Quote of the Day by Dr. Jennifer Riria

June 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Dr. Jennifer Riria, group chief executive of Kenya Women Holding — **Dr. Jennifer Riria**, group chief executive of Kenya Women Holding

“I think one of the things that women suffer from is talking about themselves... We grow up to serve and never to think about ourselves. Women are the last to admit their accomplishments.”

- Dr. Jennifer Riria is the Group CEO of Kenya Women Holding and one of Africa's leading women entrepreneurs who has always been on a mission to transform the lives of women and their families in her native Kenya. She is distinguished as a microfinance banker and practitioner, researcher and gender specialist. She has served in many leadership roles for which she has been recognized locally and internationally. In 2013 she was awarded the Ernst & Young (EY) Entrepreneur of the year, East Africa 2013, and subsequently, the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2014, at which point she was admitted to EY’s Global Hall of Fame.

Entrepreneur Advice from Michelle Ntalami: Filter the noise

June 7, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Michelle Ntalami, founder of Marini Naturals (Kenya) — Michelle Ntalami, founder of Marini Naturals (Kenya)

Filter the noise....

"Do not second guess your capabilities. Believe in yourself and do not listen to background noise. Fear of the unknown is never from you, but those around you. Filter the noise, brush the dirt off your shoulders, and move on."

- Michelle Ntalami is the founder of Marini Naturals Kenya, a company that produces 100% natural and organic quality hair-care products, afro wigs and accessories for all natural-haired beauties. Michelle called her company "Marini Naturals" as it is a Swahili word for "Naturally Beautiful" or "Naturally Charming," just like a natural-haired woman, and just like her products. She is naturally a creative and artistic person and has a background in creative design, previously having worked with companies such as Safaricom, Coca Cola , and ScanGroup.

Entrepreneur Advice from Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese: It's a journey of a lifetime

June 6, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese, founders of Sorele Media (South Africa) — **Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese**, founders of Sorele Media (South Africa)

It's a journey of a lifetime....

"Be prepared to go on a roller coaster ride if you are looking to start up. It's one of the best journeys you will take in your life because you will learn things you never even knew you needed to know and you will meet the most amazing people while you are at it. You will find strength you never knew you had. So, DO IT!"

- Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese are the founders of Sorele Media, a TV and Film Production company that uses video to tell stories. They launched their online TV station in 2015, called AzaTV, which means Powerful in Swahili. The TV station is available online as well as on android and iOS app stores. These business partners are both media naturals, having grown up working on kid's TV as presenters and actresses.

Quote of the Day by Uche Pedro

June 6, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Uche Pedro, founder of BellaNaija.com (Nigeria) — Uche Pedro, founder of BellaNaija.com (Nigeria)

"We need to build our own national social networks and not be dependent on those coming from mainly the USA. We need to build home grown social media networks."

- 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.

Entrepreneur Advice from Divine Ndhlukula: Never stop learning

June 5, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Always keep on learning....

"I believe in learning all the time, I’m a life-long learner… I also believe in re-learning, because there are always new things coming out. My kids are teaching me things today.”

– Divine Ndhlukula founded SECURICO Security Services from humble beginnings in Zimbabwe in 1998. Divine identified a need in the market for a quality oriented security company and she has driven SECURICO to become the market leader in Zimbabwe. She has tackled a previously male-dominated industry head on and her business success story is nothing short of remarkable - marking her as one of Africa's most tenacious and inspiring women entrepreneurs.

Quote of the Day by Melanie Finch Keshwar and Ann Finch

June 5, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Melanie Finch Keshwar and Ann Finch, co-founders of The Chocolatiers (South Africa) — **Melanie Finch Keshwar and Ann Finch**, co-founders of The Chocolatiers (South Africa)

"Make friends with your competitors, there's enough space for everyone; its wonderful to be able to sit and discuss the industry as a whole with people who are in it."

- Melanie Finch Keshwar and Ann Finch are the co-founders of The Chocolatiers, an artisanal chocolatier company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. This mother and daughter team are passionate champions of slow food, and their approach is steeped in tradition, taking their time to hand make every chocolate with love and to perfection. The Chocolatiers ethos lies in our value of both people and planet and they believe in delivering to their customers chocolate for connoisseurs.

Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese, two South African media entrepreneurs telling Africa’s stories through the power of film and tv

June 4, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Getting the world to see Africa from a different perspective requires the ability to harness the power of storytelling through the visual media, and that is where South African tv and film production company, Sorele Media, comes in. Talented and highly experienced founders, Stephina Zwane and Salamina Mosese, are on a mission to not only produce great content, but also to create a powerful online tv platform to get the right messages across to audiences.

Melanie Finch Keshwar and Ann Finch, a South African mother and daughter team creating artisanal, handcrafted chocolates with a conscience

June 4, 2017 Melanie Hawken

For many consumers today, understanding and appreciating the provenance of the food we eat is increasingly important and part of the buying decision-making process. Therefore, for lovers of artisanal chocolate with a farm to table story, the team behind The Chocolatiers has a great story to tell.

Playing small in your business doesn’t benefit anyone

June 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

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After taking the courageous leap of faith to walk away from stability and a guaranteed monthly salary to become an entrepreneur, why would you play small?

Essential Read: Mompreneur: Managing Partnerships, Parenthood and Presentations by Colette Glover-Hannah

June 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

There is an art to attempting to balance the challenging demands of motherhood and career, and it only gets more strenuous for those mothers who decide to take the risk and bank on their business idea. The pressure and daily demands of that lifestyle are extremely difficult to understand without actually experiencing them first hand. Author Colette Glover-Hannah shares stories of mompreneurs who are managing both aspects of their lives successfully.

Nigerian ecopreneur, Bilikiss Adebiyi and her company WeCyclers, wins the Smart Cities Innovation Awards Grand Prize Le Monde 2017

June 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

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.

Using content to gain customers

June 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

If you’re a lioness, content isn’t new to you… You read the daily newsletters, right? And all the articles in them. You visit the Lionesses of Africa website every once in a while and you follow Lionesses on social media platforms too.

Here I thought I was Mrs Optimism…

June 3, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Turns out, I’m actually a pessimist as an entrepreneur. I was reminded of my pessimistic thoughts last night as my husband proudly spoke of my company’s successes in the last few weeks.

Quote of the Day by Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu

June 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"If you have a crazy idea, go for it! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes."

- Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu is founder and Managing Director of soleRebels, the world's fastest-growing African footwear brand and the only Fair Trade-certified footwear company in the world. Growing up in a poor suburb of Addis Ababa, Bethlehem decided that there was only one way to defeat poverty – use local craftsmanship to make products that can compete in the global marketplace. She decided on footwear and today 70,000 pairs of shoes leave her factory every year. soleRebels has been expanding rapidly and today exports to no fewer than 45 countries and is targeting 50 stand alone soleRebels retail stores across the United States by 2018 and 500 worldwide by 2022.

Entrepreneur Advice from Lorna Rutto: Don't restrict yourself to 'typical' startup industries

June 2, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Lorna Rutto, founder of EcoPost, Kenya — **Lorna Rutto**, founder of EcoPost, Kenya

Women should consider a broader range of industries when starting businesses....

"I set up a business in the waste manufacturing industry, which is not a common type of business sector that women choose to venture into. Women should be courageous to start their businesses in a broader and more competitive range of sectors."

- Lorna Rutto is a Kenyan eco-preneur, and the inspiring founder of EcoPost, a social enterprise created in response to the need to find alternative waste management solutions to Kenya's huge plastic waste problem. In 2009 she founded her company, which collects plastic waste and manufactures commercially viable, highly durable, and importantly environmentally friendly fencing posts, used widely across Kenya. In 2011, Lorna was recognised by the prestigious Cartier Women's Initiative Awards as their laureate for sub-Saharan Africa.

Quote of the Day by Mariéme Jamme

June 1, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Mariéme Jamme, founder Spotone Global Solutions — **Mariéme Jamme**, founder Spotone Global Solutions

"... one imperative solution is to educate entrepreneurs on understanding basic business principles. They need honest mentoring in order to scale their businesses - this is really lacking at present."

- Mariéme Jamme is a Senegalese born-British businesswoman, who runs a technology consultancy business, Spotone Global Solutions, that helps technology companies to identify a new markets, generate leads, increase revenue and set a foothold in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Mariéme is best known for her role in promoting technology, good governance, transparency and a better education standard in Africa. She was recently named as one of the 100 most influential Africans of 2014 by the Africa Business Magazine and Forbes Magazine.

Entrepreneur Advice from Basetsana Kumalo: Build a successful personal brand

May 31, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Build a successful personal brand….

“When you wake up each morning, you have to think of yourself as a brand and act accordingly. How well you do that will define the brand’s success. If you live the brand well, people start to believe in it and buy into it. Over the years, people have shown great confidence in the Bassie brand and that’s been really humbling.”

- Basetsana 'Bassie' Kumalo is a South African television personality, beauty pageant titleholder, businesswoman, and philanthropist. Her career began in 1990 when she was crowned Miss Soweto and Miss Black South Africa at the age of 16. Since then, Bassie has become a formidable force in the business world and is widely respected as both an entrepreneur and a philanthropist. In 2011 she was honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Quote of the Day by Tania Reid

May 31, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Tania Reid, founder of Ithemba Office Solutions (South Africa) — Tania Reid, founder of Ithemba Office Solutions (South Africa)

"Women should be helping each other, collaborating with each other, referring each other, supporting each other and mentoring each other, instead of being threatened by each others' success."

- Tania Reid is the founder of Ithemba Office Solutions in South Africa, a company that has positioned itself to be the Business Concierge of choice to corporates within Johannesburg. Tania is passionate about finding solutions for her clients’ day-to-day business operations, taking a personalised, tailor-made approach to the services she offers. Her goal is to be a trusted first port-of-call to source essential products and services on behalf of the companies she lists as her clients.

Don’t be intimidated by positions or titles in life and business

May 30, 2017 Melanie Hawken

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Do you find yourself intimidated by people’s position, title or social status? Professor, Billionaire, CEO, Bishop, Queen, President or Minister are some of the titles and positions that are common in society and in the corporate world. Have you ever been intimated by the thought of engaging with individuals who hold prestigious titles or are in positions of power?

Entrepreneur Advice from Marion Nixon: Have a big why

May 30, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Have a big why....

"You need to believe in what you are doing - have a big why - to keep you going. Learn some basic business skills, preferably before you give up the day job. Having a vision is only the start, you need a strategic plan on how to get there, otherwise too much time is lost dithering about what the next step should be. Budget for help as there will be times you need professional skills you don't have."

- Marion Nixon is a natural health practitioner with over two decades of experience caring for the well being of her clients. Marion empowers women who are struggling to do, achieve, be what they want, to reach their full potential by demonstrating to them what is possible, encouraging them to believe their dreams are possible, and giving them the confidence to take the action needed to reach their goals. Before she discovered the world of natural health her love of learning took her into the academic world, and to a Masters Degree in Religious Studies.