This month, Nigerian serial entrepreneur Nkemdilim Begho, founder of specialist IT company FutureSoft and co-founder of children’s accessory brand AlwaysMe by Ann Li, had the honour of speaking in Brussels at a high level European Commission conference. The event, which sought to tackle issues around Job Creation, Growth and Competitiveness in West Africa, attracted 300 high-level representatives from the European Commission, Regional Organisations (ECOWAS and WAEMU), Regional Development Banks, National Authorities at Ministerial level, financial Institutions and private sector stakeholders.
Read more100 Lionesses: Renowned Conservationist, Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, speaks at Explorers Festival in Washington D.C.
Some of the world’s most innovative scientists, conservationists, explorers and storytellers took to the stage at the prestigious National Geographic Explorers Festival this week in Washington. Amongst them was the renowned Ugandan gorilla conservationist and veterinarian Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of leading organisation CTPH Conservation Through Public Health, and Gorilla Conservation Coffee.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Divine Ndhlukula
"We want to expand from being solely a Zimbabwean security services company into being an African giant.”
Divine Ndhlukula, founder of SECURICO Security Services (Zimbabwe)
Read more100 LIONESSES: Celebrating the life of a pioneering South African woman entrepreneur who revolutionized the real estate industry
This past week saw the end of an era in South Africa as one of the country’s pioneering women entrepreneurs passed away. Pam Golding, founder and Life President of the Pam Golding Property Group, was an extraordinary example of how to beat gender stereotypes and build a global business and brand from the bottom up. She died on Tuesday at her home Wittebomen in Constantia, Cape Town. She was 89 years old.
Read more100 Lionesses: Flying Doctors Nigeria founder, Dr Ola Brown, honoured with Aviation Most Remarkable Medical Personality Award
In recognition of Flying Doctors Nigeria’s role in saving lives during critical and emergency situations in sub-Sahara Africa, Dr Ola Brown, the company's founder has been bestowed with the prestigious 2017 Aviation Most Remarkable Medical Personality Award by the Nigeria Aviation Awards (NIGAV) held last month.
Read moreDivine Ndhlukula wins Zimbabwe's private sector leader of the year award
Women dominated the Zimbabwe Institute of Management 2017 Leadership Excellence awards that were presented in Harare this month, with Securico Security Services founder, Divine Ndhlukula, picking up the prestigious Private Sector Leader of the Year award. She received the award for her ongoing contribution to management excellence in the country in the preceding year and for being an example and inspiration for others to emulate.
Read more100 Lionesses: Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee wins prestigious SEED Award
Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, founder of Gorilla Conservation Coffee, the game-changing for-profit social enterprise which aims to improve the livelihoods of coffee farmers whilst at the same time protecting mountain gorillas in Uganda, has just been recognised by this year’s prestigious SEED Awards.
Read more100 Lionesses: Tabitha Karanja’s Keroche Foundation growing a new generation of young entrepreneurs
Tabitha Karanja, CEO of the groundbreaking Kenyan Keroche Breweries empire, has a vision for the empowerment of a new generation of young entrepreneurs in her country. The Keroche Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program is one of the tangible ways she is fulfilling that vision.
Read moreAwards and Accolades: 5 Young Women Entrepreneurs Recognized by the Keroche Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Mentorship Programme
The Keroche Foundation Young Entrepreneurs Mentorship Program is one of the tangible ways that leading Kenyan entrepreneur, Tabitha Karanja, founder of Keroche Breweries, is fulfilling her vision of empowering a new generation of young entrepreneurs in her country. Five young women entrepreneurs have just been recognized for their business building activities in the second cohort to graduate from the program.
Read more100 Lionesses: Nigerian entrepreneur Mo Abudu, founder of Ebony Life TV, honored with journalism award
This week, on 6th July 2017, the 4th Women in Journalism Conference takes place, honoring the outstanding work done by women in their own individual fields in the media sector. Nigerian game-changing media entrepreneur, Mo Abudu, founder of Ebony Life TV, is to be recognized for her work in changing the media landscape in Africa.
Read more100 Lionesses: Divine Ndhlukula appointed new Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce President
This month saw the appointment of Divine Ndhlukula, founder of game changing security services company, Securico, as the new Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) President, a post she will occupy for the next two years. She has committed to dedicating her time at the helm of the ZNCC to furthering the cause of small to medium sized enterprises, something close to her heart as an entrepreneur. Divine said: “It will be important to note that we will focus on helping SMEs to realize their full potential as they now anchor the country’s economy. In the same vein, we will also strive to ensure that the country’s economy can realize its full potential.”
Read more100 LIONESSES: Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu the creative force behind soleRebels, Africa's fastest growing footwear brand
Watch this fascinating interview with Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, founder and ceo of soleRebels, as she talks about how she has led her Ethiopian business to become the fastest growing African shoe brand, now taking the world by storm.
Read more100 Lionesses - Tabitha Karanja and Julian Adyeri Omalla, two game-changing women entrepreneurs recognized for their trailblazing drinks industry businesses in Africa
The Africa Report has just published its list of the 50 women Star Dealmakers, the trendsetters, trailblazers and game-changing business brand-builders, who are shaking up the world of business on the African continent. Two of the women making the list and who have definitely made their significant mark in the drinks industries are Tabitha Karanja, CEO Keroche Breweries; and Julian Adyeri Omalla, Managing Director of Delight Uganda.
Read moreNigerian ecopreneur, Bilikiss Adebiyi and her company WeCyclers, wins the Smart Cities Innovation Awards Grand Prize Le Monde 2017
For the second edition of the Smart Cities Innovation Awards held this past week, the French newspaper Le Monde thought big. Nigerian startup WeCyclers, co-founded by Bilikiss Adebiyi, the innovative startup that brings domestic waste collection and treatment to Nigeria through a fleet of cargo-bikes and a waste sorting hub, was awarded with the prestigious International Grand Prize at the awards event held in Singapore.
Read moreMonica Musonda, founder of Java Foods, Zambia wins the African Agribusiness Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2017
The Market Matters 2017 African Agribusiness Entrepreneur of the Year Award has just been presented to Ms. Monica Musonda, founder and owner of Java Foods in Zambia. Ms. Musonda and Java Foods’ contribution to Africa’s agribusiness sector and food security was officially recognized during the Closing Banquet of the 2017 Making Markets Matter Executive Training Program for the African Agribusiness Sector in Somerset West, South Africa, on 11 May 2017. Java Foods joins a list of 8 other pioneering African entrepreneurs in receiving this honor.
Read moreSarah Collins and Wonderbag collaborate with Pfizer Vaccines to positively change lives in Ghana
In the Upper East Region of Ghana, cooking is a dangerous and time-consuming daily activity. Results from a self-reported survey indicate that women spend two hours a day gathering fuel and water, followed by up to four hours standing over open fires1. Exposed to cooking smoke for hours each day, women and small children can be at higher risk for deadly diseases such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, heart disease and lung cancer.
Read moreIs your favorite lipstick fake? Africa's leading beauty entrepreneur Tara Fela-Durotoye launches campaign to tackle counterfeiting
Leading African beauty industry entrepreneur, Tara Fela-Durotoye, together with other leading Nigerian entrepreneurs are raising their voices to stand against counterfeiting, intellectual property theft and piracy in Nigeria. Their powerful new campaign 'United We Stand' aimed at tackling piracy, counterfeiting and intellectual property theft head-on launched on 24th February 2017. The campaign is a call to action against injustice which also implores the Nigerian public to take extra steps to preserve hard work and to ensure consumer safety by buying genuine products and shunning counterfeit products.
Read moreSoleRebels founder Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu demonstrates the power of thinking big with her new Garden of Coffee venture
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu, the pioneering and enterprising creator of the inspirational SoleRebels ethical footwear brand, and Republic of Leather, her business venture that puts Ethiopia’s handcrafted leatherwear and accessories on the global map, believes the future of a truly sustainable specialty coffee market can be found in coffee’s birthplace, her native Ethiopia. After more than a decade of building SoleRebels into a global footwear and leather goods brand that combines traditional Ethiopian craftsmanship and materials with fresh new designs while also paying top dollar throughout the supply chain, Alemu late last year launched an equally ambitious new coffee venture called Garden of Coffee.
Read moreFée Halsted's Ardmore Ceramics exhibits its vibrant and unique ceramic art in Miami
Fée Halsted flew to Miami this week for the opening of Pascoe and Company's Ardmore Ceramics Exhibition hosted by the Ocean Reef Art League. The exhibition has received a great response with tremendous enthusiasm for Ardmore and its artists. The new Pascoe and Company Gallery offers the largest selection of Ardmore in the United States.
Read moreKofo Akinkugbe’s SecureID launches new SIM Card manufacturing line in Nigeria
SecureID Limited, founded by one of Africa’s leading women entrepreneurs, Kofo Akinkugbe, has commissioned a SIM Card manufacturing line to support the needs of Nigeria’s rapidly growing mobile telecoms sector. Launched in 2005, SecureID is an independent, privately owned company located in Lagos, Nigeria that manufactures banking and telecom cards with mag stripe and chip encoding. This new manufacturing line ensures SecureID will continue to lead the way in delivering ‘innovative and first to market’ card technology and solutions.
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