Entrepreneur Advice from Susan Mashibe: What I learnt from Marissa Mayer

November 20, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Susan Mashibe, founder and executive director of VIA Aviation — **Susan Mashibe**, founder and executive director of VIA Aviation

Susan was lucky enough to be mentored by Marissa Mayer the current CEO of Yahoo - what did she learn?....

“What Marissa taught me is to hire smart people who get things done. I saw how important it was to have a healthy team, but to be willing to dismiss bad apples before they contaminate the team. You also have to nurture your team well.”

- Susan Mashibe is founder and executive director of VIA Aviation, an international fixed-base aircraft services operation and the first company of its kind in Tanzania. Susan is also the first woman in Tanzania to hold both a FAA certified commercial pilot and an aircraft maintenance engineering qualification.

PODCAST: LoA talks with co-founder Nahida Bhegani, about advertising and exciting new times ahead for Kinaya, their Ugandan advertising agency

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

When two sisters and a close friend all met at school in Uganda many years ago, who would have thought their close friendship would lead to a series of highly successful business ventures in the future, one of which is Kinaya, a leading advertising agency in the country. LoA chatted to Nahida about the business, affiliations, new challenges and exciting times ahead for the company.

PODCAST: LoA talks fashion with Olga Mugyenyi, co-founder of uber trendy Ugandan brand, DEF.I.NI.TION AFRICA

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Olga Mugyenyi, co-founder of the highly successful and uber trendy Ugandan fashion brand, DEF.I.NI.TION AFRICA, talks about their latest collection launch with LoA during a visit to South Africa on 16 November. Their incredible new collection reflects their love of print and news headlines in some really original designs that are taking the catwalks of Africa by storm, produced in collaboration with a hot new design talent who is just 15 years old - prepare to be amazed!

PODCAST: LoA chats to entrepreneur Mavis Nduchwa of Chabana Farms in Botswana

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Mavis Nduchwa, Chabana Farms (Botswana) — **Mavis Nduchwa**, Chabana Farms (Botswana)

Meeting young entrepreneurs in the agri-business sector from Africa is always a pleasure for Lionesses of Africa, and on 16 November, founder Melanie Hawken met with a young woman agri-entrepreneur who is a bright prospect for the future. Mavis Nduchwa of Chabana Farms, a family owned enterprise located in Semitwe Village, TutumweSub-district of Botswana, talked about the challenges of being a woman entrepreneur in the farming sector, and shared her aspirations for the future.

PODCAST: Mosidi Modise, co-founder of GroShoot in South Africa chats agribusiness to LoA

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Mosidi Modise, co-founder of GroShoot (South Africa) — **Mosidi Modise**, co-founder of GroShoot (South Africa)

LoA's founder, Melanie Hawken, had the pleasure of speaking at the Ampion Venture Bus Tour Johannesburg stopover event on 16 November and meeting some amazing young entrepreneurs from around the African continent and the world. One agri-business entrepreneur in the making was Mosidi Modise of GroShoot in Cape Town. She spoke to Melanie about her business initiative and her aspirations for the future.

Pick n Pay co-founder Wendy Ackerman of The Ackerman Foundation receives the All Africa Philanthropist of the Year Award

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Wendy Ackerman, co-founder Pick n Pay — **Wendy Ackerman**, co-founder Pick n Pay

JOHANNESBURG November 16, 2015 – The overall winners of the 5th All Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) in Partnership with CNBC Africa Grand Finale, hosted by Bakgatla-Ba-Kgafela were revealed at a sensational gala dinner held in Sandton, South Africa on November 13. Wendy Ackerman of The Ackerman Foundation received the All Africa Philanthropist of the Year - one of two new awards added to the line-up.

Quote of the Day by Amanda Blankfield-Koseff

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Amanda Blankfield-Koseff, founder & CEO of Empowervate (South Africa) — **Amanda Blankfield-Koseff**, founder & CEO of Empowervate (South Africa)

"On this Women’s Entrepreneurship Day I wish to encourage all women to start making positive changes in their lives, the lives of their community members and countries - it is up to us as we lead our families and we can lead our nations if we all work together!"

- Amanda Blankfield-Koseff is founder & CEO of Empowervate in South Africa, a youth development, non-profit organisation that aims to empower and motivate a new generation of proactive and positive citizens. Their flagship programme is the Youth Citizens Action Programme (YCAP), which was founded in 2009 and operates in every province of South Africa in Primary and Secondary Schools to teach active citizenship experientially. Their other programmes include social entrepreneurship for youth.

Entrepreneur Advice from Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola: Rejection is part of the game

November 19, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, founder of WeCyclers, Nigeria — **Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola**, founder of WeCyclers, Nigeria

Don't be put off by rejection, persist....

"Push more! You have to grab things and be persistent. Don’t take things personally. Rejection is part of the game, just keep pushing. Don’t give up. Push more!"

- Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is an award winning Nigerian social entrepreneur and innovator, and the founder, and founder and CEO of WeCyclers. This Lagos-based company is focused on giving low-income communities in developing countries a chance to capture value from waste and clean up their neighborhoods through an incentive-based recycling program. Bilikiss holds an MBA from MIT and a Masters degree from Vanderbilt University. She is also a 2013 Echoing Green Fellow.

Ally Angula: We have to become active doers and entrepreneurs

November 18, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ally Angula, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia) — **Ally Angula**, co-founder of Leap Holdings (Namibia)

Ally Angula has in less than two years after starting her business branched out into agriculture and established Namibia’s first commercial clothing brand sold in her own retail outlets. This year, the 35-year-old mother of two was chosen as the first Namibian to join approximately 200 peers as a Young Global Leader under the auspices of the World Economic Forum.

Quote of the Day by Ally Angula

November 18, 2015 Melanie Hawken

"Having your own company is a constant learning curve, but in this way one can also grow as a person."

- Ally Angula is a qualified charted accountant and co-founder of Leap Holdings, a group of companies involved in the growing of fresh produce, garment manufacturing and retail in Namibia. She is also the founder of My Republik Brand, Namibia’s first locally designed, manufactured and retailed clothing brand with a flagship store situated in the Grove Mall in Windhoek's Kleine Kuppe suburb. She currently serves as non-executive director for Old Mutual Life Assurance (Namibia) and Rio Tinto's Rossing Uranium mine in Namibia. Ally was chosen as a Desmond Tutu Fellowship programme Associate in April 2013 and was one of two Namibian entrepreneurs selected to attend the 2015 Global Entrepreneurship Summit hosted by US President Barack Obama in Kenya.

Judith Owigar - The startup story of a visionary Kenyan techpreneur working to make a huge impact by nurturing the talents of women in technology

November 18, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Judith Owigar, co-founder of Akirachix (Kenya) — **Judith Owigar**, co-founder of Akirachix (Kenya)

Take one woman with a big vision to nurture generations of women who use technology to develop innovations and solutions for Africa, and the energy to match, and you have the inspirational Judith Owigar, co-founder of Akirachix - a real gamechanger for women innovators in Africa.

Entrepreneur Advice from Basetsana Kumalo: You can only learn from failure

November 18, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Top advice to women entrepreneurs....

"It will be tough, and you must not be afraid of failing. Know that you can only learn from failure."

- Basetsana Kumalo is a leading South African serial entrepreneur and the founder, executive chairman and CEO of Basetsana Woman Investment Holdings. She is best known for co-founding Tswelopele Productions some 14 years ago – one of the first independent television producers in the country that went on to successfully produce Top Billing, a long-running, top rated South African lifestyle television show.

PODCAST: Anthea Rutherford of the Really Interesting Food Company talks really interesting food

November 17, 2015 Melanie Hawken

The Sanlam Handmade Contemporary Fair was the lively venue for a great conversation with Franschoek-based entrepreneur, Anthea Rutherford, the inspiration behind the Really Interesting Food Company. Her passion for cooking, food, and interesting and hard to find food items from around the world led her to start this amazing business.

What do Entrepreneurs need more support with to be successful?

November 17, 2015 Melanie Hawken

P.T. Barnum was an entrepreneur in the 19th century and his quote stands true to this day, for both men and women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs bravely forge forward and will dare to go where no man (or woman) has gone before. We know the countless hours you’ve put into growing your business - the thankless menial tasks you’ve conquered - the sweat and tears shed to make this venture a success. As an aspiring entrepreneur you may wonder at times what are the missing links to transition from your business’s current state to success? We may look at other successful entrepreneurs and feel that they make the leap look quite easy.

Raheel Muhammad - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur who started her niche business by providing specialist services to SMEs

November 17, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Raheel Muhammad, founder of HM Holdings (South Africa) — **Raheel Muhammad**, founder of HM Holdings (South Africa)

Often, the most difficult part of any entrepreneurial journey is finding a niche to slot into, and differentiating yourself from the market place. In the case of Raheel Muhammad, founder of HM Holdings and its consulting arm, HM Consulting, she saw the opportunity to use her many years’ of experience in franchise management and designing operations manuals in order to help SMEs to thrive.

South Africa’s inspirational women entrepreneurs take on the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge in Turkey

November 17, 2015 Melanie Hawken

A great group shot of Margaret Hirsch with some of the winners from around the globe.

The prestigious 9th IWEC - International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge and Awards event is currently taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, and one of South Africa’s most respected and successful women entrepreneurs is one of the invited guest speakers at the event. Margaret Hirsch, the co-founder and Chief Operations Executive of Hirschs, has been invited to speak about her work, her philosophy on women’s economic participation and upliftment, and her own entrepreneurial journey. She was joined by fellow South African entrepreneurs Shona McDonald from Shonaquip and Wendy Kemp from Accountability in Cape Town.

Let’s celebrate the Decade of the African Woman Entrepreneur on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, 19th November 2015

November 16, 2015 Melanie Hawken

This is a great time to be a woman entrepreneur in Africa. It is a time for the world to sit up and take notice of the millions of women entrepreneurs who are building successful businesses and brands, empowering and uplifting communities, and inspiring others through their efforts across the African continent. The 2nd Women’s Entrepreneurship Day on 19th November 2015, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, will provide an unprecedented opportunity for Africa’s incredible women entrepreneurs to get the world talking.

What exactly is your Accountant talking about and your Banker getting excited over?

November 16, 2015 Melanie Hawken

In the latest of a series of guest blogs that look at issues around financial management for women entrepreneurs, this week our focus is on understanding the numbers in our businesses.

Yolanda Ndhlovu - The startup story of a South African entrepreneur combining a love for recycling, jewellery design and fashion into a business

November 16, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Yolanda Ndhlovu, co-founder of Green Mat Designs (South Africa) — **Yolanda Ndhlovu**, co-founder of Green Mat Designs (South Africa)

Green Mat Designs is the inspiration of young South African entrepreneur, Yolanda Ndhlovu, who is passionate about going ‘green’ and thinking more about taking an environmentally friendly approach to design. Her jewellery, fashion and interior decor pieces reflect her love of recycling, particularly for vintage beads and clothing.

Entrepreneur Advice from Uche Pedro: Look inwards and find your passion

November 16, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Uche Pedro, founder of BellaNaija.com — **Uche Pedro**, founder of BellaNaija.com

Find your passion as an up and coming woman entrepreneur....

“There is no fixed career path. My advice is to look inwards, find your passion, find your niche and go for it! Don’t over-think it. While you are ‘thinking’ someone might launch your idea.”

- Uche Pedro is founder of BellaNaija.com, a company that develops and delivers exciting online content aimed at Nigerian and Pan-African audiences. Uche’s savvy grasp of media trends has led to BellaNaija.com becoming the go-to lifestyle, entertainment and fashion portal in Africa. Her website has established a loyal following amongst the young, cosmopolitan, upwardly mobile set in Nigeria, with over 1 million unique visitors and 9 million page views each month.