HGCP 2022 Participants: Rasheedat is changing the way people think about nutritious food
When we talk of a superwoman, we are referring to a woman like Rasheedat Ademola. An entrepreneur, mother and pillar of her community. She is the founder of Remix Food Enterprises, and this year’s High Growth Coaching Program’s finalist. “I want to be recognized for bringing attention to African native food crops that have benefited moms’ and kids’ health.” – Rasheedat Ademola Growing up she wanted to be an accountant, but the universe had other plans for her. Rasheedat shares with us her entrepreneurial journey and some tips on how to take your business to the next level. Have you always been entrepreneurial, what led you to taking that first step and setting up your own business? Share your journey. I was born with an entrepreneurial spirit thanks to the women in my life—from my granny to my mother— who were all running their own businesses. My entrepreneurial path began in junior secondary school, where I learnt baking. I’ll bake some snacks to offer to our neighbours, and when they ask for more, I’ll start selling to them. During service, I felt confident that my employment was safe, so I seriously pursued my SAED training to sharpen my catering abilities. I took short courses in hospitality management, and that is how I started my first business. Introduce your company the way you would to a potential customer? Remixx Food is a business that creates affordable food for your family using items from your neighbourhood that you are familiar with. All the nutrients your child needs to grow for the first 1000 days are in this simple-to-make blend. It is quite versatile, and you may prepare a variety of foods for your child using it in different ways. What’s been the most significant thing you’ve done to grow your business? Investing in receiving training. I’m not a nutritionist but owning this company has transformed me into one. I’ve taken classes on new-born nutrition, food product design, food processing, and other topics related to nutrition. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur? Communication, research and networking skills. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule? Learning to take a break when the going gets tough and overwhelming. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in? Don’t forget to develop yourself as you run your business. Invest your time, money and energy in yourself development. What would you like to be remembered for? I want to be recognized for bringing attention to African native food crops that have benefited moms’ and kids’ health. What is your favourite quote or saying? Martin Luther King, Jr. said to keep moving forward. No matter how hard it may be, keep moving.
HGCP 2022 Participants: Labake is a self-made entrepreneur with so much hope for Africa
While many have lost hope, Labake believes in the future of Africa. She believes without a doubt that Africa can be a self-sufficient thriving continent. “I am also motivated by my future self. I have a clear picture of who Labake in the future is, and I am working to become her. “ This is exactly what makes Labake an entrepreneur to watch out for. She Leads Africa sat down with the Founder of AR Initiative to learn about her and her business. What led you to taking the first step and setting up your own business? I had no desire to run a business growing up. I was always passionate about development and thought I would effect change through the traditional corporate route. However, when I moved to Nigeria and was looking for opportunities in responsible business, I found that there was a gap in the market – corporate responsibility was thought of in more philanthropic terms; building a school etc. While that is great and has an impact, I was more concerned about their responsibilities across their valuation and how they think about the environmental and social impact of their business activities. This led me to start The AR Initiative, where for the first 2 years I freelanced and worked to understand businesses and their view of corporate responsibility. Over the last year, i pivoted to the start-up ecosystem because I found that transformative change is easier and possibly more effective in growing businesses. Also, that no one is catering to and measuring the ESG impacts of this fast-growing industry. So, The AR Initiative does this – we work with the start-up ecosystem to make as positive an impact as possible on people, profit and planet. Introduce your company the way you would to a potential customer? The AR Initiative is a pioneering, data-driven, product consultancy that helps start-ups, venture funds, private equity and impact investors to measure, analyse, and report on their ESG performance metrics. We work with startups to develop sustainability reports and help with investor readiness, and we help investors deploy capital effectively and manage their sustainability compliance. That is really impressive! Tell us a bit about your background? I was born and raised in Lagos, where I lived until i graduated secondary school. Over the next 14 years, I studied and worked across Europe and the United States. I earned a double honours degree from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and a masters from The Graduate Institute in Geneva. Growing up, I was always inspired by travel. I took every opportunity that would allow me to travel to a new place and meet new people. Having the opportunity to learn from other societies and cultures fed my curiosity and spurred my entrepreneurial journey. I was inspired by the systems and institutions in similar countries and more developed countries and kept asking “why not in my home country?” So, I started The AR Initiative to improve development outcomes for Africans by engaging the private sector. I am deeply interested in the human experience and working to make it as meaningful as possible. What was your dream job or career path when growing up? I wanted to be Kofi Annan growing up! I still would like to be. I had the honour of meeting him as graduate student in Geneva and he’s every bit as inspiring in person. Hahaa!!! Kofi Annan is a legend! Quite a big dream for a little girl…love it. So, if you had the opportunity to go back in time to talk to your 15-year-old self, what advice or tips would you give them? I would tell my 15-year-old self to breathe and trust the journey. I always wanted to accelerate the journey – be an ‘adult’. But as I’ve grown, I realised the magic is in the journey so learning to savour the experience – both the good and the bad. What do you get up to when you are not working? What do you do to have fun, relax and unwind? I love to read, spend time in nature -hiking, long walks, and travel! Tell us about the legacy you want to leave in this world? What you would to be remembered for? I would love to be remembered for changing the business view in Africa to a triple bottom line – planet, people, profit. Currently, most businesses prioritise profit above all else. I hope to effectively alter the business landscape to prioritise impact on the environment and people as much as making a profit. Now let’s talk a bit more about the AR Initiative, what is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur? There are a few things, but i think owning my time and creating a job that i couldn’t find in the market. What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our community? Build up your social capital and make it count. Building a strong network and the ability to leverage it is crucial. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule? Limiting distractions. Throughout the workday, I often put my phone on work focus mode, a new feature on the iphone and it limits notifications. Also, listening to classical music and film scores really help me with focus. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in? Networking, learning and more networking. What is your favourite quote or saying? If we stare at our giants too much, the fear of them will overtake us. Finally, can you share with our community what is your experience been like as one of the finalists to the program? It’s been an interesting experience so far. I am enjoying meeting and learning from the other finalists and coaches. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
HGCP 2022 Participants: Chioma is bringing pride in owning African made products
Born in a family of three. Raised by a strong and entrepreneurial woman. Meet Chioma Ukpabi, the founder of Kahdsole Designs, a woman that knows what starting from the bottom means. She is a young woman who prides herself in changing the narrative about made in Nigeria products. Chioma is one of the High Growth Coaching Program’s finalists . We sat her down for a conversation and here is what she had to say. “Opening my inbox and seeing mails from young ladies across Africa who write to me about the inspiration they get from me keeps me inspired to always want to keep going.” – Chioma Ukpabi Tell us a bit about yourself and how did you get to this point? I was born in Owerri, Imo State and was raised by my late grandma who was a business woman. I had my basic education at Lighthouse Startright High School and did my tertiary education at Bowen University. Growing up with my grandmother made me love and appreciate entrepreneurship. That is why after school I decided to launch my own company with the little savings I had instead of waiting for a job. The journey hasn’t been all rosy but we keep thriving. I used to shy away from people when I was younger but now entrepreneurship has brought out the extrovert in me. Have you always been entrepreneurial, what led you to taking that first step and setting up your own business? Share your journey. I didn’t want to be an entrepreneur but after my university education, I couldn’t sit around waiting for a job. So I had to make use of the knowledge I got from my grandmother who was a successful business woman to kickstart my brand and there has been no regret ever since. What would you say has contributed to the success of your business? Always showing up even when I feel less motivated and utilising all platforms I have access to sell our brand. Share with us, what your business does? Kahdsole Designs is a leather product manufacturing company that makes quality shoes, belts, bags and other leather accessories. We never compromise on quality and always give the best value for money. What would you like to be remembered for? What legacy do you want to leave in this world? I want to be remembered as someone who massively contributed in changing the narrative about made in Nigeria products by keeping to these three values; quality, integrity and excellence. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in? Effective delegation is one crucial activity I would encourage entrepreneurs to invest their time in. It will save them from burnout in their journey. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here. [mailerlite_form form_id=15]
HGCP 2022 Participants: Christianah shares her story of rising up through tenacity to build a business
This year’s edition of the High Growth Coaching Program promises to be very exciting for our founders. The SLA team sifted through over a 1000 applications and after a rigorous application process we selected our top 20 participants. We are so proud of how far they have come. On a weekly basis we will introduce you to our participants, their story and their business. On today’s feature we sat down with Christianah Imole-Ayo Owoeye, co-founder of Trash Monger to share her story on coming from a humble background and rising up through tenacity to build a business that would empower women. “Always be ready to learn, unlearn and relearn.” – Christianah Imole-Ayo Owoeye Tell us a bit about yourself? I was born in Agege Local Government Area in Lagos. I am the second child of six and the first female child in my family. My primary education was in Lagos while my Secondary Education and Tertiary Education were in Ogun State. I am a graduate of Business Administration. Growing up wasn’t fun until I found my Identity in Christ which gave my life a new meaning and purpose. Apart from running Trash Monger. I am a soulful gospel minister, artist, and scriptwriter. During my National Youth Service, I participated in several advocacies through the Community Development Service (CDS). I was an active member of the Federal Road Safety Corp CDS group and often engaged in sensitization projects among women and girls on personal hygiene through the reproductive health CDS group. My work with the Reproductive Health CDS group increased my passion for an impactful life which made me volunteer in a recycling organization where I built my knowledge about the Waste Management sector where I now fully operate and lead. I would say one of the best gifts received growing up was education. What was your favourite subject at school and why? Psychology; I like being able to understand human feelings through what they are saying or not saying. What was your dream job or career path when growing up? Growing up I wanted to be a cosmetologist, but I was not sure if I could study this as a course in a university. I remember that as a secondary student in Nigeria, you had to choose between two or three pathways that determine the subjects you will learn as a senior secondary school student, I decided to choose the “art” pathway because I thought that it would have some connection to cosmetics. I didn’t realize how wrong I was until I was in my second year of high school. I remember crying when I realized my mistake. However, it did not turn out all bad, I realized that I had a knack for writing, acting and playing musical instruments. Tell us a bit about your family and the relationship you have with them? I am married to my friend of over 7 years and it’s being over a year of beautiful communion and friendship. Tell us about the legacy you want to leave in this world? What you would to be remembered for? That I gave hope, that I lived a life that would inspire you to take life as a gift. Have you always been entrepreneurial, what led you to taking that first step and setting up your own business? Right from when I was a teenager, I had always loved proffering solutions and rendering services. When I was younger I helped manage my dad’s pepper soup business. I loved seeing the joy on our customer’s faces after serving them. I also sold jewellery and clothes in school to support myself. Ah! I also had a failed business, it was a recharge card business. As a new entry in the waste management sector the ability to impact the local communities mostly women and youths while contributing to achieving a sustainable environment makes being a social entrepreneur interesting and inspiring. What is your favourite aspect of being an entrepreneur? The ability to impact the lives of local women and youths while contributing to achieving a sustainable environment makes entrepreneurship a journey worth being a part of. Introduce your company the way you would to a potential customer? Trash Monger Limited is a waste collection and recycling social enterprise that is into the collection and recycling of waste into sustainable raw material for manufacturing processes. Since we started the business we have been able to create over 300 green job opportunities for internally displaced women and youths from underserved communities. Also, through our initiative we have carried out sensitizations within local communities on the importance of recycling and how to achieve a sustainable environment. What’s been the most significant thing you’ve done to grow your business? Continually learning through courses, mentorships and growing my network. What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur? Management [money, time, leadership] skills, Strategic thinking skills and A good communication skills What’s the best advice you have received in business that you wish to pass on to our community? Always be ready to learn, unlearn and relearn. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here. [mailerlite_form form_id=31]
Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka. Social Entreprenuer and National Geographic Explorer
Dr. Gladys Kalema Zikusoka noticed human health was a contributory factor to maintaining the health of the Gorillas she protected. She then founded Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) to support the surrounding community. She also founded Gorilla Conservation Coffee, a social enterprise of CTPH. In addition she has been a National Geographic Explorer. We had a chill an chat to hear her personal story and here how it went! You were selected as a National Geographic Explorer. Sounds adventurous! What were you most excited about in anticipation of the experience? I was excited to become a National Geographic Explorer, an organization founded over 100 year ago with a commitment to supporting discovery, exploration, pioneering research and conservation. I knew being a National Geographic Explorer would greatly help me and my team at Conservation through Public Health (CTPH).We wanted to improve our work with the endangered gorillas and local communities, and increase our impact in Uganda and other countries in Africa where CTPH is working or collaborating with other organizations to achieve shared goals. How did you get involved with the National Geographic Explorer program? We submitted a grant to National Geographic to expand our integrated gorilla conservation and human health model at Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) to other parishes around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. I was greatly honoured to also be selected as a National Geographic Explorer. You have worked with many international organisations in different capacities from being featured on BBC documentaries to your position as an Ashoka Fellow. To what extent do you think they have prepared you for this position? When I was setting up the veterinary department at Uganda Wildlife Authority, we had the first reported disease outbreaks in mountain gorillas traced to people living around the park, with limited access to basic health and other social services. I realised then that you cannot protect the gorillas without improving the health of the people who they share their fragile habitat with and that prompted us to found Conservation Through Public Health in 2003. It is a grassroots NGO and non-profit that promotes biodiversity conservation by enabling people, gorillas and other wildlife to coexist through improving their health and livelihoods in and around protected areas in Africa. These experiences led to me being featured on BBC, Animal Planet and National Geographic. In 2006 I was greatly honored to become an Ashoka Fellow for merging Uganda’s wildlife management and rural public health program to create common resources for both people and animals. What would be your advice to someone who is just starting out in their career who would love to be an Explorer? I would advise them to follow their dreams and the rest will follow. I was given this advice by Dr. Birute Galdikas, also a National Geographic Explorer, who was the first person to study orang -utans in the wild. What are the top three things you focused on as an Explorer? The top three things I focused on as an Explorer were:- promoting the conservation of gorillas and other wildlife through expanding our work and improving wildlife health, engaging local communities and conducting research on issues that affect conservation and sustainable development sharing my experiences as an Explorer with the general public through giving talks to schools, scientists, practitioners , and having our work featured in documentaries, radio, print media, and online media influencing decision and policy makers from the government, NGO, and private sector, through sharing lessons learned and best practices from our work You are also the CEO and founder of CTPH, how did you prepare yourself to run an NGO particularly with regards to finding staff that believed in your vision and with giving yourself the skills you felt you may have lacked coming from a traditionally scientific background? Setting up a veterinary unit from scratch for Uganda Wildlife Authority (formerly Uganda National Park), exposed me to the fundraising aspects I needed for my job. As a Masters student in North Carolina, I had an opportunity to obtain a Duke University certificate in non-profit management, which prepared me well to set up an NGO. Furthermore, in 2011, I participated in the Social Entrepreneurship Program at INSEAD Business School. I also did an MBA in Global Business and Sustainability – social entrepreneurship track at University of Milan and Tangaza University College in Kenya. What advice can you give us about being fearless and following your dreams especially in STEM careers where new ideas are not always so easily accepted? Don’t let anyone discourage you from achieving your dreams! I have been discouraged because the path I took working with animals and wildlife as a veterinarian and conservationist, is not typical for an African woman. I believed in myself and remained focused and was able to achieve what I set out to do. How important is it for you to mentor younger women? I was mentored by older women in the fields of veterinary medicine, conservation, public health, social entrepreneurship and ecotourism, and therefore feel that I should also give back to other women to also improve gender equity while striving for a more sustainable and healthy planet. Do you believe women can have it all? How do you put into practice work/ life balance? Women can almost have it all when they put their priorities right and choose the right partner. They also need to have supportive family, friends and colleagues to encourage them to achieve their dreams and make a difference. I have a great role model in my mother, Honourable Rhoda Kalema, known as the Mother of Uganda’s Parliament who made significant strides in Women’s Empowerment as a minister and Member of Parliament. Despite the heavy workload and having lost my father when I was 2 years old, she has always had enough time to support my siblings and I in what we feel God has called us to do. My husband, Lawrence is very
Feeling stuck? Invest in your relationships!
“I want to be on the cover of Forbes magazine,Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen” Raise your hand if this song resonates with you, I’m raising my hands and my legs because this song encapsulates my entire life goals! I want to become a phenomenal woman, one who would live a mark on the sands of time, and I’m quite certain this is on your bucket list too! But here’s the catch! The boss-lady life doesn’t come on a platter. In order to attain success in business, career and even in relationship, something has to give! The good news is; although there’s work to be done, it could be done, totally cost-free! The journey to becoming a phenomenal woman starts with investing in yourself. Whether you are looking to become a better version of yourself, make a fresh start or do a complete revamp, it is possible, if you equip yourself with the right knowledge and adopt the right strategy. Let’s just say, you can become anything you want to be, if you invest in yourself. Do you want to start your own business? write a book or become a motivational speaker ? Yes you can, but There are certain things you need to do in order to make your dreams come true! The first step begins with; Accepting personal responsibility for your own growth; accept that no one can do it for you. This means you need to stop letting the relentless drifts of events make your choices for you, instead, set goals and take concrete actions that can help you reach your mark! Thankfully, there are so many free tools that are readily available and easily accessible to you, courses that won’t cost you an arm and a leg, and skills you can acquire without breaking a sweat! If these free tools are properly utilized, they can accelerate your speed and draw you closer to your destination. So Let’s dive Right in! Here are some free ways you can invest in yourself! Read books: Increase your scope of knowledge by reading! I know reading is a daunting task for most people, but the rewards and benefits are priceless. You can go easy on yourself. start by Reading a minimum of one chapter of a book each day, and a minimum of one book a month, and you would be amazed at how your scope of knowledge would increase. Take a free course online: Do you want to become a photographer, graphic designer or digital marketer? There are so many free courses available online that you could take advantage of! Don’t forget to Ask questions, listen, then ask more questions. You will learn as well as help others learn. Get a mentor: Mentors are mostly free, this makes them priceless, the need to have someone who can model the “how” for you, can never be overemphasized. Find a mentor and endeavor to do things with them, they will be supportive of you and you will learn and improve from interacting with them. Look for new ideas: Challenge yourself to learn something new every day. I became a blogger and I’m loving it! Whoever thought I could, I’m not even tech savvy!! There are so many ways to acquire a skill, and a lot of these skills can be learned for free! If you are looking to become a fashion designer or a makeup artist you certainly can, just look around carefully, I’m sure you would find, free training opportunities, seminars and workshops where training is offered. Eat Healthy: Health is wealth they say, so invest in yourself by adopting a good eating habit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, The Hustle and Bustle of life makes it hard to live and eat right, but a little effort everyday, goes a long way. Prioritize your health, take it seriously. Eating healthy is one of the best investments you can make, because it determines your overall well-being Find your tribe: no woman is an island! Community, communication and connection, is the new mantra! There is so much you can learn simply by belonging to a community of like- minds. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
5 Tips to Effective Time Management
Time management is one of the most valuable skills you will need in life. We all have 24 hours in a day, but some people get the most out of their time while others don’t. Working as a content marketer has taught me to manage my time wisely. It gets crazy sometimes as projects are thrown your way. Which one do you focus on or delegate? I like this quote from Zig Ziglar: “Lack of direction and not lack of time is the problem. We all have 24 hours in a day.” There are a lot of people juggling multiple jobs and when I ask how they do it, they laugh and say, “It’s not easy.” Below are some simple steps you can take to manage your time wisely: Let’s dive in… Complete the most important tasks first Some people leave the most important for the last. But if you want to be better at time management, you should complete the most important tasks first. This way, even if you fail to get all your work done at the end of the day, you still conclude the day as being a success. Prioritize wisely Group your daily tasks into each category. This will tell you where to spend more time and less time. Important and urgent – tasks that must be done. These, you must do right away! Important but not urgent – tasks that look important but really aren’t. They can wait! Urgent but not important – these are tasks that appear pressing but have little or no value. You can delegate these if you can! Not urgent and not important – these are not urgent and they’re not important either. Learn to say “NO” A lot of us are guilty of this. Out of the goodness of our hearts, it’s almost impossible to say “no”. Want someone to run an errand? They come to you. Need someone to edit and proofread a doc? You’re the go-to girl. Now don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with helping a colleague BUT, saying yes to everything and everyone eats into your time. It’s okay to decline every now and then. And no, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a heart, it simply means you value your time. Organize Yourself There are so many time management and productivity resources you can utilize. Tools like Asana, Trello and Wunderlist help track and manage your projects. [bctt tweet=”Distractions steal your time. When distractions are managed well, it can lead to a balanced life but when not managed, they can keep you from accomplishing your goals. – Judith Abani” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Create a timeline for a particular project I had to learn this. I’ll just dive in and get to work but now I’ve learned to allocate a specific amount of time to a task. Let’s say there’s a blog to write among other things. I tell myself “I’m going to work on this for 2 hours.” What this ‘time constraint’ does is that it pushes you to focus and be more efficient. Time management isn’t something you learn at once. You cultivate it over time. It’s one skill that can help you make the most out of your day. Follow these 5 tips and you’re on your way to working smart. Your turn, What are your best practices for managing your time? Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
The Boss-Level Talk From The Confidence in Action Summit Nigeria
Have you ever started a new job and realized you hate it? Are you finding it hard to get your dream job or even a job? Would you like to know how to position yourself as the best job candidate? The Confidence in Action Summit helped the Nigerian Motherland Moguls discover how to build their professional brands and answer the questions above. It was juiced up with the boss-level talk that elevates careers and took place on the 12th of February 2022. SLA partnered with Darling Nigeria to bring the summit to 3 African countries. It kicked off in South Africa, came to Nigeria and now is headed to Kenya. More than 2,900 Nigerian queens showed up to the free, 3hrs of masterclasses, workshops, networking sessions and the keynote speech ‘Bouncing Back From Rejection’ given by Dr Chinny Ogunro. All attendees had direct access to some of Nigeria’s high profile career experts, and it was epic. The career expert speakers and coaches included Isioma Coker, an HR Advisor Team Lead at Shell. Nwamaka Okey-Aguorun, Senior HR Manager at Diageo – Guinness Nigeria. Toun Tunde-Anjous, founder & CEO of The People Practice. Tiwalola Ogunlesi, international speaker, author and founder of Confident and Killing it. If you missed the South African and Nigerian summits, register for the Kenyan summit taking place on the 19th of February 2022. You wouldn’t want to miss out on another chance to build the professional brand of your dreams and grow your network. Here are the Boss-Lady Conversations You’ve Missed We learnt how to revamp our professional profile, make a strategic career plan and build our network. The attendees had the option to be in a masterclass or networking session each hour before the keynote speaker. They were also coached on how to harness communication skills needed to negotiate job offers, ace job interviews and gain strategies to propel their career forward. Masterclass 1: Getting Unstuck When You Feel Trapped In A Job with Isioma Coker. Masterclass 2: How to Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job with Nwamaka Okey-Aguoru. Workshop 1: Do Things & Tell People: Develop Your Professional Brand to Land Your Dream Job with Tiwalola Ogunlesi. Workshop 2: How To Find A Job That You Actually Care About with Toun Tunde-Anjous. We lit things up with Confidence in Action and showed our boss ladies how to launch powerful professional brands! We were captivated by world-class information, tips and advice on owning our careers and being intentional about our career moves, from the beginning to the end. Here’s to raising a glass to all our boss ladies who showed up for the Nigerian summit. They came out in numbers to take in the career gems we had prepared for them, and it was an experience worth watching again. You can watch the masterclasses and keynote speeches on YouTube to get a snippet of how the summit was.
How to Enjoy Valentine’s Day as a Single Pringle
While having a boo to spoil you silly on valentine’s day is great, we all know that being single on the day of love isn’t a big deal. I know it’s hard not to feel a little sad when you see those “For Him”or “For Her” packages or hear your bestie talk about her Valentine plans with her boo. And that’s totally normal. At the end of the day everyone wants to feel loved and appreciated. In other words, you too can have the best time of your life on Valentine’s day. You have worked so hard and deserved to be spoiled with or without a boo. There are so many activities you can do. Let’s dive in. Have a Spa day Taking a day off to pamper yourself at the spa allows you to relax and manage your stress effectively. It also gives you some fun while getting a good massage. Go ahead and schedule a spa date this Valentine’s day. Host a singles-only dinner There is a good chance that you are not the only single person in your clique. Why not call your friends and host them at your place? It’s going to be so much fun. Binge watch movies You already have Netflix, you might as well enjoy your subscription and binge watch as many movies as you like. I love to call this the ultimate movie marathon. Unplug from social media. Yes, I said it. There is no point stalking your ex on social media to see how they are celebrating with their new found love or getting bombarded with photos of lovey dovey couples. Unplug for the day and read a book or spend time in nature. Try new recipes Do you have a bunch of recipes saved or favorites you’ve been meaning to try out? Valentine’s day is the perfect time to grab those ingredients and create magic. Give someone a gift Choose someone you care about, this could be your parent, sibling, aunt, uncle or friend and send them a really nice gift. Don’t forget to tell them how much you love and value them. Cook a romantic dinner for your parents What better way to celebrate love than to spend some quality time with your parents? Cook them an amazing dinner, set the table, light the candle and open a bottle of wine. Get out in nature Take a walk, or just stand outside for a few moments and get some fresh air. Connecting with nature in whatever way you can may help you center yourself, and a little exercise never hurts either. Buy a gift for yourself Do you have something that you’ve been dying to get, but have been too afraid to buy? Then you should really treat yourself with something you’re always wanted. Go for Karaoke Whether you want to sing on the top of your lungs with your friends or want to do it all by yourself, karaoke is always guaranteed to be a fun time. How would you be spending Valentine’s day? Become a contributor on She Leads Africa website. Apply here.
Motherland Moguls, here’s what you missed from the Confidence In Action Summit South Africa 2022
As a young ambitious woman, your career choice is one of the most significant decisions you’ll ever make. It is important that you equip yourself with the right information to build the professional career of your dreams. Think about it, would you rather spend your days at a job that leaves you feeling empty? Or where you are fulfilled for the better part of your life? This is why we at SLA partnered with Darling Nigeria to bring you the Confidence In Action Summits. That will take place in South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. The summit series kicked off in South Africa, on February 5th and it was a BLAST! More than 1200 Mzansi queens came together to attend a free learning and networking experience. There were masterclasses, workshops and networking sessions where we saw our SA boss ladies make new connections, and then our Keynote Speaker Nicolette Mashile, made her entrance and taught us all about navigating career turbulence. All attendees had direct access to some of South Africa’s high profile career experts, including Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding Lead at PepsiCo SSA Candice Martin, Market HR Cluster Head at Google SSA Avanti Maharaj, Talent Acquisitions Specialist at Nestlé Lebogang Mashabela and founder of Pam Cherry Coaching and Consulting Pamela Cherry. It was 3hrs of interesting talks, coaching and loads of digital connection fun. Our Mzansi mogul ladies showed up, and showed out! So whether you missed the event, or you want to relive the Confidence In Action Summit experience, you can also attend the Nigerian summit on February 12 and Kenyan summit on February 19. Here is how we took over the digital streets in SA We learnt about career/ personal development, professional networking and practical advice on building a professional career of your dreams. The attendees had the opportunity to pick one masterclass or networking session each hour. They were also coached on how to harness communication skills needed to negotiate job offers, ace job interviews and gain strategies to propel their career forward. Masterclass 1: How To Find A Job That You Actually Care About Speaker with Candice Martin. Masterclass 2: How To Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job Speaker with Avanthi Maharaj. Workshop 1: How to Find A Job That Suits You Coach with Pamela Cherry. Workshop 2: How To Position Yourself As The Best Candidate For The Job Coach with Lebogang Mashabela. We Came, put our Confidence In Action and gave out formulas to elevate careers! The summit had a vibe and more. The moment we went live on Zoom, Google Meet, Youtube and Facebook, we learned, unlearned and relearned, while having an unforgettable experience. So here’s raising a glass to all our SA boss ladies who made the time, energy and resources that went into planning the Confidence In Action Summit South Africa totally worth it.