Aisha Akiti: Your hard work can put you anywhere in the world
[bctt tweet=”The best way you can predict your future is to create it – Aisha Akiti” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Meet Aisha Akiti, CEO of Missashleybakes and Eventbyashley, a baking and events planning company. This business was founded a year ago after graduating from her degree. Being a mother of two kids there was no luck finding a job so Aisha decided to create one for herself. In fact, by the age of 10, Aisha was already selling candy, biscuits and doughnuts to her family and friends. Aisha’s favourite part of the business is that she is able to put her passion into reality. She also loves the daily interaction with clients as she helps them choose cakes and styles that match their personalities with the event. The bubbly entrepreneur from Tema, Greater Accra region of Ghana says even though she has had her business for a year she is still excited about it. We interviewed Aisha Akiti and here is what she had to say…. What do you bring into baking and styling that makes your business unique? I provide each client with signature designs and taste, I also treat clients like friends and let them get to know me. What has been your greatest achievement so far? My greatest achievement so far is that I’m able to create a job for myself. After graduating from university, I had no hope finding a good job. In addition, I am proud of the fact that I’m able to provide short-term job opportunities to other young people as and when my business allows. How do you plan on taking your business to the next level? I intend to take my business to the next level by introducing new products and services and hiring a social media manager to build my online reputation and engaging customers. Getting a mentor, someone who’s been there, done that and learned lessons the hard way is indispensable. Also important is having a good team, providing them with good working environment and training. I believe when the people around you improve, your business will improve. What four qualities do you think every young entrepreneur in your industry should have? I believe every young entrepreneur in my industry must possess these qualities: Passion and leadership skills: Your passion will drive you to turn your ideas into reality. Good numerical skills: You will need to measure ingredients and other basic items. Creativity: Anyone can bake but to stand out from your competition the element of creativity is necessary. With creativity, you’re able to offer something different from the crowd. You must be able to work under pressure. Baking is a lot about timing and it’s important to grasp the right time that may cause unnecessary stress. You’ll also need the ability to face the immense amount of stress when the end product does not turn out as expected. Teamwork is also extremely important in a kitchen. You need to be able to work with other people to make beautiful creations on a large scale. What has been your overall experience in this industry? My overall experience in this industry is that the best people, no matter who they are, who they know or where they are on the ladder can succeed with their work being recognised. Your hard work can put you anywhere in the world. Fear must be removed and you must focus on getting to where you want to be as fast as possible. [bctt tweet=”No matter who you are, you can succeed with your work being recognised” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] If it takes one skill to be the best, what skill would you choose? Why? I would choose communication skills because having a good ability to communicate will help you to build up relationships, present ideas and most importantly make you a better leader. With good communication skills, you will be confident to talk and present your thoughts in public thus boosting your chances of success when you have to negotiate or persuade a client. A good leader is not the most intelligent one but the one who can inspire everybody the most. And how can you motivate people around you? Mostly using your words by communicating with them. What do you think other young women can learn from your start-up story? Young women can benefit from my start-up story knowing that in life you don’t have to depend on anyone, you can create your future. The best way you can predict your future is to create it. You are your own boss knowing how to bake, design and style an event with confidence, you can be anything you desire with hard work and determination. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Vivian Sonny-Nsirim: I have a passion to inspire and motivate young mothers
[bctt tweet=”YMF seeks to support & empower less privileged mothers and children in African societies” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] After working for a while in both the private and public sector, Vivian Sonny-Nsirim decided to follow her passion in supporting and inspiring young girls and women. She founded Young Moms Forum, an online parenting social support networking group for mothers and soon to be mothers. With over 26,000 members the group is aimed at sharing topics, ideas, issues, and challenges surrounding parenting, motherhood, business, relationships, and so on. As a wife and mother of three boys herself, Vivian is a coach and an award-winning inspirational/motivational speaker. How long has Young Moms Forum been in existence and what made you start such forum? Young Moms Forum (YMF) was founded in January 2016 out of my passion to inspire, motivate and educate mothers and soon-to-be mothers on parenting, motherhood, relationships, business, career and other matters of mutual interest. It is a platform whereby women from all works of life come together to share ideas on issues and challenges facing them; provide advice, personal experience and suggestions on how to manage such challenges. The Young Moms Support Foundation (an offshoot of YMF) seeks to support and empower less privileged mothers and children in the society, especially in Africa. How do you manage the forum to ensure unity among members and that the purpose of the forum is maintained? YMF has rules and regulations guiding the members. Any member that goes against the ground rules will be sanctioned. Depending on the severity of the indiscretion, they may be blocked from the group. This means that they will no longer have access to the group’s discussions and articles. With an MBA, one would expect you to grab the next high paid job in the industry. Why choose to be a motivational speaker? I have already done those “high paying” jobs both in Nigeria and the United Kingdom (including stints in the oil and gas industry and appointment in the public sector) but none has given me as much satisfaction as I derive from bringing succor to young mothers and mothers-to-be. Therefore, the driver for my opting to do what I am doing now is the passion in inspiring and motivating young mothers rather than pecuniary benefits. [bctt tweet=”Vivian Sonny-Nsirim has worked high paying jobs but opted for inspiring young mothers” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] You have stayed in both UK and Nigeria, how would you compare the way women support each other in the different societies? Women all over the world are the same and experience similar challenges. However, the difference lies in the level of education and literacy obtainable in each clime. The level of literacy among women in the UK is alleged to be higher than that of Nigeria reducing such bottlenecks as superstition, myths, unwholesome traditional practices, discrimination and the rest. This makes it easier for women to trust and support one another easier than they do in Nigeria. What are some of the mantras you live by? I believe that, if you try and fail, try again, if you want to change the world, empower a girl-child and, with God all things are possible. [bctt tweet=”Vivian Sonny-Nsirim: If you want to change the world, empower a girl-child ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What is your take on being a stay-at-home mum versus a working mum? Which do you think is the better option? It depends on each woman’s peculiar circumstances and agreement with her partner. The underpinning focus should be on her family’s harmony. In your opinion, what are the four major keys to a long lasting marriage? My four keys to a long lasting marraige will be; effective communication, faithfulness, respect and forgiveness. Tell us two things on your bucket list. We want to build Young Moms Academy in at least 5 African countries where we can empower young mothers through skills acquisition. Secondly, we plan to embark on an enlightenment program to refresh young moms’ knowledge on how to run their homes better. We intend to accomplish these, especially the former, between the next two to five years. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Essie Bartels: I immerse myself wherever I am
[bctt tweet=” l told myself l was going to give 100% of my vision into the brand. Nothing was going to be half-baked – Essie Bartels” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Spices and sauces are what turn insipid ingredients into gourmet food. We all love food, well at least l do and there is nothing disappointing in the life of a foodie like being served a dry meal that’s meant to be succulent. Yes, it’s all about the food and for food, it’s all about the bursts of flavor. Ghanaian #MotherlandMogul Essie Bartels knows the art of fine cookery and through her kitchen experiments, EssieSpice was established. Essie was born in Accra to a family of 9, she went to school in the central part of Ghana and moved to the USA at age 18. She has traveled to over 26 countries, lived on three continents and schooled in those three. Essie Bartels learnt how to cook from her mother and grandmother from when she was 8 years old. How did you turn your love for spices into a business? It was thanks to a lot of encouragement and support from family and friends. The plan was to continue working in corporate America and rising up the ranks and I was doing that. EssieSpice was a side gig. But with all the support, I kept going and when I lost my job, I decided to give EssieSpice a chance. What were some of your disappointments? There have been so many. Being disappointed by partners, investors, the government, writers who say they’ll publish your story, running out of funds, disappointments from ingredient producers. The list goes on. What has been the most successful strategy of marketing your spices? I think what has worked for me so far is my foundation. When I started out, I told myself I will give 100% of my vision into the brand. Nothing was going to be half-baked. I spent a substantial amount of money on research, on my labels, on my ingredients, on telling my story, and my overall branding. I think people identify with that and they understand how much I put in. They understand how that translates into the passion and love I have for EssieSpice. What is your favourite spice from your product range? I actually wish I had a favorite out of the 4 so I could answer everyone who interviews me but I really don’t. Anyone who’s tried the sauces will tell you how different they are. With products so different, it’s hard to pick one since they can be used for the same things but also completely varied and different applications. [bctt tweet=”I immerse myself wherever I am – Essie Bartels founder of @EssieSpice” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How do you generate new ideas? I travel. I immerse myself wherever I am. Whether I’m back home researching new spices or in another country. I ask a lot of questions. I then come home and experiment. Some of the ideas come out of disasters of experiments as well. Which cuisine most inspires your spices? African and Asian cuisines. They are my favorite. What are your responsibilities as the owner of EssieSpice? Currently, I don’t have staff. Most of my workers are contract workers or outsourced. Once in a while, I have help from friends and family so ultimately I have all the responsibilities at EssieSpice. From sourcing ingredients to packaging to production to deliveries to demos to accounting to social media…you name it. But that will be changing soon. [bctt tweet=”Most of @EssieSpice’s workers are contract workers or outsourced” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Did the birth of EssieSpice cause any lifestyle changes? How? I can create my schedule now. That wasn’t the case before when I worked in corporate. I had to go with someone else’s schedule for my life. I also had to learn to budget a lot more and to be more organized with finance and schedules. Also knowing that once I create the product, it’s not about me anymore but the consumer. That brings a whole new perspective. Describe a kitchen disaster I remember I went to a market and I was told there was no power. So I needed to run to a Home Depot and get a generator to power our fryers and grills. But the generator could only power one thing at a time. It was an extremely hectic and difficult day but we pulled through. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Nkem Offonabo: I visualize the woman I want to become
[bctt tweet=”Creating beautiful & functional spaces come easy for Nkem Offonabo founder of HomeWorth Interiors” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Nkem Offonabo is a seasoned banker, youth empowerment advocate, humanitarian, content manager and ultimately an entrepreneur who believes that passion can thrive into a great business. She is passionate about décor, personal development and wealth creation. With an innate love for aesthetics, creating beautiful and functional spaces comes so easy for Nkem. This was the drive for starting her company HomeWorth Interiors, a business she gradually is turning to an empire. She hopes to have a home gallery filled with all things luxury living, fashion accessories and collection of arts. Nkem Offonabo is making the world more beautiful one room at a time. Please tell us about your company and how it all began HomeWorth Interiors Concept Limited is a registered company that specializes in Interior Design, Furniture and Furnishing. Our unique product assortment ranges from custom-made furniture, upholstery, window and floor treatment, lighting, soft furnishings to exquisite bedding ensemble. We also offer bespoke home improvement advisory services to meet the needs of our clients. It was born out of an innate passion to create beautiful and functional spaces that reflect individual taste and style. Over the years, this passion has thrived into a business and was later incorporated in 2016. We recently launched HomeWorth Cleaners to the already existing business line, commercial cleaning services for both residential and corporate organizations. [bctt tweet=”Nkem Offonabo: I believe that one’s home or office space is a reflection of their personality & lifestyle” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How do you ensure you deliver excellent service to customers? I relate with my customers on a personal ground. I believe that one’s home or office space is a reflection of their personality and lifestyle. For us, design or business consultation starts with a preliminary meeting with the client, to understand their design preferences, through the life of each project. They’re carried along to ensure that our collective ideas are translated into the final outcome. What’s your source of inspiration for your designs? It most times feels innate but I get inspiration from places and spaces, colors and patterns. A pattern in a fabric shop could spark an inspiration for a design. I am constantly saving images online and in magazines for color and design inspiration. For most minimalist projects, the client and I come up with an idea from personal choices which will be developed to a final outcome. [bctt tweet=”HomeWorth Interiors aims to work on job and wealth creation for Nigerians and African beyond” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] You run a multi-service company, what other services are you likely to add on in the nearest future? We want to be a full-fledged home services provider. We plan in addition to home decor and cleaning services, to include home moving services where we help people moving houses to carefully transport their items or belongings to their new homes or offices. Our long-term strategy is to establish a factory, where home furnishing accessories and related products (like bedding, mattresses, etc) will be manufactured locally in Nigeria. This is working in line with the Federal Government local content mandate which will help in job and wealth creation for Nigerians and Africa beyond. What is your golden rule in business? You win. I win. We all win. Can you tell us more about your CSR initiative, Energizing Lives Foundation? Energizing Lives Foundation for the less privileged is a non-profit organization focused on youth between the ages of 12 to 25 years old. It empowers youth with the mission of raising global influencers through an academic, capacity building and community based projects. Our three major platforms are: Project Decorate, Project Save2School, Project Acquire. In June, 2016, we partnered with Heritage Home Orphanage, Ikota, Lagos for our flagship project tagged “Project Decorate”. We decorated the living room of the orphanage home, to create a conducive ambience for recreation and learning. We intend to replicate this project in more orphanage homes and schools as part of our community-based projects. Our next project is centered on academic empowerment of the young adults. We intend to partner with another orphanage home(s) to sponsor some orphaned youths through school (from secondary to tertiary institution), provide them with job opportunities or skill acquisition, and monitor their progress until they are well able to contribute and positively impact the society. We are looking to partner with The Living Fountain orphanage, Oniru, Lagos on this project. It is a combination of two of our platforms, Project Save2School and Project Acquire. We have more details on this on our Facebook page. How will a typical day with Nkem be like? I start each day with some quiet time with God, a review of my daily to-do’s and a lot of multitasking between my day job and my hustles; engaging clients, organizing the vendors to ensure delivery of design projects and writing on my blog crownmusings. What is your favorite piece of house furniture? My all-time favorite piece of home furniture would be a mirror. Besides being a tool of admiration, a mirror acts as a reflective tool to question and evaluate oneself. In my mirror, I see the reflection of a woman crafted in the image of God, beautiful in His eyes and visualize the woman I want to become. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Kokonut Stylist: African fashion is simply magic!
[bctt tweet=”I wanted to create something that was unique to me as a Swazi woman @KokonutStylist ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Kokonut Stylist aka Nomalungelo Koko Shabangu has always been passionate about clothing. She uses Swazi traditional material and transforms it into elegant ensembles. She is a passionate and creative being with an aim of creating a lasting fashion legacy that will outlive her. Nomalungelo’s understanding of fashion came with discovering Coco Chanel, whom she thinks is the greatest fashion icon to have walked this earth. She is inspired by Chanel in her fashion journey and believes that she is the reincarnation of Coco Chanel. Why did you choose to turn Swazi traditional attire into trending fashion items that can be worn on a daily basis? The lihiya (Swazi traditional cloth) inspiration came as a result of contemporary fashion trends. As women, we are going back to our roots; rocking natural hair, wearing traditional wear as a fashion statement, etc. I remember vividly wanting to create something that was unique to me being a Swazi woman, something that had never been done before. That was how we created our Atibuye Emasisweni range of Swazi-inspired accessories that later inspired the use of lihiya in the clothing we make. Atibuye Emasisweni means what’s ours should return to us. [bctt tweet=”As women, we are going back to our roots wearing traditional wear as a fashion statement” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Why did you choose a career path in fashion? I think fashion chose me and it continues to choose me every day. I am a qualified IT Business Analyst, complete with a Master’s Degree in IT and I have a full-time job in IT. Fashion has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Starting my business was merely an organic thing, I was already blogging about fashion, styling people and organizing tailors for people long before I opened the business last year January. I was born to create beautiful fashion pieces. What is the state of fashion in Swaziland and how would you like to see it grow? Swazi fashion is exciting and we are culturally a vividly colorful nation. The exciting thing about Swazi Fashion right now is how the contemporary fashion is embracing our heritage. There’s a beautiful unorganized movement where everywhere you go, you see people beautifully dressed with hints of lihiya and this is even more overstated at weddings; it is a really beautiful thing to witness. [bctt tweet=”@KokonutStylist is a qualified IT Business Analyst with a full-time job” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Which designers have you collaborated with and why was it memorable? So far none because Kokonut Stylist has only been in formal business for a year this month. However, I will only be collaborating with a skilled designer from SA who does the best men’s suits now in 2017. I am excited about this collaboration because it widens Kokonut Stylist’s portfolio. We will start doing men’s apparel this year. What has been the highlight of your career thus far? It was being selected by Africa Fashion Reception to represent Swaziland in Ethiopia and Paris and having our first ever runway show at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa. It was so surreal and thinking about it still feels like I was perhaps dreaming. I had never walked down a runway before and I still remember how gratified I was to do that as a designer. It felt like life was affirming to me that I belonged on the runway, with models wearing my designs. [bctt tweet=”Life was affirming to me that I belonged on the runway @KokonutStylist ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What advice would you like to give to young people who would like to turn their passion into a business? Be bold…VERY BOLD and empower yourself with all the skills you need to turn your passion into a profitable business. Never conform, except when it’s conforming to who you truly are as a creative person. Do you think that designers are given enough training to turn their passion into a business? I believe that as a designer, you have to find out for yourself how you can be the best in a way that best speaks to you…there is no generic solution for everyone and no one will give you training for free. Learn from only the best, teach yourself to aspire to greatness and you have to constantly want to better yourself. In terms of turning your passion into a business, we are all just winging it until we find what truly works for us and capitalize on that. Does anyone ever truly know what to do for sure? I doubt it. Art and culture form a big part of our identity as Africans, do you think it is given the value it deserves? The saddest thing about our art and culture as Africans is that it is truly given value after it’s been exploited overseas. For example, Louis Vuitton did a line on entirely African Inspired artifacts (they called it the Sahara Collection) and it has Massai Blankets, the famous Khonzekhaya bag print and it was like people were seeing for the first time. An American beauty parlor will package our clay and blog about its “ancient beauty benefits” when we have been using red clay on our faces for years! We don’t see how valuable our art and culture is until it’s sold to us and that is sad. However, even with that being the fact, it’s beautiful to observe that African creatives (fashion, contemporary, graphic designers, etc) are now largely going inwardly (back to our roots) for inspiration. [bctt tweet=”We don’t see how valuable our art & culture is until it’s sold to us @KokonutStylist ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What do you think sets African fashion from the rest of the world? There is no place as beautiful, diverse and wondrous as Africa and this translates even to our fashion, Africa is, simply put, magic! If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa,
Judy Goddard: I make it a point to re-frame every failure as a lesson
[bctt tweet=”Judy Goddard: As an entrepreneur…you never really ‘arrive’.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] “Trapped”. Ideally, that isn’t the word you would want to use to describe how you feel about your 9-5, but it is a word I hear all too often. It is for this reason that I love meeting women like Judy Goddard. Her boldness and single-minded dedication to creating the life she wants to live is the stuff #MotherlandMoguls are made of. The Johannesburg-based entrepreneur is the founder and director of Masiwela, co-owner, and director of On Pointe at Longpoint, and has most recently she became the director of The Rand Club. What would you say was your biggest frustration when you started out as an entrepreneur? Looking back I realise that I wanted to be at ‘the end’ before I did the work. I had established a career in hospitality before I became an entrepreneur, but the corporate world has different markers of success. I credit this uncomfortable start with helping me understand that the destination is the journey. As an entrepreneur there are always new targets to work toward, you never really ‘arrive’. Masiwela’s continued success is a testament to the fact that you do not shy away from setting audacious goals. Often people lose their momentum after they experience a few failures. How do maintain your contagious tenacity in spite of failure? The key is to make sure that you learn to trust your own judgement. Failure happens to even the most competent people; you need to learn from every failure and keep track of the lessons. It also helps that I am an optimist. I make it a point to re-frame every failure as a lesson. When I lose money in my business I refer to the loss as paying ‘school fees’, and I only ever pay it once. We dissect the failure as a team and keep track of the lessons learnt to help us make better decisions in the future. What helped me quite a bit is that I have also become intentional about creating a strong positive process. This means I surround myself with people who genuinely want me to succeed. I also spend every second of my spare time learning new things that can help me lead better. I love that you refer to yourself as an ‘Africaneer’ (African Entrepreneur), and I notice Masiwela steadily increasing its presence across the continent. As a young company, what has been your strategy for breaking into the various African markets? I am originally from Zimbabwe and at first, it was not easy to break into the South African market. In hindsight, being an outsider here was fantastic practice for my continental vision! The biggest lesson for us has been to think laterally. Invest as much into gaining trust and forging relationships as you do into the technical parts of the business. This also means not shying away from collaborating, even if it’s just to get your name out. You will be amazed at how much you can get done with the right relationships. [bctt tweet=”Don’t focus on the big wins. Consistent hard work is the key – Judy Goddard” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Secondly, and this is good advice in general, don’t focus on the big wins. Consistent hard work is the key. The small wins always add up and help you to create the big wins. Last year Masiwela took over management of the historic Rand Club in Johannesburg inner city. Not only is it in an older part of town, but the club itself has a complicated history. What motivated you to take on the challenge? As someone who studied and worked overseas, I understand the temptation to benchmark our cities against cities like New York and London. That said, young African entrepreneurs are in a unique position in that we must create the environment we want to operate in. We need to think long term to get this done. Personally, I have always wanted to live in New York, so I resolved to be part of creating the African version of New York in Johannesburg. [bctt tweet=”Judy Goddard: Young African entrepreneurs…must create the environment we want to operate in” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I took up the Rand Club because I realised how important and unique our role as young Africans is in writing Africa’s story. ‘History’ is currently being created and it is our role to help write a better history for our children to learn. The Rand Club has quite a negative colonial history, so it excites me to be able to change that narrative. What has been the biggest leadership lesson running a business has taught you? What distinguishes entrepreneurs is that they always need to be prepared to make a decision. The mistake I made early on was that I thought that this meant I had to make every single one. This slowed everyone down and I became a bottleneck for my company. [bctt tweet=”Entrepreneurs always need to be prepared to make a decision – Judy Goddard” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I have come to realise that as a leader of an organisation, leadership automatically involves becoming a coach, and empowering my team. When a member of my team asks me a question, I resist the urge to give them an answer. The goal is to get them to show initiative and to trust their judgement. Instead, I ask them what they think they should do to fix the problem. Only give input on how you would handle it if the team member is totally off the mark. When you do, make sure you explain the reason behind why you would go in a different direction. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Yoli Mqoboli: I wanted to start a business that is meaningful to me and to other businesses
[bctt tweet=”I fell in love with Business Management during my undergrad studies – Yoli Mqoboli” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Yoli Mqoboli is a certified global Remuneration Specialist with extensive experience in reviewing and developing total remuneration policies, packages, and frameworks for both public and private sector organizations. Her career started off at the South African Reward Association (SARA) as an intern —gaining exposure in all aspects of total rewards such as basic remuneration, benefits, and total reward elements. She has worked for blue chip companies focusing on expatriate reward management and Africa reward. After her last stint in corporate, she started Sunguti Business Solutions, a 100% black woman owned human capital solutions consultancy specializing in tailored remuneration, reward and benefits solutions and talent acquisition solutions. Yoli then approached her former Director and pitched the idea of coming back to the organization as an independent consultant, as such giving her the independence and time to start-up and nurture Sunguti. What was the spark that led you to start Sunguti Business Solutions? Sunguti Business Solutions, before the name ever came into existence, was always a dream of mine. I fell in love with Business Management during my undergrad studies. As such, I decided for my postgrad studies to specialize in Business Management. I had in mind a Business Solutions consultancy focusing on each of the various business functions. My business model would be that of a sub-contracting arrangement as I don’t have experience in all of the business functions. This was also aimed to collaborate with other professionals and hopefully, garner more business participation. I wanted to start a business that is meaningful to me and to other businesses. What services do you offer your clients? Are they only limited to South Africa? If yes, what are your goals to grow Sunguti to rest of Africa and the world? Currently, our capacity is in Human Resource solutions, which include Remuneration and Benefits consulting and Recruitment. We focus on permanent placements, response handling, and headhunting services. Our service offering is in South Africa and we plan on expanding it to Swaziland first, and then the rest of Southern Africa. Our short-term plan is to penetrate the southern Africa region, due to the geographic reach and ease of doing business. As a 100% black women owned Human Capital solutions consultancy company, do you find it is easier for black women to start their own consulting firms, especially in your industry? If not, what are some of the challenges you’ve faced? Starting a business is hard for anyone, and as a black woman within the Reward fraternity is twice as hard. This industry has and still is owned by elite white-owned professional service providers. Women face hurdles such as access to funding, lack of access to other types of business due to non-exposure as these fields have been traditionally deemed to be male gender specific. Also the lack of a support network and lack of advisors or mentors in these areas of business. [bctt tweet=”For Yoli Mqoboli, starting a business within the Reward fraternity was twice as hard” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Reward management, which is a specialist function within HR, is currently a scarce skill with fewer black professionals. Yes, there has been an influx of black talent –however, the skill is not mature enough. The major challenge for us as black-owned consultancies is getting taken seriously by companies and peer competitors. You’re deemed an unknown and your credibility shaky because your brand is not yet established. Corporate South Africa prefers to reserve remuneration consulting projects for the big professional services. There is little confidence in smaller consultants who ironically have consulted for the same corporates under these big professional service providers. How can the challenge of small black-owned consultancies being overlooked be overcome and ensure that they make a mark in the consulting world? There is no perfect answer, however, in light of the new developments in BEE procurement regulations –bigger professional services providers who aren’t fully representative in black ownership and participation will be urged to partner up with smaller black consultancies. Some have already done that therefore the rest will probably follow suit. [bctt tweet=”Yoli Mqoboli: The major challenge of black-owned consultancies is being taken seriously” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] In the meantime, it’s us smaller black consultancies who have to create the opportunities, approach potential partners and keep abreast of developments in the market. However, the same needs to be done by bigger competitors. What advice would you give to women looking to venture into the remuneration management and talent acquisition space? You need to have a flair for people, numbers and the evolution of human capital solutions. You need to love what you do, and you will never have to work a day in your life! Secondly, you need to network and keep abreast of the developments within the area of reward management, both locally and globally. What are your goals for Sunguti in 2017? How will you ensure you meet the goals? My goals for Sunguti in 2017 is to focus more on business development initiatives; this includes joint ventures and collaborative partnerships with some of the bigger corporations, and expand the service offerings to Swaziland. We also aim to register with the relevant SETA in the introduction of accredited training and development services. Lastly, we aim to strive for standards of quality and commitment to our current clients. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Samba Yonga: Working to document African women’s history
[bctt tweet=”Samba Yonga: I am now more interested in communicating real impact ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Samba Yonga is a Media Communications specialist running her own firm Ku-atenga Media. A trained journalist, Samba initially worked with one of the daily papers but found the job extremely boring. She then joined a media company that worked in development communications, this opened up more opportunities in development communication role. Samba also recently co-founded the Museum of Women’s History in Zambia with Cultural Specialist Mulenga Kapwepwe and eight other women in Zambia. The Museum of Women’s History in Zambia aims to highlight women’s role in the history of the country. SLA contributor Kudakwashe Mulenga sat down with Samba Yonga to find out how she navigated her career to end up running her own businesses. You took on several roles at a fairly young age, did you face any challenges? I know the narrative of the ‘struggle of women’ is real —most people ask me how being a woman has impacted my work. I am aware that there are inequalities everywhere and work towards addressing them. In my case, I think I am very fortunate that women are encouraged to take on the work that I do. I have also been very lucky to be surrounded by people that encourage me and recognise my ability. [bctt tweet=”Samba Yonga: I think that women are encouraged to take on the work that I do” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] We also live in an environment that is malleable, meaning you have to work around your situation. You have to create life hacks and develop market-creating skills for your business. On my end, we largely had to develop the market and I think it is the same with a lot of people in the creative/communications sector here in Zambia. You are co-founder of the Museum of Women’s History in Zambia, tell us about that. I co-founded the museum with a group of women who want to highlight the importance of women’s narrative in history. In the work I do I network with a lot of people and I took an interest in Zambian history. My work involved research to a great extent. And I would find intriguing stories about the past that I had never learnt in school even at college level. [bctt tweet=”Samba Yonga co-founded a museum to show the importance of women in Zambia’s history” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I then found a lot of things that were not in the mainstream narrative and that I felt should be known by all. As I researched more I found more and more interesting information. I met and listened to experienced cultural actors such as Mulenga Kapwepwe. I followed her work and also collaborated with historians such as Marja Hinfelaar, she was responsible for digitizing the National Archives of Zambia. Last year, I undertook a research in collaboration with a Swedish organization on these buried narratives. We met with communities who confirmed narratives of women having an active role in Zambia’s history but not being documented. One of my favourite ones is of the Mukuni Kingdom in which there is actually a dual leadership. Bedyango, as confirmed by Chief Mukuni was the Matriarch of the kingdom. Mukuni was a wandering ruler of the north who was strong and mighty. Bedyango realized that this was a threat to her kingdom and she offered a dual leadership instead. However, when the colonial authorities arrived they refused to recognize the woman as a leader and that is how Chief Mukuni became the more prominent leader. This information was never documented and many people don’t know about it though the dual leadership is still practiced today. This showed me how we are not using our own information to strengthen our communities. This is the concept for the museum. [bctt tweet=”Samba Yonga: We are not using our own information to strengthen our communities” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How has the reception been so far? The reception has been really good and we didn’t expect it. We just opened our virtual space and so many people have reached out with resources including stories and collections. A lot of history in Zambia is oral and the establishment of the museum has encouraged people to contribute. Our main goal is to get this information into the curriculum and make it part of mainstream knowledge. Who in your museum do you think every African should know? Immediately it is Bedyango the custodian and Matriarch of the Gundu kingdom, which is now Mukuni Village. She is a modern day example of a feminist. Bedyango is an example of someone who was able to stand for justice and used proven methods of leadership that progressed her kingdom. There is no other person who is a great example. Another notable one is Mumbi of the Shila people and she was responsible for the protection of the now Bemba people. Mumbi played the role of what could now be referred to as a modern-day diplomat. There are many examples and these show a very different perspective of women. Our history has obscured such figures and has limited the positions and roles that women played. We would like women and girls today to realize their own capabilities to achieve their dreams from the women of the past. [bctt tweet=”Our history has obscured such remarkable women – Samba Yonga” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Let us talk about your other baby Ku-atenga media, what does it do? Ku-atenga is primarily a communications consultancy. I have a background in communications both corporate and development. These unique skills allowed me to have a good understanding of what communication entails and what responses work for Africa. We combine these skills to create communications packages for Africans. Now there is huge interest from outside Zambia and Africa for African content. We design communication tools and content for different organizations at Ku-atenga. We have done work with varied local and international organizations. And more recently we are getting involved in doing more transformative communications that would effect change. I am now more
Enny Ethnic: All our products are manufactured in Zimbabwe
[bctt tweet=”Being your own boss means you have to continuously work @EnnyEthnic1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Enny Ethnic is an ethnic fashion online shop run by two sisters from Zimbabwe, Mercy and Matipa Nyamangwanda. They are currently based in the US and their online shop provides unique, stylish and hard to forget pieces for and inspired by every woman. Their target ranges from the ethnic-centric type, to the urban chic, modern classic, vintage-chic to trendy. Named after their mother, Enny Ethnic’s prints can be purchased online and are currently shipped to Australia and the UK with hopes to expand to other African countries. Where and how was Enny Ethnic formed? We started in 2014 by making clutch purses from the fabrics we collected everytime we travelled home. The clothing line started a bit later towards the end of December 2015 after we noticed the amount of attention we got when we rocked our print. We now make clothes, earrings, bags and scarves. [bctt tweet=”Travelling kicks in our creative process we are proudly African & Zimbabwean – @EnnyEthnic1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Tell me about the inspiration behind your design and the process of creation? Travelling kicks in our creative process, we are inspired by everything and the different cultures we see. We go through our creative life as a blank page hence we are able to write on it. We keep an open mind when we do what we do. Also, we are proudly African first and more importantly, Zimbabwean and we are always thinking of how we can represent the African woman. We work with women from Zimbabwe who put the pieces together for us -they are part of the process. We create a sample and they sew, and they have great work ethic too. Because we come home often, it makes the process easier and having people who understand our language is a great creative bonus. It’s really important that we do it in Zimbabwe, not only is it our motherland but it gives us some time to spend with family. What makes you different from other African print labels? We are very modern, and our pieces alternate between modern and traditional. Our line is huge and as we also create beach and office wear. At Enny Ethnic, we fit multiple lifestyles and most of our pieces are one track. You recently showcased at the San Francisco fashion week. Tell us a bit about that? We got an email from the organizer telling us that he wanted us to showcase our line and we were terrified. Enny Ethnic was only in its eight month. We were part of the emerging designers at the week, and we learnt a lot and managed to pull through perfectly well. Showcasing at the San Francisco fashion week really put pressure on us as we had to fly out home in September for two days. Fitting was the following week and a couple of weeks later was fashion week. The models were picked by fashion week so we had Asian and Russian models. We were not sure how their skin colour would look on African print but it came out well. Our line was showcased first and more models were added to make them twelve in total. How has the market responded to your product? Most people have loved it and including white Americans, Asians -this brings so much diversity to the product. Because of this support, we had a pop up shop in New York from the 25th to the 30th of October 2016. This enabled people to come in and physically see the merchandise. There is always something about people seeing the product physically and we wanted to give Enny Ethnic’s clients this opportunity. What type of woman are your creations targeted for? Our creations are ageless and can fit into every lifestyle. So every woman can rock Enny Ethnic, the good thing is that you can either dress them up or down. [bctt tweet=”It means a lot to say our product is from Zimbabwe and to say we are Zimbabwean – @EnnyEthnic1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] In the process of creating your business, what things did you have to do that you had not accounted for? Marketing. We did not think it was a big deal but, hello biggest surprise. Then, we had to sit down and think about the manufacturing. Where is it that we could get this manufactured? We did not want China, so we settled with Zimbabwe. This has huge cost implications as we buy the fabrics from Zimbabwe and get the things made at home as well. However, it is valuable to not just us but to our culture as well. It means a lot to say our product is from Zimbabwe and to say we are Zimbabwean. This gives people an opportunity to connect with our country. What can we look forward to from Enny Ethnic? Things have moved so much faster than we expected. We are really excited as we are already looking at our pastel spring collection. We are looking forward to bringing another show stopper to fashion week. It will be ready-to-wear pieces that people can snatch off the runway. We are also looking at creating a men’s line. Then, there are the physical shops, we want, to bring Enny Ethnic to our clientele in Washington DC and California. We know that by bringing in something physical, we get that connection with our customers. We are also looking forward to shipping our merchandise to African customers. How do you manage the business since you both have jobs? Coffee! Because being your own boss means you have to continuously work especially when you are still starting up. We are always working because the fashion industry is fast paced and it is sometimes mentally exhausting but there is also a certain renewed energy you have when you are doing something that you love. Want to see women you know featured on SLA? Tell us what amazing things women are doing in your communities here.
Ehime Akindele: Be fearless in the pursuit of whatever sets your soul on fire
[bctt tweet=”We should all aim to live a life dedicated to service to one another – Ehime Akindele ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Ehime Akindele founded Your Way Foods, —which is made up of Sweet Kiwi Yogurt Cafe, Beet Root food bar and a soon to come Mongolian self serve bar— under the age of 30. A huge believer in healthy foods, Ehime actually started her career with Amnesty International. From then, she moved to Citigroup in Dallas, Texas where she worked in their legal banking group. All that time, Ehime Akindele wanted to start her own business back in Nigeria. She has received training certifications in restaurant management and dessert manufacturing and eventually started with Sweet Kiwi. Ehime will be celebrating the 5th year anniversary of Sweet Kiwi. While meandering the challenges of running a start-up in Nigeria, Ehime Akindele has found time to work in not-for-profit as she wants to foster the spirit of volunteerism in Nigeria. Can you tell us about opening Sweet Kiwi? Were there any particular challenges to opening a frozen yogurt store in Lagos that you did not expect? There were several challenges as we were the first frozen yogurt company in Nigeria. There were no existing format for operations so we had to learn a lot along the way. Still, we keep working at it. Power was a major issue as the soft serve machines are heavy duty and are quite delicate. A lot of times, the lack of power puts us in very stressful situations. I remember the day of our Lekki store launch, we had all 5 machine fuses blow. This was literally 10 minutes before the opening speech began. [bctt tweet=”Power was a major issue in running a frozen yogurt store in Nigeria – Ehime Akindele ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] I just prayed inside; we were about to open a yogurt store and the yogurt dispensing machines just stopped working! I had to think quickly so we had a team working behind the scenes while we lengthened the speeches and prayers. I remember Mrs. Fela- Durotoye telling me to be calm, and trying to delay the first product sample. She suggested I give a full breakdown of every item in the store. I don’t remember breathing the whole time, but we overcame it and we are now 3 years in. When did you decide to diversify your projects with the Beet Root healthy food bar? Why did you decide to? From the start, my plan was to have a group of companies dedicated to healthy food. I started off my actual entrepreneur career training on how to build and manage a Mongolian grill. Beet Root was always part of the plan, we just decided to put our Sweet Kiwi first. [bctt tweet=”Ehime Akindele founder of @sweetkiwie is promoting healthy food in Nigeria with her companies” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Any advice to women looking to expand their businesses? What three skills do they need to master before going this route? I believe the foundation of the business has to be solid before you consider expansion. So what you’ll need to do is perfect your operations and pay attention to economical forecasts. The three skill I would say young women need to master before expanding their businesses are; Patience, Resilience and Tenacity. Do you still work a 9-5 while managing your entrepreneurial projects? I have never worked while running my business, I quit before I began. Why do you believe Nigeria should foster the spirit of volunteerism? We should all aim to live a life dedicated to service to one another. I believe volunteering builds better and stronger communities. It is an opportunity to make a difference in another persons life and truly you never know what you might learn, sometimes it is as little as learning to appreciate your own situation. What’s your favourite fro-yo flavour? Why? This is a hard question as I have so many favourites. For right now and the key word is now, my favourite is the Strawberry Greek Yogurt. Any motivational last words for our readers? Be fearless in the pursuit of whatever sets your soul on fire. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.