Our Journey
May 2014
SLA was founded
After years of consulting in a world-class organisation, Yasmin & Afua recognised that African women were looking for advice and products to help them live a well rounded life. This led to starting a company targeted at providing every smart African woman with the resources to build amazing businesses and careers. She Leads Africa aims to be the #1 destination for smart Afrian women globally.
September 2015
FIRST SLA ENTREPRENEUR SHOWCASE
10 female entrepreneurs from across the continent and diaspora competed for more than $30,000 in cash and prizes at the She Leads Africa Entrepreneur Showcase. Dozens of angel investors, representatives from venture capital companies and a high profile panel of judges came together to find the next hottest startups worthy of investment.
November 2016
Drove 5x more ROI for Microsoft
SLA co-founder Yasmin Belo-Osagie was featured in a Microsoft commercial in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Within two weeks of airing, this commercial drove 5x more digital return on investment than any other in its industry.
December 2016
RANG THE BELL AT NYSE
We are the first African startup to ring the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. By this time, SLA was delivering business and career advice to 200,000 millennial African women through in person workshops and digital training.
March 2017
PARTNERSHIP WITH OXFAM
The 3-month Accelerator Program kicked off in partnership with Oxfam to identify, support and fund the next generation of Nigeria’s brightest entrepreneurs. Since then, every year, the winning entrepreneur goes home with a cash prize to fund their business.
January 2017
FIRST SLAY FESTIVAL
We welcomed 1,400 women for the first SLAY Festival in Lagos, Nigeria. SLAY Festival is a celebration of innovation, culture and technology with African women. Thanks to all the speakers, brands and media partners, participants had an unforgettable experience.
June 2018
100K FOLLOWERS ON INSTAGRAM
Our inspiring, engaging and fun content resonated with 100,000 women globally on Instagram.
August 2019
SECURED SEED FUNDING
Our track record in inspiring and developing African women globally, gave us a strong reputation with investors. Their investment will go a long way in expanding our reach on influence.
January 2020
Community became 700K strong
What other way to welcome the new decade with a growing community of 700,000 African women. She Leads Africa has consistently delivered valuable content and experiences across all platforms, for ambitious women to live their best lives.
March 2020
SLAY FESTIVAL GOES TO JOBURG
Our annual event was live in Joburg for the very first time! Co-organised by She Leads Africa and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), more than 1200 entrepreneurs and professionals enjoyed an unforgettable event – mainstage panel discussions, networking sessions, masterclasses, mogul talk sessions, shopping from local vendors…and not to forget an electrifying session with Bonang Matheba!