the pride of Africa's women entrepreneurs
Complete and submit the Lionesses of Africa - South Africa Community Survey 2023 - to enter our prize draw for the chance to win a sponsored trip for one to Startup Night Africa, The Netherlands 2024! Terms and conditions apply; see below for further details.
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by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department
The cool, clear calm that follows such successful events as our ‘Start-Up Night Africa’ (see here) in Den Haag brilliantly supported by the Dutch Government and the FMO, is a mythical state of being, only felt in the dreams of one looking from the outside or of course within Hollywood films. There can never be any time off or calm before, during, but most especially after. Why? Surely following such a success one can pull off the heels and sink into a deep sofa for a well earned snooze?
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by Thembe Khumalo
Are we still debating the importance of building your brand in a fast-paced and interconnected world? Didn’t think so! It’s an essential tool for African leaders looking to stand out, make an impact, and unlock new opportunities. One more time, for those who are new here — your personal brand is how you show up in the world; how you present yourself, your values, and your unique attributes to those you wish to influence. Now for the how-to: here are some step-by-step strategies you can leverage to build a strong personal brand.
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by Margaret Hirsch
When starting a new job or career very few people think of themselves as leaders and I was one of these. For a while I was happy to be a follower, but as I progressed in companies I always took the initiative, went the extra mile, and was very soon frustrated by the red tape and protocol of corporate companies.
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by Sonya Skipp
Fraudulent qualifications are constantly being uncovered and we see the stories every day in the news. It seems no industry is safe from this epidemic. We’ve seen doctors, teachers, government officials, and more with fraudulent qualifications. All this begs the question, why this is happening?
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by Inge-Marié Borthwick
The date to migrate over to GA4 has come up fast, 1st July 2023, its imperative that advertisers start the process to ensure not only that the migration is done correctly, but also to ensure there is time for data checks, and to make sure that if you are doing any Google advertising, there is enough data to continue using conversion-based bidding strategies. Below outlines tips and things to consider either before you migrate, or to ensure is place after migrating over. Looking for advice and tips on moving to GA4? Discover the smoothest transition strategies and unlock the power of Google GA4 for comprehensive analytics.
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by Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo, Lionesses of Africa
Talk to the 1.7 million women entrepreneurs in our Lionesses of Africa community and they will tell you that reaching a new milestone on your business building journey ignites your entrepreneurial spirit and energizes you for the challenges ahead. So it was for Team Lioness on 11 July 2023 in The Hague when we launched Start-Up Night Africa, with support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Netherlands and the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank (FMO). Importantly, it also provided the platform for us to officially launch our new Lionesses of Africa Europe Office in The Hague! It marks another important milestone on our decade-long journey as social impact innovators, to realize our vision of empowering Africa’s women entrepreneurs to fulfill their potential.
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Nicolene Schoeman-Louw, co-Founder & Managing Director, PocketAdvisor (South Africa)
Startup Story
Nicolene Schoeman-Louw is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of PocketAdvisor in South Africa. She is also one of the skilled facilitators at PocketAdvisor. Nicolene’s involvement is a passion and means through which reliable legal information can be made available to more people. Nicolene is also the Founder and Managing Director of SchoemanLaw Inc in Cape Town, South Africa. She is an admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa, Conveyancer, Notary Public and Mediator with a passion for entrepreneurs and helping them reach their most ambitious goals. Nicolene has enjoyed the confidence of many successful entrepreneurs (both locally and abroad) over the years and continues to do so. As a trusted advisor she has actively contributed to the successes of many businesses, helped and continues to help many entrepreneurs build lasting legacies.
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Robyn Keet, co-founder, BrightWolves (South Africa)
Startup Story
Robyn Keet is the co-founder and operations manager for the South African entity of a Belgian-based management consulting company called BrightWolves. Robyn is passionate about bringing together sustainability and entrepreneurship. After gaining valuable experience studying and working in Europe, Robyn returned to her roots to co-lead the international expansion of BrightWolves into South Africa with business partner Domien Agten. BrightWolves is a boutique consulting firm that specializes in providing end-to-end solutions, from strategy to implementation. The company covers the entire spectrum, from business advisory to digital transformation and sustainable value creation in companies. BrightWolves’ vision is to deliver positive and sustainable impact to its clients, to its team, and the South African economy.
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Pauline Otila
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
Apiculture Venture Limited, a Kenyan social enterprise positively changing lives and food resilience through bee-keeping
Pauline Otila is a seasoned professional apiculturist and the founder of impact-driven social enterprise, Apiculture Venture Limited in Kenya. The business was founded in 2018, and today employs 19 full-time and 7 part-time people. She brings her strong working knowledge and over 18 years of experience in business operations in the modern beekeeping industry. She dared to venture into this male-dominated industry after 13 years of employment adopting the moniker, 'the Queen Bee'. She is passionate about enterprising in beekeeping and honey production. Through her business, Pauline extends her ambition as a socio-economic empowerment driver, particularly in the poverty stricken ASALs with high potential of honey production. Through her ‘Modern Beekeeping for Improved Livelihoods’ initiative, she aims at boosting household food resilience by reducing number of food insecure Kenyans.
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Phebe Trotman
Book Review
Everyone has frustrating moments and days on their entrepreneurial journeys, it’s normal, but in her new book, The Never Quit on a Bad Day™, Phebe Trotman inspires you to push through the tough days. The people she brings together in her book to share their own personal insights have faced challenges and struggles in their lives and. businesses, but importantly they didn’t quit.
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by Margaret Hirsch
It’s always been amazing to me that I have lived in this body for so many years, and had never thought about myself, my journey, or my personal growth. I think that growing up in a poor household we were focused on keeping body and soul together and the next meal became the most important thing that we could focus on.
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by Nkemdilim Uwaje Begho
In today’s digital age, where human lives are intricately intertwined with technology, building consumer confidence in the digital economy is paramount. As individuals rely more on digital platforms for communication, financial transactions, and other essential services, it becomes crucial to establish a secure and trustworthy environment that safeguards user interests and protects their privacy.
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by Lori Milner
Your alarm goes off at 6 am because you promised to start exercising…again. When you reach over to turn off the alarm, your mind tells you it's cold and dark and you should hit snooze for another ten minutes. What do you do? These next few minutes will determine the trajectory of your day. If you keep your promise to yourself, you generate energy, self-confidence and a deep sense of self-trust.
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by Kathryn Main
As a small business owner, you bring an incredible amount of value to your business. To get a company up and running to the point where it is profitable is no easy feat. A business is something that requires you to devote a lot of attention and dedication to its success. Because it is so time consuming, you might get so busy running your business that you forget about yourself and the value that you can and do bring to the table. As your business grows and evolves, so should you. It's impossible to be a master of every aspect of business, so you will need to identify what aspects of your business you are least familiar with.
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Leonilde Melembe Bene, founder Paphalati (Mozambique)
Startup Story
Leonilde Melembe Bene, is the founder of Paphalati, a handicrafts and handmade jewellery small business in Mozambique. She has a passion for accessory designs, recycling materials and home décor articles. Paphalati also restores old pieces of jewellery, giving them a second life. She founded her business 15 years ago, first it was only her and now she employs 3 people, one of them a local community seamstress. Professionally she also works as a Communication and Public Relations Manager. From a very early age she became interested in the world of arts and culture. She made her directorial debut with this short film and was the winner of the 2nd Edition of the Maputo Shortcutz competition (2022).
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Zola Mhlongo, founder, Undefined Shapes (South Africa)
Startup Story
Zola Mhlongo, better known as Zola Zee Lovin’, is an actress, singer and media personality turned businesswoman with a contemporary shape-wear brand, Undefined Shapes, based in South Africa. Born and raised in Durban, and pursuing a degree in Drama at the University of Cape Town, the stage has been her office until Undefined Shapes awakened her entrepreneurial spirit. In just two short years since its inception, Undefined Shapes has achieved remarkable sales success, consistently selling out multiple times. The business continues to thrive, cultivating a rapidly growing community of loyal customers.
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Helen Habteslasie Keleta
Lioness Weekender Cover Story
East Africa Hafeshawi Medical Centre, a high-impact business providing affordable healthcare to refugees in Uganda
Helen Habteslasie Keleta is the Founder and CEO of East Africa Hafeshawi Medical Center, a well-established health centre that was started in January 2018 in a convenient and highly accessible location in Kampala, Uganda. She is a mother of four, and an Eritrean Refugee living in Kampala since 2016. By profession she is an engineer and up until 2016 has been working with different family construction companies. After she came to Uganda she started living among the refugees in Kampala and noticed there is a language barrier amongst them and Ugandans. Especially when it came to health, this language barrier made it worse because 'right patient-right information-right care-at the right time' works well in life. This idea triggered Helen to invest in the medical care industry by getting different native professional doctors and nurses.
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Mignionette Fair, founder, EditA Services (South Africa)
Lioness Launch
South Africa’s EditA Services, a one-stop language shop for business, has announced the launch of its new product arm, Jomi Books! Founder Mignionette Fair says there is so much more to discover about her business under this new venture, with the first "discovery" being a children's ebook called ‘It's Time’. This colourful story is the perfect addition to bedtime and especially for families who are expanding. There are hopefully many more books to come from Jomi Books, so watch this space!
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Mary Sheehan
Book Review
If you and your business need to take a new product launch from zero to sixty in no time flat, then you need to get some essential insights from The Pocket Guide to Product Launches: Get Confident, Go to Market, and Win by Mary Sheehan. Written by one of the industry’s leading product marketers—for product marketers, The Pocket Guide to Product Launches sets you up for success whether this is your first launch or you’re a seasoned pro.
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