Selam Wondim Gebremedhin, a serial entrepreneur building a tech business that turns gaming into more than entertainment

March 2, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Selam Wondim Gebremedhin, founder, Gomida Solutions (Ethiopia)

Startup Story

Selam Wondim Gebremedhin is the founder of Gomida Solutions in Ethiopia, a gamified super-platform that seamlessly integrates gaming, brand engagement, and interactive experiences. The business, launched in 2024 and creating jobs for 11 people, develops hyper-casual games that entertain, educate, and reward players while providing brands, influencers, and developers with innovative ways to engage and grow their audiences. The platform transforms gameplay into impact—enabling users to play, learn, and earn within familiar social media and messaging ecosystems, eliminating the need for additional downloads.

Zenzile Silvia Mabitsela, an agrifood business focused on food security and sustainability in South Africa

March 2, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Zenzile Silvia Mabitsela, founder, Masana Generation Project (South Africa)

Startup Story

Zenzile Silvia Mabitsela is the founder of Masana Generation Project in South Africa, a poultry farming business specialising in broiler chickens, crop production, and rabbit production. She is a leader and social entrepreneur, a farmer, and a public speaker, who likes to work with local communities. Zenzile is passionate about her work and has an openness to learning and implementation in her business. She registered the business in 2014 and started operations full-time in 2018.

Mother / Founder: 68 Women on the Trials and Triumphs of Starting a Business and Raising a Family by Amanda Jane Jones & Jennifer Fernandez

March 2, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

The book, Mother / Founder: 68 Women on the Trials and Triumphs of Starting a Business and Raising a Family, by Amanda Jane Jones & Jennifer Fernandez is an inspirational and empowering celebration of more than sixty women who are both dedicated mothers and successful entrepreneurs. Starting a business can be daunting, scary, and exciting, all at once; so too can starting a family. But they can coexist, as the incredible roster of women in this book demonstrates. Entrepreneurship can be both a sustainable and fulfilling model for working motherhood.

Claire van Enk, a visionary entrepreneur tackling food loss

March 2, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

Farm to Feed, a Kenyan enterprise aggregating imperfect/surplus produce, creating market demand, and selling to customers via a digital platform

Farm to Feed is a game-changing Kenyan enterprise revolutionizing the way we approach food waste and surplus produce. Co-founded by Claire van Enk, this innovative business aggregates imperfect and surplus produce, creating a fresh market demand and delivering it directly to customers through a digital platform. By addressing food loss, boosting farmer incomes, and improving food affordability, Farm to Feed is making a tangible impact on both the environment and local communities—cutting greenhouse gas emissions along the way.

Nature abhors a vacuum

February 25, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

Last weekend we highlighted that William Warshauer of Technoserve wrote (here): “Since 1960, the world has spent roughly $5.7 trillion on foreign aid…Of that enormous sum, how much has been effective in fighting poverty? The shocking truth is that we don’t really know.” “…we don’t really know.” - How is that possible?

Do no-experience-required jobs need background checks?

February 25, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Jenny Reid

Queue of thousands shows desperation at South Africa job crisis. What does desperation cost our country? Many in our country are really struggling but desperate times create desperate measures. Don’t skip your processes in place to address risk. Regardless of how desperate a person may be, make sure you verify details on the job application thoroughly. Every time.

More Than a Logo: The Human Side of Brand Success

February 24, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Margaret Hirsch

In business, success isn’t just about having the best products or the biggest advertising budget—it’s about building genuine relationships. People buy from those they know, like, and trust. That’s why, for the past 46 years, Hirsch's Homestore has been more than just a brand; we’ve been a family, a community, and a trusted partner in homes across the country.

Customer Service Excellence: Scaling Customer Support Without Losing the Personal Touch

February 24, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Dr Michélle Booysen

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou

Delivering personalized customer support is essential for building strong relationships and retaining customers. However, as the business grows, responding to inquiries efficiently while maintaining a personal touch can be challenging. The key is to balance automation with human connection.

Educating Africa: Celebrating 12 women edupreneurs who are empowering children and youth with knowledge and skills to equip them for the future

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Lioness Spotlight

Africa needs great educators, committed people who are passionate about helping children and young people to learn and fulfill their potential, equipping them to make a positive difference in the world. At Lionesses of Africa, we are celebrating women entrepreneurs who are creating leading-edge technologies and new approaches to education to make a real difference to the lives of new generations of children and young people across the African continent.

What we're loving this week

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

What we’re loving this week

In this week’s spotlight on all things Woman Made In Africa, we have given a nod to Valentine’s Day celebrations, showcasing Africa’s talented and innovative women entrepreneurs who are creating world-class luxury gift items that the world wants to buy at this time of the year. Catching our attention this week are: Frances Edwards, founder of House of Cinnamon in South Africa; Zainab Ashadu, founder of Zashadu in Nigeria/UK; Lucy Beard, co-founder of Hope Distillery in South Africa; Djamila Machava De Sousa and Wacy Zacarias, co-founders of Karingana wa Karingana in Mozambique; and Selassie Atadika, founder of Midunu Chocolates in Ghana.

Ronel and Dr Marli Jooste, two impact-driven South African entrepreneurs on a mission to guide others on their journey toward holistic wellbeing

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Ronel Jooste and Dr Marli Jooste, co-founders, PhysEQFiT Wellness & Leadership Development (South Africa)

Startup Story

Ronel and Dr Marli Jooste, two sisters and co-founders of PhysEQFiT Wellness & Leadership Development, a business focused on Transforming People. Transforming Workplaces, and Transforming Leaders. The name, PhysEQFiT, implies the importance of overall wellbeing, including Phys = physical wellbeing (health, fitness, nutrition, brain health, stress management, burnout), EQ = emotional wellbeing (personal mastery and growth, whole-brain thinking, neurocoaching, mental health, team dynamics, mediation etc, Fi = financial wellbeing, and FiT = all these aspects need to be in balance to enhance your overall performance, leadership capacity, wellbeing and lifestyle. The business was founded in 2015 and employs 5 people.

Adonia Mankou Yanate, a South Africa-based interior designer creating functional, beautiful, and transformative environments

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Adonia Mankou Yanate, founder, Shumukh Design (South Africa)

Startup Story

Adonia Mankou Yanate, founder of Shumukh Design, approaches design as both an art and a philosophy—one that shapes how people interact with space and, ultimately, with life itself. She seeks to craft environments that are not only functional and beautiful but also transformative. Her design language is deeply rooted in texture, textiles, and color, drawing from African narratives while embracing a universal human experience. With projects spanning South Africa and the DRC, Adonia is building a brand that aspires to redefine luxury in an African context, proving that design can be both deeply personal and globally resonant.

The time for words has passed

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Lionesses of Africa Operations Department

This last week Melanie released our 10-year Impact Report (here).

To see published, what has been done quietly and with little fuss over the past 10 years brought home to us the incredible work by our founder and ceo along with a massive team of supporters, doers and Lionesses, day in day out, to bring business knowledge, training, mentorship and access to global supply chains and of course finance, to our fabulous community within which our inspirational membership can learn from each other, support one another, and collaborate and/or trade with one another.

Burnout Recovery Guide For Female Entrepreneurs: Overcome Stress, Regain Enthusiasm, And Enjoy Life While Still Working by Kasia Richter

February 16, 2025 Melanie Hawken

Book Review

In her book, Burnout Recovery Guide For Female Entrepreneurs: Overcome Stress, Regain Enthusiasm, And Enjoy Life While Still Working, author Kasia Richter helps hardworking women entrepreneurs to unlock the secrets to burnout prevention and a stress-free life!

Can South African HR leaders stop white-collar crime in their organizations?

February 13, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Jenny Reid

South Africa is grappling with a significant surge in white-collar crime, underscoring the urgent need for robust employee screening practices. The recently released second-quarter crime statistics for July to September 2024 revealed an 18.5% spike in commercial crime incidents compared to the same period in 2023. This alarming increase, from 30,630 to 36,300 cases, highlights the highest surge recorded this year.

Personalization Through Process: Building Stronger Customer Relationships

February 13, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Dr Michélle Booysen

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.” – Michael LeBoeuf

Customers expect more than generic service—they want personalized experiences that make them feel valued. Personalization, when embedded into business processes, strengthens customer relationships and fosters loyalty.

Resilience in the Legal Profession: A Professional Imperative

February 13, 2025 Melanie Hawken

by Sonja Cilliers and Maryke Groenewald

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

Resilience is a term that surfaces frequently in discussions about the legal profession, but its meaning is often misunderstood. Is resilience an inherent trait, or is it something legal professionals can develop over time? More importantly, how does the high-pressure, fast-paced environment of legal practice affect a legal professional’s ability to remain resilient?

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