Africa's beauty and wellness sector continues to grow, with new and exciting products coming onto the market every day, most of them celebrating the unique, natural ingredients that are produced on the African continent. This month at Lionesses of Africa, we celebrate 30 women entrepreneurs whose remarkable startup stories we have featured over the past year and who are building great brands and developing world class products from all corners of the African continent.
Read more2018 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards Africa finalists announced
L-R: Evelyn Namara, Audrey Cheng, Melissa Bime
The prestigious Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, the international business plan competition created in 2006 to identify, support and encourage projects by women entrepreneurs, has just announced their finalists for Africa for 2018.
Read moreMeet 21 of Africa’s game-changing Tech and Digital women entrepreneurs
Celebrating Africa's game-changing Tech And digital women entrepreneurs
This February at Lionesses of Africa, we shine a spotlight on Africa’s pioneering women tech and digital entrepreneurs who are making a real impact, through their businesses, their innovation, their products and services, and their passion for what they do. These truly innovative women pioneers are building unique, high impact businesses and shaking up the pan-African and global tech world at the same time through their efforts.
Read more3 Talented women chef entrepreneurs sharing their culinary love in South Africa
L-R: Chef Naledi, Chef Teddy, Mogau Seshoene (The Lazy Makoti)
South Africa has long been known for its lively culinary scene. But three women chef entrepreneurs in the country are demonstrating that it’s not only about creating great food for customers. It’s also about sharing their culinary knowledge with others. Chef Naledi, Chef Teddy and The Lazy Makoti, otherwise known as Mogau Seshoene, are all taking their specialist knowledge and expertise to the next level by teaching others how to cook.
Read more18 Women authors from Africa inspire on business and entrepreneurship
Over the past year, as part of our regular weekly Essential Reads feature on Lionesses of Africa, we have been showcasing the books published by Africa’s leading women authors on the subject of business and entrepreneurship. Here are 18 of our favourite books featured and which are well worth another read going into 2018. Prepare to be inspired!
Read moreMeet 16 women entrepreneurs changing the face of business in Mozambique
It’s an exciting time right now for women entrepreneurs in Mozambique, with a growing eco-system to support them and some wonderful role-models to inspire the next generation who are trying to break through into the marketplace. Meet a new generation of women entrepreneurs who are changing the face of business in Mozambique.
Read moreCelebrating 15 of Ghana’s inspirational women entrepreneurs who are putting the country on the global business map
This month Lionesses of Africa is heading to Accra, Ghana, to host the latest in our series of Lioness Lean In events across the African continent, in partnership with Stanbic Bank. To coincide with our visit, we will be launching a series of special feature articles which focus on leading women entrepreneurs building great businesses and brands in this great city. Ghana is a country which is seeing some real women entrepreneur game-changers who are making their mark with their business ventures and innovative products and services, not just at home, but across the African continent and the world.
Read moreMeet 40 inspiring Kenyan women entrepreneurs putting the country on the global business map
Kenya is a dynamic and exciting place to be a woman entrepreneur right now. It has become a centre for innovation and entrepreneurship; it’s a world leader in mobile money systems like m-pesa; it has a long tradition of highly creative brand builders producing world class solutions, designs and products that the world is falling in love with. It also has a strong entrepreneurial spirit that is deeply rooted, and it is women entrepreneurs who are taking that spirit to a whole new level.
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 moreLionesses of Africa celebrates the continent’s most inspiring women entrepreneurs in beauty and wellness businesses in March
Every month at Lionesses of Africa, we shine a spotlight on a particular industry sector where Africa’s women entrepreneurs are making a real impact, through their businesses, their innovation, their products, services and craftsmanship, and their passion for what they do. This month (March), we are turning our attention to the women who are changing the face of the beauty and wellness industry in Africa, and creating fabulous new products and brands in the process.
Read moreShining a spotlight on Ghana’s Women Entrepreneurs
This year we will be launching our new series of special feature articles which focus on leading women entrepreneurs building great businesses and brands in each country across the African continent. The month of February sees us highlighting Ghana, a country which is seeing some real women entrepreneur game-changers who are making their mark with their business ventures, not just at home, but across the African continent and the world.
Read moreIn celebration of Africa’s game-changing women social entrepreneurs
All through the month of January, Lionesses of Africa is raising awareness of Africa's truly inspiring women social entrepreneurs. We celebrate their significant impact and life-changing contributions to the African continent and their efforts to make it a better place for everyone, both socially and economically.
Read moreIn Focus: Meet Africa's leading women-led artisan enterprises
Almost exactly one year ago, the #ChooseArtisan campaign was launched by the prestigious Aspen Institute and the Alliance for Artisan Enterprise in the US. The aim was to get the world to recognise the real importance and value of artisan enterprise in contributing to global economic development, poverty alleviation and women's economic empowerment. The campaign certainly got people talking, and rightly so, about the incredible work being done by forward-thinking women artisan entrepreneurs, particularly in places such as Africa, where traditional crafts are being elevated today to a whole new status.
Read moreIn Focus: Meet the women entrepreneurs shaping Africa's Media, PR & Communications landscape
This August, Lionesses of Africa is featuring the talented women entrepreneurs who are changing the PR, media and communications landscape in Africa through their innovation, products, services and their passion for what they do.
Read moreMeet 41 Nigerian Women Entrepreneurs Putting the Country on the Global Business Map
Nigeria is the leading economy in Africa right now and an exciting place to be a woman entrepreneur. So, throughout the month of August at Lionesses of Africa, we are showcasing some of the inspirational women entrepreneurs who are changing the face of business in the country and getting the world to sit up and take notice of the products they are creating and the business empires they are building. Each of these businesswomen, in their own unique way, is flying the flag for Nigeria, either at home or around the world.
Read moreCelebrating Kenya’s talented women entrepreneurs putting the country on the global business map
Through the month of July at Lionesses of Africa, we have been focusing on the inspirational women entrepreneurs who are changing the face of business in Kenya. Each of these businesswomen, in their own unique way, is making a positive contribution to the growingentrepreneurial environment in Kenya. Their successful businesses, brands and social enterprises are helping to put the country firmly on the pan-African and global business map.
Read moreAfrica's Women EcoWarriors: Meet the women entrepreneurs building businesses to solve the Continent's most pressing environmental problems
The environmental issues confronting Africa today are well documented. The issue is pressing, but where will the solutions come from? In Africa, many of the innovations to solve Africa's most pressing environmental problems are emerging from women. Specifically, from young women entrepreneurs who are successfully linking sustainable business to environmental consciousness and concern for societal well-being. This is the basis for a new wave of women-led ecopreneurship taking root in Africa, resulting in a new generation of women-led startups with environmental consciousness at their core.
Read moreMeet 25 inspirational women entrepreneurs who are helping to put Kenya on the global business map
Last year, when President Barack Obama and the United States partnered with the Government of Kenya to host the sixth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit, it marked a new global interest in the country and its inspirational entrepreneurs. The event had an overarching focus on generating new investments in entrepreneurs in the country, particularly women and young entrepreneurs.
Read more2 African Women Social Entrepreneurs recognised by the Schwab Foundation
Tracey Chambers (L) and Yasmina Filali (R)
The 2016 Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs of the Year awards have just been announced, and 2 women from Africa are amongst the winners this year - Tracey Chambers of the Clothing Bank in South Africa and Yasmina Filali of Fondation Orient Occident in Morocco. The awards acknowledge the work and contribution made by 12 outstanding social entrepreneurs from 11 organizations operating in more than 70 countries that are pioneering solutions for social and environmental challenges, from child labour to women's empowerment to climate change and more.
Read moreAfrica's creative Women Jewellery Designers celebrated throughout the month of May
Every month at Lionesses of Africa, we shine a spotlight on a particular industry sector where Africa’s women entrepreneurs are making a real impact, through their businesses, their innovation, their products, services and craftsmanship, and their passion for what they do. This month (May), we are turning our attention to the incredibly creative women jewellery designers of Africa, who are turning the precious metals, gems and semi-precious stones found here on the continent into beautiful decorative pieces for the world to wear. These African women jewellery designers are putting the continent on the global map through their uniquely African-inspired designs and technical brilliance.
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