The 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit drew to a close earlier this month in Silicon Valley with US Secretary of State John Kerry talking about why the Obama administration has made entrepreneurship such a focal point and a priority, not just at home, but supporting its growth in developing nations around the world. The US has made economic prosperity an integral part of its foreign policy agenda and recognises the potential that entrepreneurship has to further socio-economic development globally. As Kerry says, “Entrepreneurship is an engine for shared prosperity and hope that helps bring stability to people and nations around the globe. It is about individuals improving their lives and their communities through good ideas and hard work. Success creates jobs, brings new products and services to market, and gives people a stake in seeing their local communities succeed. Entrepreneurship promotes stability and social inclusion and offers an alternative to conflict and extremism.” Given all the unrest and turmoil in the world right now, perhaps a new generation of young and socially conscious entrepreneurs will help to find solutions to so many of the challenges facing us today, and steer the developing world into new era of peace and prosperity. 

This week saw the launch of the 2016 Seed Academy Second Annual Startup Survey results published in South Africa on the state of entrepreneurship in the country. The report highlights some interesting findings, particularly in relation to women entrepreneurs. It appears that while slightly more than half of South Africa’s population is female, only 1 in every 3 entrepreneurs is female, and women still remain the minority in a largely male-dominated entrepreneurial landscape. Despite this, the report finds that women entrepreneurs in the country are generally more optimistic about the future, and their greater optimism is matched by a generally more favourable view of the business environment. In terms of growing the numbers of women entrepreneurs in South Africa and assisting them to grow their businesses, the report makes several recommendations, starting with making more focused support available. This includes providing more education on entrepreneurship, more networking opportunities, and more support and representation on various programmes. To fast-track current development efforts, the report recommends actively promoting more success stories of female entrepreneurs, developing specific women focused development programmes, encouraging female mentors to assist them in the specific challenges they face, and identifying innovative funding opportunities for women e.g. collateral free loans and reduced interest rates. 

Access to funding is a challenge often cited by Africa’s women entrepreneurs, but this month the African Development Bank (AfDB) announced measures to help address this issue. The Bank is availing $3 billion to support women entrepreneurs across Africa in a bold recognition of their contribution to the economies in their countries, packaged as Affirmation Finance Action for Women. The announcement was made by AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina during the on-going AfDB annual meetings in Lusaka, Zambia. He told about 5,000 participants including heads of states and government who are discussing the social and economic development of Africa, that small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives are taking centre stage as the future economic engine for the continent with women playing a critical role. This move sends a clear signal to the whole of Africa that women entrepreneurs are being seen as real economic drivers for growth and development, and that if supported properly they can fulfil their potential as business owners, brand builders, product creators and employers. That’s making a real impact. 

The 7th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit has just met in Silicon Valley with over 700 mainly young entrepreneurs from 170 countries descending on Stanford University for the event. On the agenda was networking with Silicon Valley’s elite, private mentoring sessions, idea pitching to local investors, and master classes on product brainstorming, angel investing, and building startup ecosystems. President Obama in his keynote speech told the delegates: ”The world needs your creativity and your energy and your vision. You are going to be what helps this process of global integration work.  The world works better when people are networking, trading, and sharing ideas.” The United States has always used economics to build relationships and advance its interests. What’s new here is the focus on entrepreneurship, with the country seeking to stimulate a new generation of entrepreneurs across the globe who can both generate prosperity for their countries and imagine new solutions to a range of global problems, from public health to climate change—problems which, when left unsolved, often spark strife. It’s a rallying call for young entrepreneurs to take the lead and help to make the world a more sustainable and better place.

We all know those giants of the business world that just seem to do things better and more innovatively than anyone else - think Apple and Google to name just two. Yet, as startups, there is so much that can be learned from these big players, and many approaches and ways of doing things that can be incorporated into our own businesses. For example, when it comes to creating brands and business cultures that employees want to be part of, then companies like Google are the masters, incorporating fun into everyday work life. As small businesses, we can also look at ways of creating company cultures and atmospheres that are fun to be part of, including making work spaces less boring and more creative places to spend time in. Another key learning from the Apples and Googles of this world is to keep our business thinking open to new possibilities and opportunities, always keeping it fresh by being open to diversification or new ways of doing things - this is particularly key when markets or technologies change and customers demand new products and services. Learning from the big players, the trick is not to be scared to step into a new industry or try something new, just because it’s different. We might be tempted to think that, as startups, we have nothing in common with these huge companies in the global marketplace, but the fact is that there are always lessons to be learned from any big company that is hugely successful and innovative. 

The 2016 Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities Index has just been published and Johannesburg is the only African city to make the list, which measures a city’s ability to attract and support high potential women entrepreneurs i.e., women that want to grow and scale their business. The rating has 5 pillars, divided into 2 categories, Operational Environment and Enabling Environment, and looks at Access to Capital, Markets, Talent, Culture and Technology. The 25 cities in the rankings were chosen from the list of 50 global cities in the Dell Future Ready Economies (FRE) Model in order to make comparisons between the two indices, with geographic diversity utilized as a key criteria in city selection. Johannesburg, though not on the Global 50, was added because South Africa is hosting this year’s Dell Women Entrepreneur Network (DWEN) Summit. The 50 global cities of the FRE were chosen for that study based on their size as well as their average growth over the last 5 years. As such, cities included in the WE Cities rankings are already strong, as compared to global peers, in the commercial aspects of future readiness. Although making the list this year, Johannesburg does need to address a number of challenges highlighted in the report which could hold back women entrepreneurs in the future. These include greater access to capital, improved technology (greater internet connectivity and policies enabling greater use of technology by women), and increased size of markets to support the growth of high potential women entrepreneurs. 

As entrepreneurs we know all too well what it feels like when times are tough, when things are not quite going according to our original plan, when the challenges and hurdles to be overcome in business just seem too great. At those times, and they inevitably arise on any entrepreneurial journey, when those around you are telling you to go back to the apparent security of the corporate world you left behind, remember the reasons you chose entrepreneurship in the first place. Remind yourself of the sense of freedom you experience when you are able to take a creative idea and turn it into a reality, making a difference as you go, instead of simply being a cog in a big corporate machine. If you need any further reminders as to why you became an entrepreneur, then visit your friends in their 9-to-5 offices so you can see for yourself just what it is that you’re apparently “missing.” That should give you the motivation to keep going through the tough times.

If there’s one thing we hear at Lionesses of Africa more than anything else as we meet aspirant women entrepreneurs across the continent, it’s that they have a fear of getting started in business. Let’s be honest, starting a new business does requires a leap of faith in the early days, but that’s part of the journey. Fear of the unexpected, fear of failure, fear of not being able to realise our ambitions for our businesses - these are all natural responses when embarking on an entrepreneurial journey. However, the key to getting started in business is not to let fear dictate your life or hinder you in realising your aspirations. If you understand the positive aspects of fear, how fears are learned, and how to deal with them constructively, you’ll better be able to prepare yourself to succeed when starting a new business. Ultimately, no-one knows what lies ahead, it takes courage to push ahead through the fear in the many situations where you don’t control the outcome. Remember that if you wait for the so called ‘perfect time’ to start a business, you might never do it. 

The annual Sustainable Brands Conference has been taking place this month in San Diego, and the focus was on how discussing how the combination of brands, sustainability and design can create inspiration, tools and partnerships to drive business success AND make a positive impact in the world. It’s called Activating Purpose. Increasingly discerning global consumers around the world today are becoming more demanding of the brands they buy — looking for new products, services and business models that deliver whilst also contributing to a healthy environment and society. A growing number of brand leaders who are succeeding in tapping into this new movement have built highly successful companies with environmental and/or social purpose at their core in the last decade - and more are on the way. Building these brands takes a new way of thinking, a new set of tools, and a new community of collaborators. One of the big take-outs from the event was the message that if as entrepreneurs we can push through the discomfort of addressing difficult challenges to find common ground, build trust and collaborate, we can not only build sustainable businesses, but we can also make a huge impact through our innovations, disruption of traditional ways of doing things, and out-of-the-box thinking. At the end of the day, it is all about entrepreneurs challenging the status quo of business and driving sustainability-led innovation to create scalable impact AND profitability. So, how do we Activate Purpose? - through the power of collaboration. As the saying goes, if you want to go far, go together! 

We all know the feeling as entrepreneurs - there is often the temptation to look around at what others are doing, how successful their businesses have become within a certain timeframe or location, where they are on their entrepreneurial journeys in comparison to ourselves - its a natural reaction. However, it’s important to remember that each one of our businesses is unique to us as individual entrepreneurs - they have been created as a result of our passions, our skills, and our own approach to building our businesses and brands. No one company is the same as another. So, if you are tempted to make a direct comparison with other entrepreneurs, remember the quote by Bill Gates: “Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world…if you do so, you are insulting yourself.” Advice to think about this morning!

With global consumers increasingly focusing their attention and spend on responsible and sustainablet brands and products, today’s companies that are looking to be tomorrow’s success stories must be the change in the marketplace. These companies will lead consumers to a more sustainable future by taking a more innovative and socially aware approach to the development of products to meet key needs. Take ground-breaking companies like luxury eco-friendly electric carcompany Tesla, for example, successfully creating enormous demand for electric vehicles through innovative technologies, sleek design and smart marketing. Companies and brands like Tesla aren’t sitting back and waiting for consumers to advocate for a particular product. Instead they are creating the demand by seizing upon a key challenge in the marketplace, and innovating to create a solution that is a first to market, thereby leading from the front and creating new trends. The trick definitely seems to be the change, rather than following in the footsteps of others who are already leading the charge.

Having the ability to understand and tap into consumer consciousness has quickly become one of the driving forces behind successful businesses and brands - and these brands know that the key to successfully connecting with their consumers is by ensuring they are aware of their brand purpose and mission. One of the most effective ways to do that is to listen, communicate, and build trust. As consumers grow more aware of what goes into their purchases, and as they learn about the ethos of the businesses and brands they are supporting, brands that embrace purpose-centric consumer demand will prevail. Today’s consumers are craving authentic and transparent messaging from the brands they support - they want to know about the sustainable footprint of the products they are buying; about the ethical production processes; and the positive social impact they are having on the communities and people that are part of their creation. This is conscious consumerism in action, driven increasingly by Millennials, Generation Z, Aspirationals and others, and as a result, brands must listen and respond in order to maintain and enhance their credibility with these powerful new consumers in the marketplace.

As more and more startups are appearing on the scene in Africa, many of them led by women, in particular millennials, the idea of co-working spaces to locate those startups is also gaining traction. Silicon Valley may have kickstarted this trend originally, but Africa has definitely embraced the concept. Co-working spaces are heralded globally as trendy, open spaces conducive to networking and brainstorming, but in Africa they also serve a far more practical purpose, with many co-working spaces mitigating the exorbitant costs of setting up and running an office in those early startup days. For many women entrepreneurs just starting up in business, particularly those going it alone as solopreneurs, co-working spaces can offer something much greater, however. Acknowledging that it can be a lonely process being a solopreneur, co-working spaces create a feeling of community, bringing like-minded people with similar goals and aspirations together to share ideas and experiences, and to provide an informal support structure. Importantly, these co-working spaces can also dramatically reduce the initial operating costs of a startup in those critical early months. 

It’s a fact - building a strong entrepreneurial network can help you to develop valuable relationships with other business owners and entrepreneurs, which can in turn lead to possible future business, collaborations and new ideas. Such networks are also really helpful when it comes to asking for advice from fellow entrepreneurs who have been there, got the T-Shirt, and know how to get over the many hurdles and challenges that are part of being in business. So, here are five practical ways to help you to build a great entrepreneurial network of your own, particularly if you are in the early months of your business startup. Firstly, get to know your local business community - chances are there are lots of entrepreneurs just like you in your local community, you just have to look in the right place to connect with them. So, check out all the local meetups for entrepreneurs, the events and conferences, the business networking sessions, and introduce yourself. Secondly, make sure you have an active presence in online communities, as this will introduce new people into your network and open up new connections. Thirdly, meet and get talking to new people you encounter each day, each one of them could be a potential future business contact, who knows? Fourthly, be active on social media and make sure you are fully utilising all your social networks to connect and network with other entrepreneurs. Finally, continuously engage with your network, finding ways to stay in touch and stay connected. Happy networking!

Adesina Akinwumi, the president of the African Development Bank, believes there is more work to be done to fully unleash the potential of Africa’s women entrepreneurs through access to finance. Speaking at the World Economic Forum last week, he said: "To turn the ideas of women entrepreneurs into viable businesses requires a fundamental change in the financial markets to better address the needs of women. A financial sector revolution for women businesses is needed.” Akinwumi said the push for access to finance provoked the African Development Bank to create the Affirmative Finance Action for Women (AFAWA) - a new initiative with the goal of creating an enhanced financial environment for women-owned businesses. "Our goal is to leverage $3 billion specifically for women owned enterprises in Africa. We must turn this demographic asset into an economic dividend for Africa,” he added. Initiatives such as these by the African Development Bank send a clear signal to the world that if the continent is to economically grow and thrive, then women entrepreneurs need to be supported on all business fronts in order to fulfil their real potential.

As the 2016 Social Entrepreneurs of the Year Awards for Africa were announced in Kigali, Rwanda last week, with eight of the fourteen winners being women, the power of social entrepreneurship to drive real and lasting positive change was acknowledged to the full. Rwanda’s First Lady, Jeannette Kagame, speaking at the event said social entrepreneurship can be one of Africa's most befitting avenues for economic transformation of the continent. Social entrepreneurs, similar to business entrepreneurs, build sustainable organisations that are either set up as non-profit or for-profit social enterprises, aimed at driving social innovation and transformation in various fields, including education, health, environment and enterprise development. They pursue poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial zeal, harnessing innovative business methods, and demonstrating the courage to try new approaches in order to find solutions to key challenges. "We live in a world where wealth disparities are still very evident, and as such, one can see the importance of cultivating a spirit of solidarity and care for the less fortunate...Whatever the means used by their organisations for this purpose, be it new technologies to provide wider access to jobs, innovative solutions to energy challenges, or tools that support literacy... these special entrepreneurs have in common a strong desire to change things for the best, around them," the First Lady added. We couldn’t agree more!

By 2050, the vast majority of the world's population will be concentrated in cities, which means that new ways of thinking will have to be developed to create new economic ecosystems in those cities that will support these rapidly expanding urban populations. Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton wrote an interesting article on this subject suggesting that their data tells us that for cities to meet these growing economic needs, the focus will need to be on creating a culture of entrepreneurship. He said: “City leaders must place entrepreneurship at the heart of their economic and policy agenda. The old ways just won't work. So as we look at the horizon over the next 50 years, the playbook has to change.” The bottom line is that these cities of the future will need not only to attract innovators, but they will also need to identify and develop entrepreneurs who can turn those innovations into successful businesses.

Africa’s future lies in the hands of its youthful population. But, while the region’s start-up businesses are gaining confidence and scale with a growing number of innovations achieving recognition beyond the region’s borders, much more must be done to create an enabling environment that allows entrepreneurs to flourish. This is especially the case for women entrepreneurs, whose potential is far from being optimized. This was the reason for a World Economic Forum challenge to find Africa’s top women Innovators. The criteria for the challenge required entrants’ companies to be less than three years old, be earning revenue for at least a year and have proven innovation and positive social impact. TheWorld Economic Forum has just announced the winners of the Africa Top Women Innovators Challenge 2016: Natalie Bitature, Musana Carts, Kampala, Uganda: Musana Carts has used frugal innovation to develop environmentally friendly, solar-powered vending carts. Audrey Cheng, Moringa School, Nairobi, Kenya: Audrey Cheng established Moringa School to enable a whole generation to gain the skills they need to compete in the digital economy. Lilian Makoi Rabi, bimaAFYA, Tanzania: bimaAFYA offers mobile micro-health insurance for the low income and informal sector, enabling healthcare services by drastically reducing costs. Nneile Nkholise, iMED Tech Group, Bloemfontein, South Africa: iMED Tech Group uses additive manufacturing to design breast and facial prostheses for cancer and burn victims. Larissa Uwase, CARL GROUP, Kigali, Rwanda: CARL GROUP is improving the health of the nation by innovating new food products from a staple crop, the sweet potato. Congratulations to each of these women innovators.

The World Economic Forum is taking place right now in Kigali, Rwanda and amongst the topics on the packed agenda is a discussion on the digital revolution underway on the African continent. Technology is playing an increasingly significant role in Africa’s emergence as an important player in the global economy. In a recently published research report ‘The Next Africa’ by Aubrey Hruby and Jake Bright, it highlights the existence of roughly 200 African innovation hubs, 3,500 new tech related ventures, and $1 billion in venture capital to a pan-African movement of start-up entrepreneurs. While new technologies might be the driving force behind the digital revolution, it is Africa’s most important resource, its people, who can determine the direction it will take. Take for example brilliant young minds such as Ory Okolloh and Juliana Rotich, two Kenyan women digital activists behind Ushahidi, a crisis-mapping tool, which is making waves globally. If Africa is to make the most of the opportunities offered by this digital revolution, it needs more bold, innovative women tech entrepreneurs just like them to make their mark too.

I read a great article in the UK’s Daily Mail yesterday that really resonated with me, as a fifty-something social entrepreneur myself. It was talking about how midlife can be a really exciting time to start a business for women. And, women who start businesses after they've become mothers are more common than you'd imagine. The average age of female entrepreneurs in Britain for example is 48, and the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show the 'mum economy' - businesses run by women with children under the age of 19 - contributed £7.2 billion to the nation's economy last year, supporting 204,000 jobs. But this shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Launching a business later in life makes complete sense - you have a wealth of fine tuned skills gained over years of corporate experience, you have an extensive business contact book, you have much more time to focus on building a business, and the chances are you have a renewed passion for making a difference in the world. So, this morning at Lionesses of Africa, we are celebrating all those women entrepreneurs on the continent who are experiencing the excitement of building businesses, brands and social enterprises in their 40s and 50s.