the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Hermine Bertolini, founder, Ann Pads (Namibia)
Startup Story
Ann Pads is a social impact business, founded by Hermine Bertolini in Namibia, which addresses the combined challenge of period poverty and menstruation education in the country. Her business manufactures washable sanitary pads, combined with an educational programme approach to helping girls, families and local communities to better understand menstruation.
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Mandy Dube, founder, Yinu Custom Creatives (Zambia)
Startup Story
Mandy Dube is the founder of Yinu Custom Creatives in Zambia, a business which she runs alongside her professional role in international development. Yinu Custom Creatives is a collection of five brands covering fashion (Bonisa Tailoring), beauty (Simple SkinCare), food (Wadya Chani) and entrepreneurship (Atuule Hyesu) all underpinned by mental health or as Mandy likes to put it, Mental Muscle. The focus of the business is to promote mental health, wellness and economic empowerment for women.
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by Brigette Mashile
For many years my mother has lived alone. This is because all four daughters went to boarding school and tertiary institutions in other cities; and her husband has also always worked in other towns. We each came back home for holidays, big events, etc, but my mother is the most common human in this house. I think this is the reason why she has her clothes in every bedroom cupboard! I am trying to find a respectable reason why my mother has too many clothes…
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by Paula Quinsee
Why would I want to establish healthy relationships in the workplace when I have my own friends and family? Corporate relationships are very similar to our personal relationships. We don’t realise it but there is very little difference between work and personal relationships – the basic principles are the same.
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by Laura Camacho
The Covid Lockdown changed so many things. More people than you think are feeling awkward with social situations, especially those related to work. It’s like falling off a bicycle, you just have to get back on. Social anxiety is like a mindset. OK, I realize some people have a psychological diagnosis related to social anxiety, but for most of us, it’s a mindset. It’s time to lose that. Just be your iconic self.
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by Kathryn Main
Most people would list things like “money”, “a business plan”, or “an idea”. While you do need an idea and a plan, and whilst money is not a prerequisite to start a business, that is not the answer I’m looking for.
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Kim Hayden
Book Review
Resilience is a key requirement in the life of any woman entrepreneur, and Kim Hayden, author and editor of the new book, Resilient Women in Life and Business, has some great insights to share on the subject. The book features insights and stories from 18 highly successful business women from around the world who share their current best thinking about life and business; and the importance of cultivating resilience.
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Ayanda Majola, founder, Yanda Cosmetics (South Africa)
Startup Story
Ayanda Majola is the founder of Yanda Cosmetics which is a local South African beauty brand that specializes in scientific skincare made specifically for sensitive skin. As well as being a beauty entrepreneur, she is also a medical science student. Her business is committed to bringing non-toxic, simple, effective and affordable skincare products made with clinically proven active ingredients that were carefully selected from her background knowledge in both Medicine and Science. Despite her young age and being a full-time health science student, Ayanda has been able to grow her brand in a short space of time. Her products are now available on Zando and Takealot which are the leading online platforms in the country and she has recently signed a deal with an international shopping platform that will stock and sell her products in the United Kingdom.
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Lombuso Mthethwa, founder, Moms Club Eswatini
Startup Story
Lombuso Mthethwa, founder of Moms Club Eswatini, has built a social enterprise and specialist support group helping Eswatini’s pregnant women and new moms through their healthy new parenting journeys. It provides antenatal classes, pregnancy yoga and Lamaze classes, together with a specialist online shop that provides everything moms need in those early weeks and months.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
This is the second of a three-part look at the fund management industry as it pertains to our inspirational 1.7 million members of Lionesses. We left last weekend with the shocking discovery that male attractiveness made a large difference in choice for both male and also female investors.(here). This week we look at one of the hot topics, that of the lack of female ‘cheque writers’ (i.e. actual investment decision makers) within the VC/PE industry and suggest a way to solve this.
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by Anja van Beek, Talent Strategist, Leadership & HR Expert and Executive Coach
The one constant thing we can be certain of is change. The world we were used to was flipped upside down. Here’s what you need to know about the human side of change to support your team. We all can relate to the term RUPT (rapid, unpredictable, paradoxical, tangled) coined by the Centre for Creative Leadership. Almost everything that has been ‘normal’ for us, changed. The uncertainty has reached new heights – as we are not sure what the future will look like - we only know it will be quite different from what we were used to. How can leaders support their teams? Follow these 10 practices and you are halfway there.
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by Paula Quinsee
There are times when we need have to have a serious conversation with someone, whether it is our partner, a friend or a work colleague. It’s one of those conversations where we need to be open and honest, not only with ourselves but also with the person in front of us. It could be about an incident, something they have said or done (or not done), non-performance or non-delivery. Many of us are uncomfortable when it comes to situations like this. I like to call these discussions courageous conversations.
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by Ashika Pillay
As women entrepreneurs and business owners, we are busy. Our minds are busy with tasks that range from ensuring home admin, that the grocery list is taken care of, the invoices that need to be sent, scheduling clients and meetings while also taking care of our minds and bodies. We are busy. With this level of complexity, it is easy to become caught up in endless cycles of doing - and the doing mind. A mind that is racing faster than our bodies or those around us can keep up with.
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by Eldari Visser
Which hill is the new successful opportunity for growing a business, or beginning a business? Can you tell? Last year for our holiday we had the opportunity to go to a very different area in wonderful, beautiful South Africa. We went more towards the steep mountains of an area that we call the Free State province - a different environment for a holiday. Usually lots of activities needed. Do yourself a favour and Google #Goldengatenationalpark, #clarens #Drakensbergmountainrange #Harrismith and #sterkfonteindam. You will quickly see the different green hills, steady rolling hills, massive rock faces, massive amount of waterfalls and water catchment area. The mountains are majestic and fierce, gorgeous yet frightening. Most impressive was the greens on all the hills. They looked idyllic and part of a greater story. I immediately saw a theme for our lionesses emerging from this beautiful scenery that surrounded me.
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Nomhle Maggie Mliswa
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Summerhill Farm, a high-impact, smart agribusiness employing 350 people and contributing to SDGs in Zimbabwe
Nomhle Maggie Mliswa, is the founder of Summerhill Farm in Zimbabwe, a business launched in 2007 and which today employs 350 people. She is a mother, a successful serial entrepreneur, and also runs a transport fleet and a Tillage service company that tills land for farmers. She is the only woman in the sector. The farm is a diversified entity driven by SDGs and involved in Smart Agriculture, contributing to employment creation, food security, transfer of skills, tourism, and commercial business. Norma (as she us known by friends) has received several social, business and agriculture accolades. As a coach leader, speaker, game changer and mentor, Norma interrogates issues of development, challenging societies, and institutions from their comfort zones. In August 2022, she was the guest speaker at a Baptist Woman Conference in Liberia sharing her farming experiences as a single parent and successful farmer.
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Alexandra N Nolan
Book Review
Alexandra N Nolan, entrepreneur and author of The Unconventional Entrepreneur: Launch a Successful Business & Live the Work-Life Dream, welcomes you to the spontaneous world of the Unconventional Entrepreneur! Alexandra was in her mid-20s - making a great salary - traveling all over the US. She really couldn't have had a better job, from what it looked like on the outside, but deep down she just knew that there was something more she was meant to do. Her book is the story of the journey to becoming an Unconventional Entrepreneur.
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Lioness Business Agility Event Report
The first in the annual series of popular Lioness Business Agility Webinars for 2023 took place on Wednesday 15 February. Hosted in partnership once again with Absa, the theme of “New Year, New Growth” was firmly at the forefront of women entrepreneurs’ minds. With 100 attendees to kickstart the conversation, together with a speaker panel of highly experienced women entrepreneurs from the Lionesses of Africa community in South Africa, the discussion focused on how to achieve real and lasting growth this year. Specialist insights also came from Ronnie Mbatsane, managing executive, SME Business at Absa, who shared how the bank is supporting the growth of women entrepreneur-led SMEs in order to further stimulate economic growth and job creation.
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Nneile Nkholise
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Thola Inc, building a B2B agricultural produce procurement marketplace for Africa
Nneile Nkholise is the founder of Thola Inc, a business founded in 2021 and building the middle ground for mass continental farmer global trade access through a B2B agricultural produce procurement marketplace; that enables global companies to purchase forensic tested and verified climate sustainable goods from African farmers. She was born in Lesotho and grew up in South Africa and she studied towards a Masters Mechanical Engineering at Central University of Technology and Bachelor of Science majoring in Physics & Computer Science at University of Witwatersrand, all in South Africa. She is a product engineer with a specific focus in design engineering and has eight years’ experience in the construction and biomedical sectors, having developed biomedical products ranging from prosthesis to bio-implants. She was the co-founder of iMed Tech, a biotech company specializing in custom-made medical solutions using CAD and CAM techniques. In 2018, she co-founded 3DIMO, a venture backed company that automates livestock data analytics to monitor livestock health.
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Tessa O’ Halloran, founder, plasticity (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
Discarded plastic waste is a problem for the planet and for humankind as a whole, and the need to find sustainable solutions to transforming that waste into useful products has never been greater. In South Africa, ecopreneur Tessa O’ Halloran, founder of plasticity. is playing her part in finding those solutions. She is launching a great new Work Tote as part of her business range of upcycled products.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
This is a three-part look at the fund management industry as it pertains to our inspirational 1.7 million members of Lionesses of Africa. We start by looking at the current state of play. Then we will look at what everyone says is the obvious solution (such as more women in decision-making positions within the fund management industry) and then finally offer some of our suggestions as to what the solution might look like, or at the very least, what tools we need to move the dial forward. As usual, these are not academic articles, as we inject a more chatty approach to life. However, where necessary, we do direct to the source (many are academic and so peer reviewed) for your interest. We do not suggest that for one minute we have all the answers. However, if our views bring about #lesstalkmoreaction (our evening prayer), and actually start to close the funding gap, or increase the investment into the ‘missing middle’, we shall sleep a little easier. We would welcome your feedback, suggestions and even offers of assistance, because the current situation has been allowed to fester for too long, constricting too many inspirational businesses. Enjoy!
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