the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Lezel de Vos, founder of Fox Ingredients (South Africa)
People with a passion for what they do often make the most successful entrepreneurs, and in the case of Lezel de Vos and her company Fox Ingredients, her interest in the flavours and essences that go into making wonderful tasting and visually appealing food products is what took her into business.
Read moreBantu Wax, founded by Yodit Eklund, is an African surf brand that breaks the clichés of blonde, blue-eyed surf babes with images from Africa's own surf culture.
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- Robyn Farrell is executive head of 1st for Women, a South African insurance company that caters specifically for the needs of women. Over the years, 1st for Women has become an advocate for women, and its social arm, the 1st for Women Insurance Foundation, has raised over R30 million for South African women in need.
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Laura Herring author of 'No Fear Allowed'
For all those women entrepreneurs who, at some point during their journeys to building their businesses and brands, have woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, scared as to what to do next in business or in life, and frozen by the fear of failure, then No Fear Allowed is the book for you.
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How do you keep all the balls in the air, whilst building a company and brand? As women we are often referred to as master jugglers. Somewhere in our lifetime we have learnt the art of juggling many tasks at once, whilst at the same time producing excellent results. Being able to multi-task means not missing out on opportunities. Most entrepreneurs share the same traits of being courageous, persistent and having great vision. Pair this with juggling several tasks at once and you know you have a winning combination!
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In the third of a fascinating series of guest blogs simplifying issues around financial management for all those women entrepreneurs who are looking to import and export in their business, this week the focus is on the importance of having a foreign exchange plan and sticking to it.
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Artisanal craft has often been seen as the lowly cousin to more high profile creative disciplines such as design, sculpture and art, with the artisans themselves tending to be consigned to the background. This perception is now changing as the artisan sector undergoes a global resurgence. The high profile support of initiatives such as the recently launched #ChooseArtisan campaign are helping to keep the momentum going.
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Eva Sonaike, founder of Eva Sonaike
There is a growing global interest in African design, textiles and products, and talented Nigerian interior designer and lifestyle brand creator, Eva Sonaike, is taking the world by storm on the back of this trend. Her aim is to position the 'African' aesthetic in the global textiles and interior industry as part of her bigger brand-building picture.
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Bev Missing, founder and ceo of Rain
Best advice for women considering a start-up business....
- Bev Missing is the founder of South African body and bath product brand RAIN. Back in 1999 Bev saw a gap in the market to start making soap as it was labour intensive and all the lovely soaps at that stage were imported. Bev started the project in her garage hoping to help solve unemployment in her hometown of Ladybrand, and to make a difference in the lives of the poor and jobless. Today, RAIN has eight stores across South Africa, two unique wellness spa's, and two stores in New York. Bev has recently signed contracts to open a further 70 Rain stores in the USA and Canada and then 40 in the UK and Ireland.
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In many organizations, the excuse for not having women in senior management teams or women in the pipeline of people they interview for available positions is that cannot find qualified women for these positions. In addition, a large number of technology events usually have very few women speakers and the explanation is the same, they cannot find women in the area to invite to speak. Women in Tech Africa is solving this problem.
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Femi Olayebi, founder of My World of Bags and the Femi Handbags brand (Nigeria)
In the competitive world of global accessory and handbag design, one Nigerian designer is making the world sit up and take notice, with her unique take on beautiful, bespoke, handcrafted pieces that celebrate the art of craftsmanship combined with a uniquely African touch. Femi Olayebi is talent personified and her great eye for design together with a deep appreciation for African culture and textiles, has allowed her to create handbags and accessories that have a great story to tell and a wonderful visual appeal.
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In the past, many of the strongest global brands were afforded a luxury that is in short supply these days: time. The results of the latest Global Brand Survey demonstrate that being seen as part of the local culture is a significant driver of purchase intent for both global and local brands. However, while consumers have usually grown up with the local brand, the global brand is often less familiar because it has not been around as long.
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Go ahead and start - don't fear failure....
- Ego Iwegbu-Daley is founder of Miss Salon London nail boutiques in London and South Africa. Her unique nail boutique concept creates an environment where music, movies, friends, conversation, a glass of wine, and of course incredibly beautiful nails, all combine in the ultimate pampering experience.
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If you are a young South African woman entrepreneur with a vision to build a great new business, but to do it your way, then make your way to the Effeminacy Women’s Breakfast Event on the morning of Saturday 26 September at the OPEN Collaborative City Workspaces in Maboneng, Johannesburg - it is free of charge, it is powerful and but spaces are limited, so book now.
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Thandiwe Makhanya, founder of A.T.L Events and Promotions (South Africa)
The challenge for any young woman fashion designer just starting out is finding effective ways of getting their brands and their clothes out into the marketplace and connecting with customers. South African entrepreneur, Thandiwe Makhanya, and her company A.T.L Events and Promotions, which specialises in creating, managing and executing brand awareness events, campaigns as well as promotions, has found a solution.
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Tori Torres, author and founder of PoshLife
'Two Minutes to Make the Sale' is Book Two of the 'If You Build It, They Will Come' series. Book One was the introduction, setting a firm foundation for anyone wanting to embark on the path to becoming an entrepreneur, and using the power of online to achieve success. Tori Torres tells the story of how she made the transition from Stay at Home Mom, to becoming a best seling author and entrepreneur.
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In the second of a series of guest blogs that look at issues around financial management issues for entrepreneurs, this week we get to grips with FX Forwards. We get a better understanding of what it could mean for all those women entrepreneurs trying to balance their import and export ambitions with good foreign exchange risk management.
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Karen Wessels, co-founder of SnappSales (South Africa)
There are some natural born entrepreneurs who see a problem, challenge or need, and have a burning desire to find the solution - Karen Wessels is one such entrepreneur. Her latest venture SnappSales has found a solution for all those companies who need to create quality sales leads, but whose salespeople hate cold-calling. She has found an innovative and highly efficient way of appointment setting, harnessing the power of conversation and the talents of a great team of people.
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E4Impact Foundation official launch press conference in Milan on 16 September
The E4Impact Foundation was launched in Milan, Italy this month with the aim of supporting impact entrepreneurship in Africa through a leading Pan-African university alliance for the training and coaching of a new generation of impact entrepreneurs, with a focus on woman entrepreneurs.
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This month saw the much-anticipated launch of a wonderful new online platform, created as a destination for all organizations that serve women and girls. It is an online community where they can share stories, ideas, best practices and materials with each other, with the goal of strengthening a global community focused on enabling women and girls to thrive. WomenStrong International’s new online platform can be found at www.womenstrong.org.
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