the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Ornília Cândida Roseiro Artur Faife, founder of EnviroWorks Solucoes Ambientais, Lda (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Ornília Cândida Roseiro Artur Faife is the founder of EnviroWorks Solucoes Ambientais, Lda, a business located in Maputo City Centre which has 11 employees. It’s main customers are private and state entities. She is currently the manager of two companies: EnviroWorks Lda. and Connected Business Center, and is also opening a laundry in the Maputo province.
Read moreAdelia Chicombo
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Continental Cleaners, Lda., a local company providing Industrial and Office Cleaning Services, and other highly specialist maintenance services in Mozambique
Adelia Chicombo is the co-founder and Managing Director of Continental Cleaners Lda in Mozambique, a specialist cleaning and maintenance business launched in 2016 and which today employs 300 people. Born in Manica, Adelia comes from a family of seven siblings, and her parent's earnings did not cover the family’s daily needs, a situation which forced them to seek alternative sources of income for the family. It was in this search that we were all directly or indirectly involved in conducting small businesses, including selling surplus vegetables produced in the backyard. Management awareness, in its broad sense, has always been in her mind. This is what led Adelia to take a degree in Management at the Faculty of Economics of Eduardo Mondlane University in 2008. Later in 2015, given her interest in the energy sector, she obtained a master's degree from the University of Cape Town in Energy Development Studies. In 2022, Adelia obtained her PhD degree. This degree was inspired by the awareness of gender issues, in particular the disproportionate impact that the lack of access to clean and modern energy sources has on women.
Read moreTessa 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.
Read moreTaíla Carrilho
Lioness Launch
For style conscious people who want their accessories to stand out from the crowd, the newly launched R.I.S.E. collection from Mozambican luxury accessory design house, Atelier Taíla Carrilho is a must-have this year. Founder and designer, Taíla Carrilho, creates handmade, truly eye-catching fashion accessories for women and men, utilizing local materials and labour. The new R.I.S.E. collection is inspired by the act of being reborn after a fall.
Read moreDirce Vicente, founder, Fly Eagles LDA (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Fly Eagles LDA is a digital magazine publishing venture, founded by experienced agripreneur, Dirce Vicente in Mozambique. Passionate about Agriculture, she has already developed many solutions to improve the agricultural ecosystem in Mozambique. Dirce is the founder of Dfruit, Agri impact, and is currently letting her passion emerge with the launch of an agribusiness magazine called Fly Eagles Agribusiness. The magazine aims to provide the reader with unique experiences, inspiring them to reach their purpose and unlock their maximum potential. It shares stories of overcoming and persistence in Agriculture from people who are making it happen, and excelling in this field.
Read moreTeresa Kulei, founder, NSINYA COMÉRCIO e SERVIÇOS, LDA (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Teresa Kulei is the founder of NSINYA COMÉRCIO e SERVIÇOS, LDA in Mozambique. She graduated in Agronomy from the State University of Saint Petersburg-Russia and works in the agribusiness area. NSINYA was founded in 2020.
Read moreShádia Gafur Chachine
Lioness Launch
People management consulting specialist, Shádia Gafur Chachine, founder of Mbira Advisory in Mozambique, is passionate about contributing to the wellbeing of employees. Her business is launching a new service which makes a diagnosis to understand the bottlenecks related to behavioral and inter-personal skills of the company's employees. Thereafter, it creates programs and activities aimed at mental, physical and psychological health. Namely 15 mins of yoga, breathing exercises, simple postures; anti-stress exercises, conversations about different themes such as healthy habits and nutrition, experiences, blockages, fears and beliefs, etc.
Read moreJessica Cumbana, project manager, Girls Can Code Club (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Jessica Cumbana is a 23-year-old Mozambican social entrepreneur and business analyst. She is the founder of the Elevate Youth Program, a project designed to empower young people and create development opportunities through training and programs. She is also the project manager of the Girls Can Code Club, a project developed with the aim of reducing the gender gap in the STEM field. A business administration degree holder, Jessica has always believed in using the transforming power of business to positively impact the world, having lived by this philosophy.
Read moreCarmen Miral
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Black Khakhela, a proudly environmentally-friendly Mozambican brand celebrating natural hair
Carmen Miral is the founder and inspiration behind the growing Mozambican natural skin and haircare brand, Black Khakhela. The brand, created in 2015 by Carmen, started as a social intervention against the preconception that natural / kinky hair is not beautiful or professional. She believed that by exposing this issue and her brand message on social media, “very important people” in different areas (with local and globally impact) using their natural hair would inspire younger generations to respect and embrace their own natural skin and hair.
Read moreRita Da Silva, founder, Zhizha (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Rita Da Silva is the founder of Zhizha in Mozambique, an artisan ice cream business based on Italian techniques using the best local ingredients. Rita uses classic Italian ice cream processes to achieve the texture and flavor without having to resort to artificial stabilizers and emulsifiers. Each flavor is produced by Zhizha with a specially developed recipe. Rita looks for the best local solutions and believes that it’s part of her mission to contribute to the growth of other businesses, namely small agricultural producers. Zhizha wants to revolutionize the idea of ice cream in Mozambique.
Read moreMary Macheze
Startup Story
Mary Macheze is a Mozambican law graduate since 2016 and registered as a lawyer, however being passionate about the environment and the rescue of traditional moral values, she set up her company, Othuka Eventos in 2019. She considers herself a young woman determined and committed to making a sustainable contribution to the environment and transmitting values that can make today's children into better people of the future. What makes her business special is that it creates and improve a relationship bond between parents and children. It also teaches about Mozambican culture, traditional games and helps to create a sustainable environment, as well as also teaching about the importance of recycling.
Read moreIsabel Resende, partner and Managing Director, Control Plus Services, Limitada (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Isabel Resende is a partner and Managing Director of Control Plus Services, Limitada, a Mozambican company dedicated to the provision of gardening services and pest control. It is composed of 10 employees, based in Maputo City, and has representatives in the central and northern areas of the country. She holds a law degree and a master's degree in Business Management. Her journey as an entrepreneur began in 2021, however, she has more than 10 years of experience in the job market.
Read moreRelatório de eventos
Mais de 120 mulheres empreendedoras de todo o país reuniram-se online no dia 28 de setembro de 2022 para o mais recente evento da popular série Lioness Lean In Webinars, organizados pela Lionesses of Africa em parceria com o Standard Bank Mozambique e a Embaixada do Reino dos Países Baixos. O objetivo era que as empresárias do país partilhassem as suas experiências, inspirando-se mutuamente com as histórias das suas jornadas empresarias e criassem ligações para o sucesso empresarial.
Read moreAnotida Nyowani, co-founder, Luxury Junkies (Zimbabwe & Mozambique)
Startup Story
Anotida Nyowani is an entrepreneur and the co-founder of Luxury Junkies, a natural skincare company in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. She is also a physiotherapist by profession, with a talent and a passion for formulating natural, cruelty free skin and haircare products. Her sister Chido Mhindurwa has a psychology degree with years of human resources management and business development experience under her belt. Together they teamed up to create a luxury non-toxic skincare company that runs in Mozambique and in Zimbabwe. Their drive is to offer sustainable, healthy and clean skincare at an affordable price.
Read moreMércia Cossa Bomba, founder, N`sky Arte Da Felicidade & Serviços (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Mércia Cossa Bomba is the founder of N`sky Arte Da Felicidade & Serviços in Mozambique, a small company with four workers focused on manual arts and crafts, and which has been in the market for 5 years. She started her company at the time as a hobby whilst also employed as a secretary for a cosmetics distributor. But because she has a son with chronic atopic dermatitis, she was forced to quit her job in order to take care of her son. However, as she always tried to be financially independent, she started to make handmade invitations and bracelets, and her business was born.
Read moreIrina Mayra Cremildo, founder, Kusafiri Afrika LDA (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Making travel and tourism arrangements can often be stressful, particularly for companies and people with complex needs, but Irina Mayra Cremildo, founder of Kusafiri Afrika LDA in Mozambique, has the specialist services to make travel less of a chore and a real pleasure.
Read moreAna Belmonte
Startup Story
Creating a unique service offering is always a great starting point for a successful business, and Ana Belmonte is certainly doing that with Malachi Garden Service Lda. She brings her considerable expertise and passion for gardening to every job she undertakes for her clients, and her reputation for great service is growing as a result.
Read moreNarcia Taalumba Walle, co-founder & ceo, Margarida & Rose Beauty Bar (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Narcia Taalumba Walle is the co-founder and ceo of Margarida & Rose Beauty Bar in Mozambique. Margarida & Rose is a nail spa, make-up studio and cosmetics store that provides offers high quality products and services in a relaxed environment. The business was founded through a joint venture in 2021 and employs 4 women from the local Mozambican community. Narcia has 7 years’ experience in the beauty industry as a cosmetics retailer through her company Rose & Rose Store that has been catering to the Mozambican market since 2015. She is also a corporate lawyer, certified SAP consultant, and a humanitarian working for the UN WFP.
Read moreIrene Isac Mavie, founder & CEO, Mavie Cosméticos (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Irene Isac Mavie is the founder and CEO of Mavie Cosméticos in Mozambique. As a lover of creativity, her business is focused on the supply of natural and handmade cosmetics which are of good quality. Her business model takes into account ensuring accessibility of the product range for her customers.
Read moreLailate Talaquichande, founder, Super Fashion, Lda (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Wearing beautiful clothes can improve a woman's self-esteem and give that feeling of self-confidence through comfort and elegance, and in Mozambique, Lailate Talaquichande, founder of Super Fashion, Lda, is helping customers to do just that.
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