Famram Solutions is a high impact business helping girls and women globally to enjoy life, restore dignity, whilst offering an affordable solution to health care, especially menstruation matters and women’s health.
Read moreESSENTIAL READ: More Balls Than Most by Lara Morgan
An unorthodox, happily married business woman who has sold a company for £20 million, shares the sometimes outrageous highs and lows during the development of Pacific Direct. Lara Morgan’s book, ‘More Balls Than Most’ shares down-to-earth hints, tips and anecdotes to ensure the reader is guaranteed to take away valued information to apply to their own company.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Winnifred Selby: Motivation must come from within, not from others
Draw inspiration and courage from your own dreams and passions....
"There were so many friends who laughed when they heard about the bamboo bike idea. Some people will definitely discourage you, but one thing I've realised in life is that you have to be focused. People never understand your journey because it is not theirs to understand."
- Winnifred Selby was just 17 years old when she co-founded Afrocentric Bamboo, a company that manufactures and markets bicycles made from bamboo under the brand Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative. Her company produces bikes that are both eco-friendly and affordable – US$100 for the local market – and made for the high terrain and rough roads of rural Ghana. Winnifred was selected as a finalist in the 2014 Edition of the Cartier Women's Initiative Awards.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Juliana Rotich
“There is a link between increasing connectivity and GDP. If you increase broadband by 10%, it corresponds to 1,163% increase in GDP. Investment in connectivity is worthwhile. We've only got 15.6% penetration of the internet in Africa – there is so much more to do.”
- Juliana Rotich is a technologist, strategic advisor, and entrepreneur. Juliana serves as an advisor to the councils of BASF, Risk Cooperative, Africa Technology Ventures (ATV) and the Lemelson Foundation. She is a trustee of Bankinter Foundation for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Spain, board member of Digital Impact Alliance and the Kenya Vision 2030 Delivery Board. She is Co-founder of BRCK Inc, a hardware and services technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her personal mission is to make things, fix problems and help others and she is a champion for internet connectivity and works to support entrepreneurs to scale their work and impact.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Liz Atukunda & Bunda Anne Katende: Just start!
Just start!...
"Don’t wait for approval from someone else. Allow yourselves the opportunity to be vulnerable - after all, it’s a vulnerable place where you make something and launch it in public, not knowing if people will buy it or not, or if people will approve of it or not, or if your venture will be a continuous labor of love. So, just allow yourselves to be vulnerable and do it - from that place, wondrous things are born."
- Liz Atukunda & Bunda Anne Katende, founders of BIIKA, a brand that celebrates Africa Rising by harnessing local creative talent and materials to create its uniquely Ugandan range of authentic handbags and accessories. Liz is a lawyer and a banker with a great appreciation for beautiful things. Bunda is a childcare specialist who runs a preschool in Kampala and is also a mother of three beautiful children.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Divine Ndhlukula: Keep investing in your business
Keep investing in your business and watch it grow....
"I always say there is no easy road to anywhere worth going. One's got to apply themselves. One's got to put in that extra effort. One's got to have the discipline to be able to say: Look, I've made a bit of money, invest back the money into the business so that it grows.”
- 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.
Read moreLunice Johnston, a South African communications professional with a passion for guiding her clients on their own business journeys in the public domain
Navigating the often over saturated world of business messaging and communications can present a challenge to companies and organisations, both large and small. But Lunice Johnston, founder of the specialist communications company that bears her name, has the solutions and 25 years of experience to match.
Read moreMy past life resurrected
In my past life, as I like to call it, I was a project management consultant, mostly for banks. There’s a lot I miss about that life. For a while after I started my business, I did not want to miss it too much, in case I got sucked back in. I’m over it now.
Read moreHow I survived the first 3 years as a startup in the tech industry
It has definitely been among the three most difficult years of my life, but certainly the most fulfilling. A few weeks ago I reached the second milestone in my company’s career – the 3 year anniversary (the first milestone was reaching 1000 days in business). Like any major milestone in one’s life, such as a relationship anniversary or child’s birthday, this felt no different – in some ways it felt like it was literally yesterday that I clicked submit on the company registration CIPC’s site, and at other times it feels as if I’ve been running a company for at least five times as long.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Rianke Chapman: Define your standards and your values
Define your standards and your values....
"If you are about to start a business, it is important to define your standards and your values very early on. When challenges arise, it is important to not compromise on what you believe in and the quality of the product or service that you offer. Be consistent in your character and in the way that you do business. Have integrity and respect others. Get to know yourself better because there may be times when the only source of motivations comes from within. It is important to think positively, because the battle to overcome is first won in the mind."
- Rianke Chapman is the founder of Tutor For The Future in South Africa, a company that creates interactive learning material and runs programs to help learners strengthen the foundation of their education. Rianke's content and programs focus primarily on Maths and caters to school learners from Gr 4 to Gr 7, with programmes implemented in various needy communities and rural areas. This educational developer and entrepreneur cares for each and every learner she empowers and is passionate about ensuring a successful future for them.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Yudhika Sujanani
"Keep a really open mind because life has its own plans for you."
- Yudhika Sujanani is an inspiring South African foodie entrepreneur with many strings to her bow including restauranteur, celebrity TV chef, blogger and author. Yudhika is best-known for her designer heels and signature curry dishes. Her passion for food and zest for life has seen her launch the Holi Cow Deli & Coffeeshop, author two recipe books, launch a spice range, and start the highly acclaimed 'Curry Club'. Yudhika also finds time to work for the UN World Food Programme as its hunger advocate in southern Africa.
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 moreEssential Read: Dare to Become a Success - Lessons from Ants by Mulenga C Kasoma
Do you want to succeed in life and business? Are you tired of simply being a spectator and want in on the action? Have you been toiling with the idea of taking your life and your business to the next level? Are you stuck in a rut? Would you like to start seeing things fall into place in your life and business instead of it being a constant struggle? If so, then this easy to read book by author, editor and entrepreneur, Mulenga Kasoma, could be for you.
Read moreMeet 9 African women chocolatiers feeding the world’s love of fine chocolate
Africa has a wealth of natural resources that are the envy of the world, one of them being cacao beans, so why is it that the continent is not known for producing the finest chocolate when it sits on the finest raw ingredients? Well that's now changing, thanks to a new generation of African women chocolatiers who are turning their passion for chocolate into exciting new proudly African artisan chocolate brands.
Read moreMiyoba Buumba, a Zambian entrepreneur taking her passion for African design and turning it into a distinctive homeware and accessories brand
Often a business idea stems from a personal passion, and in the case of Miyoba Buumba, founder of Mwabonwa Designs in Zambia, that passion came from her interest in proudly African design. Today, her brand is a reflection of her own design inspiration and her love of African style and culture.
Read moreRianke Chapman, a South African edupreneur on a mission to help young people realize their educational goals in life
Acquiring maths learning at an early age equips young people with the critical thinking and problem solving skills that will help them in all aspects of their lives. For edupreneur Rianke Chapman, founder of Tutor For The Future, this educational need on the part of South Africa’s young people provided the inspiration to start a business providing the specialist educational support needed to fill a real gap.
Read moreSetting the record straight: You can’t just have a business brand
A business brand without a personal brand is like an empty vessel drifting at sea, without a captain to give it purpose.
Read moreUnderstanding the power of preparation
I have a confession to make… The truth is...nothing in my life has just happened. Every opportunity, job interview, meeting or connection has happened because of preparation. I have a true story to share with you that demonstrates this.
Read moreQuote of the Day by Tabitha Karanja
“I knew what I wanted in life and I worked day and night to achieve it, and here I am.”
- 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 factory produces 10,000 bottles of gin and ready-to-drink vodka, as well as 15,000 bottles of beer per hour.
Read moreEntrepreneur Advice from Tara Fela-Durotoye: How do you handle competition?
How do you handle competition? ....
"For House of Tara, our drive has never been to be number one out of a thousand, we never aspired to be better than anyone else, we have always aspired to be us and stay true to who we are. I believe that as long as we are tied to our overall purpose, it will determine how successful we have become and how successful we are."
- Tara Fela-Durotoye is a Nigerian-born lawyer turned Africa's leading beauty and makeup entrepreneur. She started House of Tara at the age of 20, from her living room, whilst an undergraduate at university back in 1998. She's since gone on to launch Nigeria's first ever bridal directory in 1999, and in 2004 she opened the country's leading beauty academy. Today, Tara has over 5,000 representatives spread across Nigeria and 14 makeup schools to her name and she is steadfastly dedicated to realising her vision of building a globally respected beauty company of African origin. Tara remains an inspirational role-model and mentor to make-up artists and aspiring beauty business owners across Africa.
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