the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Marion Nixon
If you have ever thought of changing your life for the better by understanding yourself and the factors that might be holding you back, then you may need a Personal Change Agent to help you on your journey of self discovery. Marion Nixon is just such a person, with the skills and experience to help those who feel stuck in life to find their way again.
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A few weeks ago we experienced a very unpleasant cold front – out came the boots, beanies and coats. Heaters were dusted, stews and dumplings warmed our bellies and talk of an impending colder winter this year, trended. I love the warm things of winter. We’ve figured it all out: central heating, warm, fluffy sweaters, winter sheets, cup-a-soups and trips to warmer locations are easy to arrange. Animals do the same, they migrate, hibernate or adapt – we could learn a thing or two from them and apply this knowledge to business.
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Anna Shilina
In The Business Tango, author, motivational speaker and entrepreneur, Anna Shilina, provides the insights, tips and advice on how to become the best entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial version of yourself, in life and business.
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Customers are a key element to the existence of a business. Every entrepreneur, business owner and sales person knows what a battle it can be to find the right customers. When you have those customers, it is how you treat them that will make them come back or refer others to you.
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Wow! How fast 2017 is flying! I’ve been quiet for a while, busy in my SummerTime happy place planning and crafting a great year ahead. Now that the plan is in place, let’s get back to the business of branding and sharing some insights around how to do it well. In my previous blog posts, we covered the topics of establishing and creating your brand. Now let’s move into how to make the most of the brand you’ve created.
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Rose Sibisi
Personality-led brands and businesses connect with audiences because of precisely that - they are created by women entrepreneurs who are big on passion and personality. Rose Sibisi is an entrepreneur who has both of these traits in huge quantities, and her passion for what she does is infectious. Her popular Talk Show, StylewithRoseS, is must-watch television.
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Joanne Mwangi, founder of Professional Marketing Services Group, East Africa
You need a game plan to handle success and money....
– Joanne Mwangi founded Professional Marketing Services Group in Kenya in 1996. Today her company has five subsidiaries and a presence across East Africa. Joanne has steered the PMS Group from a small agency to a leading full service marketing and communications group. In 2010, PMS was voted number one in the Top 100 SME competition in Kenya. Joanne also won the Lady Entrepreneur of the Year award at the same competition sponsored by the Nation Media Group and KPMG. She is also the chairperson of the Federation of Women Entrepreneurs Associations (FEWA), an organisation that seeks to create an enabling business environment for women.
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Edith Venter, founder of Edith Unlimited (South Africa)
- Edith Venter is the doyenne of event management in South Africa. She is the founder of Edith Unlimited, taking the world of prestigious and glamorous event management to a whole new level, in keeping with the style and elegance she is well known for. Today, she is also a highly sought after motivational speaker, a role model to millions of South African women, and a tireless campaigner and fundraiser for the causes she is passionate about.
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Brenda Wilkinson
Never fail on your vision....
- Brenda Wilkinson is the co-owner and Marketing Manager of Rio Largo Olive Estate, a multi-award winning estate, situated in the Scherpenheuwel valley between Worcester and Robertson in South Africa. The Estate comprises olive orchards, vines, an olive specific nursery and a state of the art OLIOMIO olive processing and bottling plant. Brenda is a never say no, serial entrepreneur and marketing specialist who has previously created Leisure Seekers Guide to Hotels and Lodges in Zambia, run her own school, and produced wicker and wrought iron furniture in Malawi. A natural collaborator, Brenda is also currently working with Sarah Taylor and Zikhona Tefu, two women entrepreneurs who are using olive oil to build their own beauty and skincare brands.
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Tabitha Karanja, founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries
- Tabitha Karanja is founder and CEO of Keroche Breweries. She is one of Kenya's leading entrepreneurs, a remarkable trailblazer and an example of a woman made good against all the odds. Tabitha chose to venture where none before her had dared. She took on an 87-year-old business monopoly and entered an industry with a deeply entrenched male gender stereotype. Tabitha broke the mould to become Kenya’s first home-grown beer and alcoholic drink manufacturer. Today, her company's state-of-the-art production facility is targeting 20% of the Kenyan market.
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Banke Kuku, founder of Banke Kuke Textiles
– Banke Kuku is founder and CEO of Banke Kuku Textiles, a company she started in 2011. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Banke moved to the United Kingdom at age eight giving her the innate ability to cross-pollinate traditional African and Western culture to create unique, luxurious fabrics for the interior and fashion industries. Anointed by leading commentators as the ‘Queen of Colour’, Banke promotes African tradition and culture through her exquisite textiles sold in the major capitals of the world and supports and promotes local textile mills in Nigeria. Her interiors range can be been found in major retailers like Selfridges London, and her fashion fabric designs have graced the catwalks of London, Paris and New York.
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Passion will carry you through....
- Narcissi Madisha is the founder of Kameo Kids in South Africa, a company that manufactures and sells girls wear, from ages 2-12 years. All of Narcissi's clothing items are produced locally in South Africa. Inspired by her own daughter, Narcissi is passionate about creating stylish, comfortable and unique children's fashion. She has a strong business and retail background with 13 years’ experience in Retail Buying in both Fashion and FMCG with some of the biggest retailers in the country.
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Loren Fogelman
A Success mindset = success outcomes in business, that’s according to Loren Fogelman, author of The Success Solution. She believes that focusing on what’s do-able helps you succeed. She asserts that anyone can be a success — high performance isn’t the trademark of talented entrepreneurs alone. She says thatmindset colors everything you do, in and on your business. Mastering your thoughts and harnessing your energy for high performance is critical to success in every area of your life. Strategically tap into your highest potential and soar to the top.
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Like in ballet, let’s assume 3 positions to sum up what compels and sustains the entrepreneur. First position, the power of a well-developed idea and executed plan gives you the opportunity to audition. Second position gives you access to contracts which provides further opportunity to prove your ability and credibility to deliver. As your offering is selected and you deliver to high standards, a time may come to expand which gives you the third position.
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I have followed the subject of Performance Appraisals closely for the past few years. Many people feel that the standard appraisal is a thing of the past, but even with the changes in the industry it has been said that employee engagement levels have not improved over the last ten years. So what can be done about this situation, particularly for small businesses.
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When you sign an agreement, the general rule is that you are bound by what you sign – this is why it is very important that you read your contracts before entering into them and, whenever possible, appoint an attorney to assist you.
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As far as the accounting of your business is concerned, there are a few key reports that share vital information about your business with relevant stakeholders, these statements can also be used by the entrepreneur as an indicator of the financial health of their business. One of these reports being the statement of cash flows.
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Narcissi Madisha, founder of Kameo Kids (South Africa)
Moms and daughters alike know what fun fashion and shopping for great clothes can be, and Narcissi Madisha, founder of Kameo Kids, has just the brand for them. She is creating fashionable yet comfortable clothes for young girls who want to express their own individual style from a young age.
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Colleen Deetlefs, founder of Innovative Waste Design (IWD) (South Africa)
The ability to see possibility in what others see as simply waste is a real talent, and that is something that Innovative Waste Design (IWD) founder, Colleen Deetlefs has in large quantities. She has a creative eye, combined with the business acumen to turn waste into beautiful and practical new products that have a great back story and a positive environmental footprint.
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Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana, founders of Gahaya Links (Rwanda)
- Joy Ndungutse and Janet Nkubana, co-founded Gahaya Links Cooperatives shortly after the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994. These inspiring sisters had a vision to turn ancient basket weaving skills into a source of livelihood for thousands of rural women. Many of the women, like Janet and Joy themselves, were returning refugees or survivors of the genocide. The women started weaving baskets in exchange for food. Initially bringing together about twenty women, the sisters taught them how to weave and how to enhance their weaving skills with new design techniques. Today Gahaya Links has grown to include over 5,000 women weavers in 52 different cooperatives across Rwanda, providing much needed income and stability. The sisters have successfully opened the business to international markets, partnering with the likes of Macy’s, Walmart, Oprah Magazine, and Kate Spade. Today, Gahaya Links "Peace Baskets” are sold and admired the world over.
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