she pioneered RIDE 11 years ago to redefine urban transportation through safe, reliable, and tech-driven solutions. Under her stewardship, RIDE has grown into a workforce of 400+ professionals and serves as a catalyst for regional connectivity, bridging gaps across Africa’s evolving transport landscape. Recognized among BBC’s 100 Women and WeAreTech.Africa’s 100 Global Tech Changemakers, Samrawit, combines strategic innovation with a steadfast commitment to economic empowerment, creating scalable opportunities for drivers and communities alike. Her forward-thinking approach continues to position RIDE at the forefront of Africa’s digital transportation revolution.
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Siyamthanda Maya, founder, ZAS Petroleum (South Africa)
Startup Story
Siyamthanda Maya is the founder of ZAS Petroleum, a licensed wholesaler of petroleum products specialising in imports of Crude, Diesel and Unleaded petrol, as well as exports of diesel and lubricants. She is a seasoned business professional in the energy sector with extensive experience in both Utility Management and the Oil and Gas sector. Siya is a personification of diligence, determination, and skill, attributes which have contributed to her current achievements. She has successfully founded and run two energy entities and led Multi-Billion-rand infrastructural programs. A big believer in credible skills transfer and development, Siya is a supporter of women skills development and community enablement. She holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Stellenbosch Business School.
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Selusiwe Lukhele, founder, Happiness Junction Cafe (Eswatini)
Startup Story
Selusiwe Lukhele is an entrepreneur from Eswatini and the founder of Happiness Junction Cafe, an award-winning youth-owned business launched in 2021 and known for its warm hospitality and innovative offerings. A 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year Awards winner, Selusiwe was selected for the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship at the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed an intensive six-week program focused on business leadership, entrepreneurship, and networking with global change-makers.
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Shemia A. Williams
Book Review
In her new step-by-step workbook, Dear Entrepreneur: Start Where You Are, Shemia A Williams is your guide to building a solid foundation for your brand or business, whether you're starting for the first time or catching up. It is a book that combines actionable insights with heartfelt advice—designed to guide entrepreneurs toward success and purpose.
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by Seanice Lojede
I was recently invited to speak to a group of women entrepreneurs at GIBS University in South Africa. Part of the conversation was around Impostor Syndrome and decision making. How do you know when to take certain decisions both personal and business, and the doubt that comes with it? So I shared something I have learned the hard way…
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by Marilize Jacobs
Colour therapy in branding is the strategic use of colours to evoke emotions, influence perceptions, and shape consumer behavior through your marketing and brand identity. It is rooted in colour psychology, which studies how different colour hues (shades) affect human emotions, decisions and associations.
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by Taryn Blignaut
This article sets out the importance of having a written agreement to regulate your transactions as a small business. We also cover some of the benefits of putting in place a customised legal template for your business.
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