“I Started A Business At The Age Of 8” Meet Mejero Kunu, CEO Pennee Technologies
Mejero didn’t have life all figured out but she was certain of one thing, her passion. She nurtured it until she achieved her life long dream of helping businesses grow and expand. She is the CEO of Pennee Technologies and an avid contributor to the business space. Who is Mejero Kunu? If I told you that I started business at the age of 8 would you believe? That’s how long I’ve been interested in business. I always enjoyed the idea of providing a service and getting a reward in return. Everything about business appeals to me. The ups and downs, the struggles, the fact that you can bring an idea to life and nurture it till it becomes something priceless and so many others. If I wasn’t doing business, I’d probably be an astronaut but definitely not in Nigeria because it has a way of realigning your destiny and bringing out the entrepreneur in you. Growing up in an average home really shaped my perception of life. There were always books around and we always had something to keep us mentally engaged and stimulated. There was this room for communication and self-expression which actually helped me learn how to express my feelings better but this didn’t mean we always had our way. If Mejero had her way, I would’ve gone into business full time but they would not have approved. Up until university education, I always helped people with their businesses and got involved with so many business opportunities which cut across to buying and selling, helping people establish their business and the likes. So, that’s where the business part of me was born. What ignited the spark to start Pennee? I’ve always wanted to do something like this for years but it didn’t come to life. In other developing and developed countries, you’d find more small and medium scale business than even large scale businesses. But in Nigeria, the reverse is the case. The sad part is, most of these businesses fail before they’re able to expand and gain grounds. So, the dedication is to help Nigerian businesses grow and expand. As I started in 2019, I saw my impact on people’s businesses and how I was able to help them out in very difficult situations. So the driving force was I could help people with their businesses whilst helping myself build the dream I’ve always had. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? The biggest challenge so far is people underestimating my abilities. Some people believe that you must have specific characteristics to be able to handle certain jobs and situations. I’ve been able to face this by repeatedly proving myself to those that matter. Making them know that although I might not have certain qualities you might be looking for, I have what it takes to pull this job through. Another challenge I’m currently facing is funding. Raising funds to push this has been tasking for me but I’ve been able to allow that hurdle shape my mindset. It has made me more strategic when it comes to funds and trying to achieve the best results. I’m really passionate about PENNYTECH. I’m very positive about the next few years and I can’t wait to be a part of so many success stories. It’s the first thing I think about when I wake up, it’s the last thing on my mind before going to bed. What have you learned so far from running this business? To be very honest, I’ve learnt a whole lot of things from running this business. In the past, I could only use Canva to make average designs. Right now, I can use sophisticated applications to make cleaner designs that you’d think I was a graphics designer. Also, I’ve learnt how to work better with people. To get the best out of people isn’t an easy task. With this business, I’ve been able to learn various ways to make people want to be better at whatever they do. This is something that I cherish now. Mejero is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter.
“Writing Has Always Been A Childhood Dream” Meet Julie Ako, CEO Albantsho
If you’re finding it difficult to find your passion and stick with it, Julie’s story can be an inspiration for you. Her story is one that gives insight into various ways you can simply define a clear career path for yourself without having to fail at so many things! Julie is definitely amongst the category of people that found what they love and stuck with it till it became a source of motivation to make an impact on the world at large. She is the founder of Albantsho. Who is Julie Ako? Have you ever been raised by scholars before? Girl, that experience charges up your mindset! My father, was in the science field while my mum was in art, literature to be precise and they always pushed me to do better at everything. My mum passed down her love for literature to me. She taught me the figures of speech and I just found myself connecting to these teachings without any difficulty. That was when my love for writing started manifesting. My passion for writing grew to the point where I started writing for magazines, various stage plays and even screenwriting. Back in school, I made it a commitment to learning more about the process of screenwriting to improve what I already knew. Series of writing and growing and before I knew it, my first screenplay was ready. It was so good that I sold it to Africa Magic. I was super excited. That was how the screenwriting journey began. What ignited the spark to start Albantsho? The name Albantsho was derived from the Nigerian word Albasa which means ‘Onion’ and ‘Ntsho’ a Setswana word for ‘Black.’ Albantsho means Black onions. We gave it that name because it represents the different layers of writers and storytelling across Africa. Before I dive into details of the business and everything it represents, I won’t be saying the story the right way if I didn’t make reference to how it actually started. After school, I got the opportunity to study film and television production with Multichoice talent factory where I met a lot of likeminded people that complemented my love for screenwriting. That was where I just had to own up to it and tell myself that this is where I want to be. This is where I see myself in a few years. Being with people from different cultures created an artistic feeling around everything we did. It wasn’t until this point that we realized how much influence we had on each other. We couldn’t let that fire go to waste. We felt that other African writers deserved an opportunity collaborate with other African writers, get feedback about their works, help each other grow and create a transnational network that is capable of standing the test of time. Nothing is as beautiful as African stories being told by Africans for Africans. The fact that we’re beginning to own up to who we truly are is more than a driving force. We might not be at the forefront of this switch but knowing that we’re contributing to it is more than enough. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? I think startups face more challenges than established businesses because the initial phase of a business determines the pace at which the business moves and operates. One major challenge is trying to communicate to dream of this project to other writers. Not every writer can see what we see. Sometimes, we have to pass the message in different ways just to ensure that they have an idea of what our focus is. There have been other business challenges like understanding the niche we operate in and how to make it work for us, streamlining long and short term goals and being able to efficiently communicate with my business partner who resides in Botswana. With all these, we still come out stronger each day. What have you learned so far from running this business? I’ve learnt so much already. This one is for everyone that’s either currently running or thinking of starting a business. Plan accordingly. Most of us hear this particular point over and over but we never actually focus on it. Clearly identify your goals. Your long and short time goals have to be outlined. Teamwork is beautiful. It’s practically normal to experience a clash of ideas and perspectives, what you have to do is remind yourself that every team member is after the progress of the business too. Once you bear this in mind, there are no limits! Julie is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. You can join her and many other writers interested in screenwriting for film and television on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
“I Turned My Love For Food Into A Business” Meet Comfort Oluwasesan, CEO HealthyTreatIb
Anyone can achieve the unimaginable and that includes you! After battling with high blood pressure and depression, Comfort had to relearn everything she knew. She was determined to have a success story. Today, Comfort is the CEO of HealthyTreatIb, an HR consultant and also a visual artist. Who is Comfort Oluwasesan? While growing up, my parents felt I was going to study journalism or law because I always had my way with words. They didn’t know I had plans to study applied arts. I didn’t get their full support at first but eventually, they gave in because they knew I was really handy. I enjoyed getting things done with my hands so much. Geeting handy is just a piece of the iceberg. Another interesting fact about me is my love for food. I really love food! Yes, I admit I’m a foodie even my favourite TV programs are food shows. I can’t just get enough of it. This was where the passion for the business came from. I’m a very fun person and there’s really no dull moment around me. What ignited the spark to start HealthyTreatIb? Remember I said I love food? That didn’t do justice to how much I enjoy food. When it comes to everything related to food, I’m there! I could cook for hours without even realizing it. I just decided to go into it once and for all and help people enjoy what I enjoy when it comes to food. During the early stages of my marriage, it seemed like things were going bad. At some point, I was hypertensive, anxious and even went into depression. My blood pressure rose drastically. To be honest, I felt like I wasn’t going to survive it. This went on till I met a cardiologist who made me understand that I was only experiencing all of that because of stress. He emphasized the benefits of adopting a very healthy lifestyle. He went further to say how having a healthy meal plan, proper attention to the body and constant rest can help someone live without sickness and health problems. This was what made me start the restaurant. I wanted to create an avenue for people to be able to eat right! What would you say is the heart of your business? The drive for my business is the fact that I believe people should be able to eat healthy foods. Healthy eating doesn’t necessarily mean eating boring food. We always want to provide solutions to the problem of food. So the heart of the business is providing quality services for our clients anytime and any day. What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? If anyone tells me that there’s a business that doesn’t have challenges I’d tell the person that I can fly because every business comes with its own challenges. When I started this business, it was a whole lot! It was not easy! At the early stage of my business, I once attended to this client who put me through hell. I had to spend hours convincing her that she had nothing to worry about. After the meal was eventually delivered, she practically insulted everything I had done. I really felt terrible. She compared me with someone who had already been in the business for years! I didn’t let that weigh me down. I evaluated my business and mapped out the things that were not working well and made sure I improved on them. What have you learned so far from running this business? I’ve learnt that consistency and patience are very key factors when it comes to business. There are days you make sales, there are days you don’t. On both days, you should ensure you do what you’re supposed to do. If you’re not consistent, people would forget you. For patience, Rome was not built in a day. You have to believe that as your business grows, things would definitely get better provided you keep doing all the things you need to do. Perseverance is also an important lesson I’ve learnt. You just have to keep going regardless. Comfort is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on HealthyTreatIb,.
Challenging Mindsets One Head At A Time With Curl Expert Rumbie Mutsiwa
Every entrepreneur has a story of how they started and what led them on that path. Rumbie Mutsiwa the founder of Rumbie & Co (a Sydney based hair salon) is a Zimbabwean who relocated to Australia 15 years ago and stumbled into the entrepreneurial world. Her story is one of resilience, pushing the boundaries and taking up space where minorities are often overlooked. She’s been recognised by Vogue Australia for having a unique hair product line that caters for most curly, afro and wavy hair textures. What was the turning point for you as a Zimbabwean woman living in Australia that prompted or inspired you to start your own business? Starting a business was never something I thought I would do, let alone the idea of being an entrepreneur. However, I am very grateful that God pushed me in this direction. Early on in my career as a nurse, I started to have this impulse, this impulse was to pray and to work out what I was truly gifted and talented at doing because back then, most people I spoke to and asked whether they liked their jobs were only resigned to sticking to their jobs because it provided them with an income and life doesn’t always turn out to be a fairytale as we know it. Something within me just couldn’t take that and I went on this introspective journey. To answer your question about what inspired me to start my own business, I would say there is two parts to this. The first being when my sister suggested I go into hairdressing. At the time, I was not impressed with her suggestion and actually found it to be quite insulting and disrespectful. These feelings probably stemmed from my upbringing in an African household and environment. Those of us who have grown up in these environments can probably relate to this because majority of the time you are encouraged to go down an academic path instead of a creative path. Despite these negative feelings towards the idea of being a hairdresser looming in my mind after my sisters suggestion, I decided to take a step back to find out why I was so upset about what she had said. I started to write down and unpack the reasons why I felt the way I did and began writing my vision. This was the first time I was truly honest with myself about what my passions were and I remember that process of writing being quite therapeutic for me. As I wrote down the things that inspired me, I discovered that I loved hair dressing. The moment I felt that I had written my heart out on paper and fully expressed my vision, I threw the pen and paper across the room and in that moment it hit me that I was passionate about hair. I loved hair and I loved the transformation and the power of it and a whole lot of other things about hair and the psychology attached to curly hair. The second part to me realising I needed to push through with my vision was when I had just opened up a salon space. I thought I would just have something small for myself and my clients but little did I know how busy I would get and how booked out we would be during the early stages. From this I started to realise that no matter how many times I tried to push in another direction, being a hairdresser is what I was meant to be doing. Back when I was still starting out, I tried to focus more on extensions but there were specific types of extensions that I wanted to pursue, yet those doors kept on getting closed. No matter what I did, and how good the work was people never came back. I started to get curly hair clients and that is how we coined the term “texture specialist.” How do you feel having your unique brand in Australia has had an impact on people who struggle to find hairdressers that with work with curly, wavy or afro hair? 65% of the world’s population has curly hair. To me that statistic is mindblowing because when you look at this space it’s underacted to. I do understand that there may be various factors at play that have shaped this narrative but I do feel it is now long overdue and having knowledge and information around products and on how to take care of your hair is a basic hair need that everyone should have access to. More work needs to be done to ensure that products which saturate the market are backed with research to minimise having people feeling frustrated with products that don’t work, damage the hair or are deer in price. Being able to work on my brand everyday allows me to cater a service in Australia that is unfortunately not available everywhere. My goal is to change that narrative and reach as many people as possible be it with my services, products or just my story alone of why I embarked on this journey. Do you see yourself expanding beyond Australia and introducing your brand to the African market? We are definitely expanding beyond Australia, we want to make Rumbie & Co available to all people with curly hair and we do look to get into the African market because, wearing your hair natural in Africa still is (while it is getting better) something that tends to be shunned upon and seen as a poor persons option for hair styling. When you wear your natural hair, you are seen in an unsavoury light, so collectively with our simple routines and the products, our goal is to definitely bring our brand into the African market. As to when and how that is going to be very interesting because the African market is very new to me even though I was raised in Africa, all I can say is if there is anyone
“I Discovered My Passion During An Extra Year” Meet Ibukun Martins, CEO FitandPro Gears
Ibukun Martins is the real definition of “circumstances don’t define who you are.” She found her passion while in school and turned it into a successful business. She is an athlete, engineer and also the founder of FitandPro Gears. If you’re looking for some inspiration this week, read her story. What ignited the spark to start FitandPro Gears? It was getting closer to the end of the school year, and I had that relief that I was finally leaving school. Sadly, I got an extra year at the university I felt bad because this meant Ibukun wasn’t graduating with her mates! For a second, I thought of my future plans and asked myself, “Is this it?” The whole situation may have gotten to me but I made sure I didn’t dwell on it. I had so much free time because I wasn’t taking as many courses. I would go to the sports centre to relax and watch people doing all types of exercise. The frequent visit, soon got me interested. So, I started. Sports and fitness activities became a lifestyle for me! Sometimes, you never know where you’ll find your passion. After months of enjoying my fitness journey, I noticed something. All the sports and fitness enthusiasts had a common problem. They couldn’t get good quality gym wear at an affordable price. I saw the problem and decided to fill in that gap. That was the silver lining for me! What business challenges have you faced and how have those challenges shaped your mindset? Businesses go through highs and lows and that’s something I’ve come to acknowledge. The important lesson is, “don’t dwell on the lows for too long!” One challenge I face sometimes is low sales. When I experience this, I take some time to reflect and think of possible ideas to make things better. I start by reaching out to our customers to give feedback on the products and how they can be improved. I note and discontinue products that haven’t done well. This changes the way I approach many aspects of my business. I go back to the drawing board and restrategize! One thing, I, Ibukun Martins is proud of is product improvement. I’ve been able to create better fitness gears due to customer reviews. This has led FitandPro Gears to gain partnerships in sports and fitness-related fields. What is the heart of your business? My customers are the heart of my business, every positive comment or feedback they share pushes me to work harder. I feel I’m getting closer to my dream, the bigger picture which is to be the biggest sports and fitness brand in Africa. I know it’s not impossible! Also, seeing the impact and growth of the business and how far it has come gives me joy. Overall I would say, being passionate about sports and fitness got me here! A “not so good experience” turned into favour! What have you learned so far from running this business? A lot! I’m going to drop them all because I believe my fellow sisters in the entrepreneurship game will be reading this. Believe in yourself! Have a vision to always remind you why you started. Always track your growth and improvements. Face your fears! To build a successful business, you must take risks. Ibukun is a participant in the High Growth Coaching Program 2020. Catch up on her business journey on Instagram.
Forget your job! Build your career.
Dupe Akinsiun, is a seasoned HR professional with extensive years of practice that cuts across Management Consulting, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, FMCG and career-building across West & Southern Africa. She is a certified professional with leading international HR associations like SHRM, HRCI, HRMA. She currently works as a Leadership Capability Development Expert with a leading multinational FMCG company with presence in over 20 countries. This is a summary of Dupe’s insights on building the career of your dreams and tackling career challenges. Having a job is different from building a career. A career is a combination of jobs, skills, experiences, relationships, and qualifications you gather over an extended period of time to add some sort of value. This can be through entrepreneurship or employment. When it comes to career building, I advise professionals to think long term. Thinking long term gives you the chance to look beyond current limitations. Focusing on a job instead can restrict your thinking and make you myopic. The career you decide you want to have will influence the kind of jobs you seek. Building the career of your dreams starts with knowing what you want. While it might sound easy, it can be difficult to articulate what you want. SLA’s Career Strategy Guide Sign up for free access! 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Now go be the CEO of your career! Get your guide HERE . Here are some tips for building the career of your dreams: 1. Look within Spend some time to identify what you have to offer. We need to learn to be able to reflect without paying attention to the noises or distractions that come from what people think we should be doing or not doing. To help with your reflection, ask yourself questions like: What are my strengths and skills? Are there problems I can solve? Which of these problems do I feel inclined to solve based on the skills, education, relationships or resources I have at my disposal? 2. Look without Spend some time with a professional who can guide you. Some people find reflection challenging and are unable to do it effectively. These people may need to get help either from a coach or a more senior professional who can help them light the path. 3. Define your career challenges There is no blanket solution to all career challenges so you need to find out what your challenge is. I have seen people wrongly define their problems and as a result, they do not get the desired solution. The first step to solving any challenge is defining the problem. Find those who have the same career struggles as you, but are successful. This will be a lot easier if you are actively connecting with your network. Seek advice and make necessary adjustments. Keep reviewing and iterating the solutions until you get on the right path 4. Beware of Imitation Learn from people, but remember to adapt their recommendations to your reality. This is because you are unique, the circumstances surrounding their own issues may slightly differ from yours and so may not make their recommendations 100% applicable. Follow She Leads Africa on Instagram to connect with Motherland Moguls like you!
Hey Sis, Where Does All Your Money Go?
Have you ever wondered where all your money goes before payday? You are not alone in the struggle. Tracking your expenses is an important first step in financial literacy. Zikoko, a culture and entertainment digital magazine based in Lagos, Nigeria, asked a sample of women how they spent the bulk of their income in the past month of the interview. Here are some of the ways women responded. Can you relate? I spend a lot on Uber rides I don’t have a car and I hate moving around with public transport, so all my coins go to Ubers. Thankfully I can afford it. It’s hard to calculate how much of what I earn goes to Ubers because I have a 9-5 and a pretty great side gig. But I’d say 20% of the income I get from my 9-5. I’m aware that it’s a little ridiculous to spend so much money on just transport. But my life’s motto is comfort first. Plus Ubers saves a lot of my time, and I hear time is money. Weaves. Weaves. Weaves. I have a government job so my salary is a joke. But I have an online business that does quite well. The average cost of my wigs or weaves is about 150k (~$400). My 9 -5 pays about 80k (~$210) a month. So I guess I spend like two-months salary on hair. I’m not ashamed of it. It’s not like I buy weaves all the time. I can still afford to put food on my table and pay my rent thanks to my business. My rent is expensive The first year I moved out to live on my own, I had a flatmate. She left the country the year after, and I got stuck paying the full rent. I paid it in hopes of getting another flatmate, but I’ve had no luck yet. I’d say the bulk of my money goes to rent. I earn 300k ($810) a month and my rent is 1.2 million (~$3,260) a year. This means 100k (~$270) of my monthly income goes to saving for my rent. I really like my apartment and have no plans to move out. So for now, I have to keep paying the rent. Want to track your expenses? Sign up for our FREE report on the best personal finance apps. 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SIGN UP We’ve got you sis! Click here for your report! http://bit.ly/SLAAppReport Internet is so expensive I don’t have a job so my ‘income’ comes from an allowance from my parents which usually adds up to about 50k (~$135) monthly. I spend about 15k (~$40) on data every month. So data costs make up most of my expenses. Food, I don’t like to cook I don’t like to cook, so feeding can get a little expensive for me. I’ve never sat down to do the math but between groceries, eating out and buying food every day I must be spending about 40 to 50% of my income on food. My struggle skin won’t let me live I have very problematic skin. I decided to start paying more attention to it about 2 years ago because a girl must SLAY. The only problem is good skincare products are expensive. Don’t let those people telling you that black soap is all you need, lead you astray. They just have good genes. I don’t buy skincare products every single month thankfully. On months where I run out of everything at once, I can spend almost 50k (~$130) on products. My monthly salary is 220k (~$590). Makeup is expensive I’ve always loved makeup and buying it wasn’t always so costly. But with the way the economy is set up, everything I love is now so expensive. I just started a business as a make-up artist so I think most of what I make goes into buying new products. I spend like 80% of what I make on that. I have way too many friends In the past year, I’ve spent a ton of money on Aso Ebi. I’m at an age where all of my friends are getting married all at once and I’ve come to the realization that I might have too many friends. I’m currently in between jobs so I can’t say how much I spend exactly. But based on my last salary, I’d say last month I must have spent 40% of my old income on just Aso Ebi. That’s ridiculous! Zikoko amplifies African youth culture by curating and creating smart and joyful content for young Africans and the world. Learn more about Zikoko here.
Molped Feature on Chidinma Ekile: Award-Winning Musician
Molped sanitary pad is a product from Hayat Kimya Limited (manufacturers of Molfix diapers), and is a skin-friendly, ultra-soft, sanitary pad, designed to make young girls feel as comfortable, soft, and secure as they feel beside their best friends. Molped’s breathable layer keeps young women fresh, and it’s skin-friendly, cottony soft layer does not cause irritation. Molped sanitary pad is every girl’s best friend, helping them be more confident, and supporting them through their periods. Molped has partnered with She Leads Africa to highlight the beauty and importance of valuable female connections. About Chidinma Ekile Chidinma Ekile is a Nigerian singer and songwriter, popularly known by her stage name Chidinma. She worked as a business promoter in Lagos, prior to auditioning for the third season of Project Fame West Africa, in which she emerged as the winner in 2010. Following the release of the music video for her “Emi Ni Baller” single, she became the first female musician to peak at number 1 on the MTV Base Official Naija Top 10 chart. In 2011, she released her first solo single “Jankoliko” featuring Sound Sultan. Chidinma, her self-titled debut studio album, was released through the music platform Spinlet. It was supported by the singles “Jankoliko”, “Carry You Go”, “Kedike” and “Run Dia Mouth”. Chidinma won the “Best Female West African Act” category at the 2012 Kora Awards Considered one of the most loved and respected African female artistes, Chidinma is verified across ALL social media platforms. A responsible, classy and elegant woman, devoid of scandals, Chidinma has over the years comported herself in a ladylike manner, evolving from the girl next door to becoming a role model and mentor for several young girls across Africa. Chidinma recently signed an endorsement deal with the premium sanitary towel line, Molped, where she features in all Molped’sTV and radio commercials as the Face of the brand in Nigeria. She released a critically acclaimed joint EP with Africa’s foremost musician, Flavor. Chidinma is the founder of Nma Care Foundation, a non-governmental organization set up to cater to visually impaired children. You can connect with Chidinma on Instagram and Twitter. What does friendship mean to you? Friendship to me, means identifying the traits and characteristics you favour in people. It means that you accept them for who they are, recognize their flaws and help them improve on themselves. It also means being there for them as practically as you can. What advice or tips do you have for women trying to build a professional relationship with mentors? While learning from your mentor, it’s important that you make sure you never take their time, access and opportunities for granted. You should recognize and respect their boundaries. Also, always offer value, because a person’s gifts will make way for them. What skills or character traits have been most helpful to you in building your career? I definitely think it is treating the music business as just what it is; which is a business, something akin to a 9 to 5. I am deliberate about my actions, my team and I plan ahead. We also don’t compromise on our standards or the quality of relationships we cultivate. What advice do you have for women trying to build a career in the music industry? As much as I am still learning, I will humbly state that any woman willing to build a career in the entertainment industry, must be ready to work twice as hard as the guys. Make sure you pay more attention to details and cultivate quality relationships. Do you think it is important to have a mentor as a young woman trying to grow her career? Yes. However, I think that it is important that any woman takes very careful time to evaluate the person she is submitting herself to as a mentee. This is important, in order not to have a misrepresented view of the industry they are working in, and also not be taken undue advantage of. Since you are the Brand Ambassador of MOLPED, in what ways does the brand remind you about friends/friendship? Ok I need to actually share this with the world☺. Let’s start with how the features of the product remind me of friendship. It’s not just soft, but cottony soft with no nylon and wide wings and because of these features, it causes no irritation or leakage. Those are definitely qualities that I expect of a friend. For them to be soft and comforting, with us having minimal to no friction or fights. I know we might fight at times though, but not all the time you know, and of course she always keeps my business my business. In addition, the brand promotes friendship and girls being there for each other, and drawing inspiration from each other at all times. Do you have any words of advice for our Motherland Moguls, trying to be successful like you? Please ensure you are bringing value to the table. Develop your craft, hone it and guard it like a mother protects her baby. #MyGrowthSquad series is powered by Molped (@MolpedNigeria). Connect with them on Instagram, Facebook and Youtube. Sponsored Post
2020 World Economic Forum Davos: 4 things you need to know
Global leaders from the public sector, private sector, civil society and academia met this week in Davos, Switzerland for the 50th Anniversary of the World Economic Forum. The theme this year was “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World”. Africa.com has curated hundreds of keynote speeches, panel discussions, focused spotlight talks, exhibits, and sideline events to give Motherland Moguls the scoop on what happened. 1. A Zambian teen is changing the women’s health game Natasha Mwansa, a Zambian teen got the world’s attention when she talked about her work in Africa. The 18-year old runs her own foundation and is the most compelling advocate and activist for girls and women’s reproductive rights. She has used her voice to address the underfunding of maternal health and forced marriages of young girls. Mwansa explained that young people want more than to simply speak at conferences or become spokespersons for meaningful causes: they want to become partners in political change. Intergenerational partnerships are necessary to help translate youth mobilization into political change. 2. Climate change is #REALAF in Africa For the world’s most vulnerable, climate change is not a distant existential threat: it is killing people right now. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad, gave a powerful reality check. ‘In my region, people are dying because of climate change’ Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim at WEF Davos In the video below, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim explains what it’s like to live in a place where the effects of climate change are #realaf. 3. The Motsepe Foundation is supporting Social Entrepreneurship Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, the newly elected Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, hosted several events showcasing the success of her work through the Motsepe Foundation. Through a partnership with the Schwab Foundation, the Motsepe Foundation sponsors an Executive Education program for African students at Harvard Kennedy School. 4. This woman is leading education reform with Ethiopia’s Sesame Street Originally a primary school teacher in Addis Ababa, Bruktawit Tigabu Tadesse developed the Whiz Kids Workshop, a multimedia enterprise that makes shows like “Tsehai Loves Learning”, the first educational pre-school TV show in Ethiopia. Bruktawit founded the company in 2015 with her husband while looking to make high-quality education accessible to children on a mass scale. Working from their living room, they used sock puppets, computer graphics, and their own voices to produce Tsehai Loves Learning. The most important take away from WEF Davos is that we all need to play our part to create a peaceful and sustainable world – no matter how small. How are you changing your communities? SPONSORED POST.
HOW TO MANAGE DIFFICULT CLIENTS IN 2020.
With the decade is almost over, it’s the perfect time to check the relationships that are important to us. Whether you are an entrepreneur, side hustler or corporate climber, maintaining a good relationship with your clients is an important part of your success. Unfortunately, not all clients make it easy to build a positive relationship. How do you get that schmoney and manage difficult clients without losing your mind? Apply some Emotional Intelligence! Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand other people’s emotions, empathize with them and respond to them appropriately. Here are 3 tips to help you manage tough clients using Emotional Intelligence: 1. Be self-aware The first step to empathizing with your difficult clients is evaluating yourself. Think about how you communicate with your clients – are you showing them that you care? If you are a manager or business owner, is your company encouraging a culture of empathy for clients? 2. Listen Intelligently Just like your personal relationships, listening is an important part of maintaining positive client relationships. Sometimes, clients are difficult because they don’t feel heard. Consider what your clients might want from you, even if they haven’t expressed it. Listen actively by noting pain points, asking follow up questions and keeping the lines of communication open. 3. Understand your clients’ personalities Clients are people too. When you manage people, it’s important to understand their temperaments. Cholerics tend to be logical and use focus on facts. Stay proactive and result-oriented with choleric clients. Melancholics pay attention close to details. You must your processes for efficiency with them. Phlegmatics can be indecisive. Be patient and helping them understand the information they need to make a decision. Sanguines tend to be carefree and impulsive, so you might consider keeping communication informal to keep their attention. Understand your clients, their personalities and deal with them appropriately. Which of these tips will you use to manage your difficult clients in 2020? Ready to SLAY 2020 in Johannesburg? Get your SLAY Festival tickets HERE.