Why Unlocking The Trillion-Dollar Women-Led Economy Starts With Us
The founder of Xena, an initiative that exists to unlock the full potential of the woman-led economy, explains why we are what we’re waiting for.
Women-led business success is still hampered by role stereotyping, gender inequality, cultural norms and societal pressures. Together with the ‘inner voice of doubt’, these challenges often become the barriers to success. Despite these challenges, there has been a significant increase in South African women-led businesses over the past decade with the expectation that the women-led economy will deliver around R175-billion in revenue and create 1 million jobs by 2022.
This trend is not unique to the African content. There is a global movement towards the rise of a women-led economy, and according to a conference that I attended in Amsterdam in 2019, it is also true for most developing countries. McKinsey and Company reported that equal opportunities for women entrepreneurs could lead to a $12-trillion growth in global GDP by 2025.
Many women have entered the formal business and informal entrepreneurship space.
However, to unlock their full potential, women need support, access to networks and business literacy to formalise this shift.
Throughout the pandemic, I witnessed how quickly women-run businesses were closing. This observation was echoed by the 2021 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs findings. It found that 87% of women business owners were adversely affected by the pandemic. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank reported similar findings. The closure of these businesses could, at large part, be because women tend to operate in retail, restaurants, food shops, beauty and domestic services – industries that have been the hardest bit by the pandemic. Due to the less formal nature of their operations, they tend to have far less runway for a catastrophe of this magnitude, while men tend to have more formalised financial structures and liquidity in their businesses.
Furthermore, the driver or motivation to start their business often stems from the need to supplement an income or provide for the basic needs of a family unit. These businesses often start as a side-hustle, with personal accounts which mostly operate in cash instead of formal channels. Cash transactions limit access to finance, in turn suppressing women’s ability to grow and scale. Given the huge opportunity that women-run businesses present to our economic growth and recovery, more needs to be done to unlock fem-preneurs’ ability to grow and create jobs.
It Starts With Us
Together we can unlock the women-led economy and leave a legacy that inspires future generations of young women to venture into this space. Let’s teach the generation that will come after us that it is okay to say what you want confidently. To own your successes and celebrate your victories. To be comfortable to chase your dreams instead of the dreams and passions of others. Unapologetically and boldly pursue your ambitions. Even if the narrative has been carved throughout millennia for women to carry the cultural responsibility and family obligations as mothers, caregivers, and homemakers, we are so much more. We are the keepers of the community and the custodians of the future. By giving ourselves the right to be successful and share the responsibility, we earn that right for future generations.
We Must Change The Narrative
The ‘Rewrite Her Story’ initiative by actor turned activist Geena Davis (part of the ‘Girls Get Equal’ research campaign) reports that the world’s most popular films send messages to girls and young women that leadership is primarily for men. It is not about being an activist or being part of a movement. It is about writing your own story and playing the lead.
It is important to note that we still have a long way to go despite numerous efforts to do so – even though 26 years ago, Xena, the Warrior Princess, took to our screens as the first woman lead of an action-adventure series. Action’s new heroine, Xena single-handedly changed our view of the woman protagonist in the mid-90s and together with Wonder Woman & co in the 70s, the shift to women portrayed as capable, confident and independent was clearly described in the opening narration, “a land in turmoil cried out for a hero”.
Today, we need more Xenas – both in the media and business. Unlocking our potential starts internally and through creating a community where women entrepreneurs can empower one another and build a network of like-minded businesswomen that uplift, share and mentor each other.
Working together to unlock potential is the impetus behind the Xena app-based platform, a network of businesswomen created by women for women. Through its launch, we hope to play our role in changing the narrative. Together we share the economic potential to change the course of history.
About The Author
Erin Louw has over 16 years of experience in consumer finance and fintech environments. She’s the founder of Xena.world, an exciting new networking app for women entrepreneurs that provides them with a business community, mentorships and access to funding. Erin is passionate about creating engaging work environments and platforms to drive innovation and seamlessly align the people and business strategy.
She’s also the headliner at our Investing In Women event on 24 February in Cape Town, where she’ll be joined by Kasi Katalyst founder Vusi Vokwana to discuss how we can serve women entrepreneurs in South Africa better. You can get tickets to the live event here or set a reminder for the live stream here.
Research: How The Learning Habits Of Women Entrepreneurs In SA Differ From Their East African Counterparts
Africa has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in the world. This week, we investigate the learning habits of South African women entrepreneurs compared to their counterparts in East Africa.
Africa has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in the world.
Despite this, just under 20% of South Africa’s entrepreneurs are women.
More research and resources need to go into increasing this number.
But first, what makes South African women entrepreneurs different?
We investigate the learning habits of South African women entrepreneurs compared to their counterparts in East Africa.
On the subject of South African women entrepreneurs, this is Clinimed founder Dr Mathobela Matjekane (with Heavy Chef CEO Fred Roed). The good doctor is creating an impact in the communities she runs her practices in by providing affordable quality healthcare. Her recipe will be live on our learning platform next week so check her out.
Good morning!
Last week we delved into the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, unpacking the factors that impact their journey most.
I got a lot of positive feedback from that mailer - from women and men alike - all reaffirming the tricky work/life balance trying to be achieved but also just the sheer joy found in being able to build a business of your own.
In particular, a friend of mine based in Nairobi reached out and pointed me to research done about women entrepreneurs in Kenya. The data mapped the demographic breakdown of this community of entrepreneurs, including their levels of access to financial services and digital tools.
The research also zeroed in on their learning needs, something we’ve covered in our own research.
This morning, we explore how the learning needs of South African women entrepreneurs are similar or different to those expressed by their East African sisters.
Graph 1: Women entrepreneurs in both countries say financial management and planning skills are their top learning need, across all stages of their business; for Kenyan startups (79%) and growth stage (80%) slightly more so.
Graph 2: Women-led startups in SA indicate a bigger need for marketing and sales skills (74%) compared to others.
Graph 3: SA women entrepreneurs indicate they have more of a learning need for technology and coding skills than their counterparts in Kenya; especially for mature-stage companies (61%) in SA.
Graph 4: In terms of the need for developing soft skills there seems to be a varying degree between women in both countries, across different stages. Startups in SA (24%) indicate they need it the least.
Graph 5: Mature-stage companies led by women in SA have the highest interest (32%) in developing their HR management skills.
Fascinating, yes?
The reasons for the correlations or differences can be ascribed to any number of factors. After all, we are comparing two completely different data sets with each other and South Africa and Kenya are two very different countries.
Still, I do enjoy looking at data like this. If only to help us, ever so slightly, refine the ways we approach educating entrepreneurs.
Asante sana - !
This article was originally shared with our community as Louis Janse van Rensburg’s Friday Research Mailer. Subscribe now to get it in your inbox fresh!
How One Woman Is Helping To Change The Way We Study
Marie de Wet’s web-based platform gives students free access to a variety of quizzes based on the South African school syllabus.
Education is a contentious subject in SA.
While the private education sector is doing OK, public school education in most places is still poor.
Marie de Wet wants to change this by providing access to studying material for free to anyone who can use it.
The studying material comes in the form of quizzes based on our national syllabus.
With Examsta, Marie wants to change the way we study by making it more effective and accessible to test yourself.
It’s incredibly exciting to see the growing number of women technopreneurs in South Africa. Examsta founder Marie de Wet, who is part of this small but growing group, is changing, with her platform, the way we look at studying.
There is a misconception that the sole purpose of taking a test is to evaluate one’s knowledge. In truth, responding to questions on a subject is a powerful learning tool that has been proven to be much more effective than traditional parrot-fashion learning. Research on retrieval practice, the act of bringing information to mind in order to promote learning and attention, has found that tests do not just evaluate learning, they accelerate it. Therefore, educational tools like Examsta promise to give learners the edge when it comes to preparing for exams.
We tend to think of studying as a passive process of rereading information, taking notes and hoping to internalise knowledge. However, testing facilitates active learning and has been proven to be much more effective for long term retention.
In fact, research conducted on over 1 400 Columbia Middle School students consistently demonstrated that their retention was better for quizzed material than for non-quizzed material. According to researchers, this ‘retrieval practice effect’, helped students achieve marks that were, on average, one grade higher, while also reducing test anxiety.
The very act of retrieving information prompts your brain to ensure that the information is more accessible in the future. This is often observed in open-book testing where test-takers have the option to look up the answer and, consequently, finish the test with more knowledge than when they started. She developed Examsta as an accessible learning tool that would enable learners to benefit from this powerful study technique.
Examsta provides a web-based platform from which students can access a variety of quizzes based on the South African school syllabus. Each questionnaire includes ten to fifteen multiple-choice questions, with clear explanations and diagrams used to explain answers. Currently, the platform is in the testing phase, with Life Sciences questionnaires available to Grade 10, 11 and 12 learners free of charge. By the end of the year, History and Geography will also be available and paying a subscription of just R100 a year will grant users access to quizzes for every subject in their grade.
The aim is to provide an effective, low-cost learning tool that can benefit students from all socio-economic backgrounds. Marie has taken care to keep the website simple, to minimise data costs for low-income learners. The future plan is to make Examsta zero-rated so that no data will be required to access the content.
Marie is a qualified teacher herself and is currently completing her Masters in Educational Technology. She has almost a decade of experience, including teaching children from low-income communities and facilitating remote learning via WhatsApp. While most e-learning platforms focus on Physical Science, Marie launched Examsta in order to provide the first South African platform to focus on content-heavy subjects, like Geography and History, while properly differentiating between the CAPS and IEB syllabi. It has already been tested on 500 learners in Cape Town and 81% of survey participants found it to be a useful learning tool.
We chatted to Marie about her exciting and very relevant platform.
When was the ed-tech startup platform founded?
The idea took root in 2017 when I used DuoLingo to learn Catalan. I am a Life Sciences (Biology) teacher and while teaching I thought why am I wasting so much class time teaching content when kids could just learn content via an app. My thinking was that class time should be used for deeper learning activities like engaging in debates, doing practicals and running simulations. I was also frustrated by the lack of South African (CAPS and/or IEB) aligned content and tired of spending school holidays adapting resources from international curricula. Furthermore, it was tricky finding interactive content for Life Sciences as online resources are typically focused on Physical Science (Chemistry and Physics) Following a family tragedy in October 2018, I finally decided to throw caution to the wind and set about building an app for learning exam content. My initial idea was just to make it for Life Sciences. I taught myself enough programming to build a functional prototype and then handed the project over to the professionals in June 2019. I hired two amazing front-end and back-end developers named Stiaan Smit and Andre Dreyer, respectively. I created all the Life Sciences content, including the diagrams, from scratch, myself. The platform was ready for user-testing in April 2020, just as the Western world went into lockdown.
How have you gone about testing the learning tool and launching it to market?
I had organised with various Cape Town based schools to do on-site testing but school closures made that impossible and so I ran an online trial. Over 500 learners used Examsta between April and May and I collected feedback with regards to utility, user experience and content quality. Over 80% of learners found the platform to be either useful or very useful for learning content and there were many requests to add more subjects to the platform. As a result, History and Geography content will be available before the end of the year.
Has it received funding? If not how has it been funded? If it has who has provided funding?
I have self-funded this entire project by working on other projects for other companies. I no longer teach as it is too time-consuming. I work as a freelance instructional designer and ed-tech consultant. I have made a few vague attempts to get funding but the networking and proposal-writing are so time-consuming that it feels more practical to simply work for money and then funnel it into Examsta. That way I know I definitely have the money and can plan accordingly.
This does, however, slow down the speed of development and I am not, therefore, closed to receiving funding. The platform is currently free but, once I have more subjects available, a subscription will cost R100, which will include access to all subjects in a grade.
What are your future plans for the platform?
My goals, in order of priority, are:
To offer Life Sciences, History, Geography and Business Studies. These subjects have been carefully selected as they are all content-heavy. It is possible, in these specific subjects, to get 60% for the final matric exam by simply learning content.
To make the platform zero-rated for data costs so that less privileged learners can use it without paying for data or accessing wifi. I purposefully built the platform to use very little data but sadly, data access in SA is a major barrier to e-learning.
To include a leaderboard so that learners are incentivised to compete and improve. This gamification strategy has been shown to be very useful in encouraging learner engagement.
To add a teachers platform where teachers can monitor learner efforts.
To build a report generator that gives constructive feedback by drawing data from the learners’ scores. This could be used by teachers to include in termly reports or simply by learners and parents to get a better sense of strong and weak areas of performance.
How do you wish for the platform to be received?
Learners have had a tumultuous year, full of interruptions, challenges and stress. Examsta wants to give them a helping hand, making sure that they can easily access learned information and reduce test anxiety for their all-important matric finals. With matric exams set to begin in November, I encourage learners to visit www.examsta.co.za where they will be able to access all Life Sciences content free of charge.
Diversity In The Crucible Of 2020
The last in a series of articles, by measurement guru Dr Mariheca Otto, exploring diversity in the workplace.
Shocking as it may be, diversity is still a challenge in most workplaces.
This despite the fact that it helps a business innovate and grow.
The more kinds of different you have in the workplace, the bigger the variety of ideas you can draw from.
Still, being a woman in a male-dominated space is no walk in the park.
Measurement specialist Dr Mariheca Otto shares one woman’s experience in the space sector.
As often highlighted by culture and people specialists, racial inclusion and diversity is essential for business success. Diverse teams are proven to out-perform homogenous teams 2:1 because they have a wealth of ideas and perspectives to draw from that culminate in more innovation and a better understanding of potential markets.
In advanced organisational cultures, men are more accepting and receptive to the input of women, compared to the lack of confidence levels women display around innovation, sharing their views and participating. Women often hold themselves back. They are not as confident and risk-taking as men in general - they pull back. We have to encourage women on an individual level to participate.
In some diverse teams, women end up overcompensating by using their voices. Some young dynamic women have strong opinions to the point of being overbearing. That’s because they are used to not being heard and have fought hard to get to the professional level. They have to unlearn this behaviour and start listening better as leaders.
Diverse teams have robust conversations if they are managed in a safe and mature way, resulting in the best solutions, offering creativity, energy and hope.
I spoke to Andiswa Mlisa, MD of the South African National Space Agency, about her experience as a woman in a very much male-dominated space. Mlisa believes that diversity is only achieved by design, it’s not accidental. As often the only woman in the room, and a black woman at that, Mlisa has experienced very little workplace diversity.
“In my technical field, I am often the only woman and South African men especially tend to treat women as just a ‘gal’, flirt and not take them seriously,” said Mlisa. “When I worked in Geneva there was a 50/50 gender balance in our team, an international community representing people from all over the globe. One thing that struck me was how my skin colour did not set me apart. Rather, being a foreigner, an African, did.”
Mlisa believes that two camps tend to emerge around diversity:
Those that want to keep the status quo, regardless if it’s all black, all white, all women or all men.
Those that point fingers towards others saying you must change, I don’t have to change.
There is little acceptance and buy-in of what diversity actually is. People still see diversity as “something for others to do and not for me”.
Embracing diversity in the workplace and doing activities that enable diversity are what changes this. The local space sector has very little diversity and is still very much male-dominated. We need to change the narrative that the only ones who are worthy, capable and belong are the ones who are the same as us. This perpetuates the same behaviours and notions we are trying to move away from.
“In such a male-dominated field, some men undermine and are not equipped to recognise a woman’s value and promote women into leadership. I have struggled to find mentors who don’t have ulterior motives. There are a few gems that have shown a genuine intention to mentor and acknowledge my capability,” added Mlisa.
“I remember being in a workshop in West Africa, I was assigned to chair a break-away session and the rapporteur was a male. The delegates were shocked I was the chair. ‘You’re a girl, you can’t be the chair of our session.’ I had to break the sad news to the 90% male audience, I was the chair. We had an interesting conversation about gender perceptions and biases stemming from the different cultural backgrounds in the room,” she concluded, smiling. “I recall this encounter with fondness as I believe there was a shift in behaviour, at least for some, after that discussion.”
In a male-dominated world, it’s often a lose-lose for women – when you show femininity, you’re criticised for being weak, when you take the masculine approach, you’re accused of trying to be a man. We say forget gender, just look at the capabilities.
About The Author
Dr Mariheca Otto, the measurement guru, founded Motto Business Consulting in 2005. She consults in the field of organisation development and internal marketing (creating buy-in into vision). She works in association with independent OD consultants. She completed a B.Com (Hons: Industrial Psychology and Sociology), HED, M.Com and PhD in Business Management at the North-West University (Potchefstroom University). She has delivered papers at both national and international academic and business conferences. She has almost 20 years of lecturing, training and facilitation experience and is seen as the leader in her field thanks to her groundbreaking work.
Four Reasons Why Diverse Teams Are More Effective
Measurement specialist Dr Mariheca Otto expands on why diverse teams are a no-brainer.
Diversity is important in any situation, and especially productive in teams.
Different people from different backgrounds offer a wider range of ideas and experiences to draw from.
It’s simple - the more colours in a crayon box, the more colourful the picture.
Measurement specialist Dr Mariheca Otto expands on why diverse teams are a no-brainer.
Smart leaders know they need diversity of backgrounds, characteristics and ideas on all levels so that they can attract, retain and make the most of people’s abilities. Diverse teams are proven to out-perform homogenic teams 2:1. That’s because diverse teams have a wealth of different ideas and perspectives that lead to innovation and understanding of potential markets.
Although women make up more than 50% of the population, in 2018, it was recorded that only 32% of them are managers. Additionally, only 31.5% of senior management positions are occupied by people of colour.
Increased Bottom Line
Time and again, evidence supports the theory that gender diversity has a positive impact on the bottom line. According to McKinsey, the most gender-diverse companies are 21% more likely to experience above-average profitability.
Studies have shown that a more gender-equal private sector correlates with better business performance and greater economic growth. On average, there is a 27% higher return on equity in women-owned and led businesses, and an 18% increase in sales.
Creativity And Solutions
Every individual brings a fresh perspective to a problem and different racial, gender, political, religious and cultural perspectives add richness to a solution. Diverse teams produce more creative results than teams in which all members are similar.
Creativity is bringing something new by combining two or more pieces of information together to form something useful to solve a problem. It makes sense that the more diverse the ideas available, the more creative the solutions will be.
A Boston Consulting Group study in 2018 found that organisations with more diverse management teams have 19% higher revenues due to innovation.
Better Place To Work
Women are generally team players and women on teams can help improve team processes and boost group collaboration. Researchers have observed that women have stronger skills reading non-verbal cues.
Women don’t generally hog the mike. Groups with more women were better at taking turns in conversation and ensuring that all voices are heard, which helps them make the most of the group’s combined knowledge and skills. Diverse teams aren’t built by themselves, they are achieved by design, not accident.
Diverse teams have robust conversations if they are managed in a safe and mature way, resulting in the best solutions, offering creativity, energy and hope.
Customer Insights
It makes sense that a workforce that best reflects an organisation’s customer base will have greater insight into customer needs and expectations. If you know your customers, you communicate with them better, enlisting customer loyalty and satisfaction.
About The Author
Dr Mariheca Otto, the measurement guru, founded Motto Business Consulting in 2005. She consults in the field of organisation development and internal marketing (creating buy-in into vision). She works in association with independent OD consultants. She completed a B.Com (Hons: Industrial Psychology and Sociology), HED, M.Com and PhD in Business Management at the North-West University (Potchefstroom University). She has delivered papers at both national and international academic and business conferences. She has almost 20 years of lecturing, training and facilitation experience and is seen as the leader in her field thanks to her groundbreaking work.
Why It's Important To Have Women In Leadership Positions
Dr Mariheca Otto nails it home - because the world still needs reminding, and quite often.
Put simply, women make awesome leaders.
They bring empathy and heart to an organisation in a way that men leaders can’t.
In fact, it’s the very attributes that supposedly make them unsuited to leading that make them great leaders.
Dr Mariheca Otto expands on exactly why women are so kickass at heading a team.
“Duh, Mama, why would you want all the same kind of people in a leadership team: women bring things that men don’t have?”
This was my 14-year old son’s response when I bounced the idea of men-only teams in business off him.
My observation and experiences are that women are generally raised to be ‘less than’. It’s not assumed we’re going to be something in life. In most cultures, girls are second grade. So when we land up in leadership positions, women are far more humble and question their decision-making.
Despite our common insecurities surrounding being in charge, we are far more engaging and participative as leaders; we include people before a decision is made. It’s very rare that you find an authoritarian female leader - they usually employ a participative leadership style. In my more than twenty years of consulting, I have never come across an authoritarian female leader.
Empathy comes easily for women. Empathetic and compassionate leadership is highly valuable in a collaborative world. Leaders drive the culture of an organisation, so when women are included in your leadership team, your culture will be inclusive.
When you include empathy and compassion in an organisation, humanity is a result. You create a space of belonging and belonging is a critical driver for most individuals. The world lacks belonging and there is a hunger for it.
I work in the measurement space, so evidence and data are my thing.
If you look at data on staff satisfaction and engagement, there is plus-minus a 17% increase in productivity when people engage. If you move from engagement to inspiration, there is a further 50% improvement in productivity. Organisations that have an environment where there is belonging and inspiration outperform those that don’t almost 2:1.
Female leaders are naturally more inclusive. Teams in an inclusive environment outperform homogenous teams 2:1. Data shows that organisations that include women in leadership, creating a diverse team, out-perform those that don’t. This doesn’t take success related to innovation into consideration. Women tend to be innovative and open-minded in their problem-solving styles. A lack of arrogance means they are open to group contributions. In general, women are able to hold vulnerability far more easily than men.
I am involved in change projects and they are often painful. If organisations don’t change, they die. In this time of COVID-19, that is happening right now. Organisations have to be agile and nimble and sometimes take a 180 degree to survive. When you drive change, one of the keys to success is communication. Speak to your people often, telling the same message simply and emotionally. These are very female characteristics. We talk a lot, we repeat ourselves and we’re emotional. We understand and have empathy for people who are struggling. Women are able to drive change messages because they are generally more emotional. They can feel their own struggles. This gives an organisation the opportunity to reinvent their cultures and to be more agile for the future.
I have always worked independently, but always formed part of my clients’ leadership teams. True leadership is influence, and not power and authority. A shop steward that is strong is so because of influence, not authority and power. I have always used my influence when being part of a leadership team. I use my influence to ask questions. I ask questions to drive change and shift mindsets. People move forward when they discover the answers themselves. I could come in and tell people what to do, but that’s arrogant, and full of the assumption that I know the answers. When you understand people’s mindsets, when they share their perceptions, feelings and thinking, you can predict their behaviour. If you’re clear on the organisation’s strategy, you can influence their stories with other information and knowledge, leading to change. If we help people to understand the stories they tell themselves, we can change perceptions, we can change their minds, we can change behaviour.
If you want a sustainable organisation, then you need women on your leadership team to ensure innovation, adaptability, influence, belonging and engagement. Data proves this.
About The Author
Dr Mariheca Otto, the measurement guru, founded Motto Business Consulting in 2005. She consults in the field of organisation development and internal marketing (creating buy-in into vision). She works in association with independent OD consultants. She completed a B.Com (Hons: Industrial Psychology and Sociology), HED, M.Com and PhD in Business Management at the North-West University (Potchefstroom University). She has delivered papers at both national and international academic and business conferences. She has almost 20 years of lecturing, training and facilitation experience and is seen as the leader in her field thanks to her groundbreaking work.
Heavy Chef Of The Week: Princess Lukhele, Hands Of Love
The Khayelitsha resident started the initiative to empower girls in the township with the essential skills for adulthood.
Once a girl child in a disadvantaged community herself, Princess Lukhele has made it her mission to empower others.
The founder of Hands of Love wants to guide girls in the township into making good decisions about their lives.
Since starting, the initiative has empowered over 200 young girls across townships in Cape Town.
This Princess has the magical power of positive change!
Every week we select a ‘Heavy Chef Of The Week’, someone who espouses the values that we hold dear. This is someone who’s either a technologist, leader or creative, who is changing the world by rolling up their sleeves, getting stuck into the trenches and doing. This is someone who is walking the talk, acting with authenticity - who is eating their own food.
As a girl living in the township, there are many obstacles that can get in the way of a successful life. Crime, abuse, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse are all real challenges that youth face every day in these low-income communities. Once a girlchild in a township herself, Khayelitsha resident Princess Lukhele established Hands of Love in 2012 with the intention of creating an environment where girls can gain the necessary knowledge to empower them with essential skills for adulthood and help them into womanhood.
Having grown up in the environment herself, she understands the challenges faced by teenagers growing up in disadvantaged communities and hopes to bring transformation to school systems that will help them empowering township girls. To date, Hands of Love has successfully impacted the lives of over 200 girls - an incredible feat.
Can you tell us a little bit about your business and what you were busy with before the pandemic?
Hands of Love is an NGO initiative focused on teenage girls facing challenges that obstruct their education and development. The organisation’s focus is to reduce the number of scholar dropouts in the Western Cape. Our target market is teen girls in the townships communities and surrounding high schools in Mfuleni, Khayelitsha, Gugulethu. We work with youth in order to guide the girl child into womanhood. Hands of Love have various programs to help the youth, including mentoring and coaching the girls in order to influence their thinking and plant seeds of hope.
Before the pandemic, we were doing our school workshops. We partner with schools in townships and execute year-round workshops and programmes for girls aged 11-18 in the Cape Town townships to help prevent stumbling blocks like teenage pregnancy, abuse and exploitation and dropping out of school. We nurture them through the programs.
How has the COVID-19 crisis affected your business?
We could not do the workshops because of social distancing and lockdown, our sessions are face to face, therefore, we could not hold the weekly sessions and one on one counselling with the people that needed it the most. We also work with seniors whom we could not reach during this time because they are not technologically inclined.
How have you risen to the challenge?
We have managed to send a few care packages and food parcels to help our beneficiaries during this trying time. We also managed to get data sponsorship for the girls, allowing us to hold zoom meetings online, and allowing the girls to go online to do their school work.
Has the pandemic impacted your ability to serve your community in any way?
Yes, it has because we could not hold our sessions which hindered us from mentoring and coaching the girls that need it the most. A lot of career workday visits scheduled for the girls were cancelled - these are very essential in helping choose careers.
How can the Heavy Chef community show you and your projects our support?
The NGO has acquired a small piece of land on which we are building a youth centre. The facility will be a multi-purpose community centre which will be used for a variety of activities and services. We kindly request any form of help to assist us in building and furnishing this centre in Khayelitsha. Books, desks, computers, chairs, partition materials or any appliances, or electronic equipment will help us transform this dream into reality. Please donate by visiting: www.handsofluv.co.za
8 South African Women Entrepreneurs You Simply Have To Know
These are the women inspiring us in the local entrepreneurial scene. Some are established, while others are just getting started but all of them are super impressive.
It’s official. Women in Africa are taking up space. Leaning in and becoming.
They are taking what they know for sure and creating something beautiful with it.
Seriously. There aren’t enough book titles to express the excitement of seeing women in Africa take their challenges and turn them into raging successes.
This is our pick of the women entrepreneurs you have to know locally.
This author is excited about writing this particular article. Can you tell?
The 2019 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs report sheds some exciting light on just how impressive women entrepreneurs in Africa are.
Five out of the top ten global rankings in terms of women business ownership rates were African. The first, second and third positions were occupied by African countries, Uganda (38.2%), Ghana (37.9%) and Botswana (36.0%) to be exact. In Uganda and Ghana, 4 in every 10 business owners are women.
Let that sink in. Despite the poor institutional supportive women entrepreneurs receive in Africa, the social limitations and lack of financial access - the very clear challenges our continent faces in comparison to the rest of the world - our women are still kicking some serious ass when it comes to starting and running businesses.
Perhaps it is because of our challenges. After all, isn’t it said that to be successful in business one must not just start a business but, rather, solve a problem? Well, Africa has plenty of problems to go around, and it appears that we are more than game to solve them.
Below are 7 impressive South African women entrepreneurs we think you should know and support, emerging and established.
Noli Mini
Noli Mini is the owner and founder of Relax Spas. What started off as a mobile spa business has grown into the makings of a beauty therapy empire, and Relax Spas can now be found at spa suites, hotel chains and guests houses around the country. Noli also offers mobile spa services to other businesses, as part of their corporate wellness programs. The ‘Spapreneur’ has 20 years of experience in the local beauty industry. Notably, she most recently partnered with Protea Hotels by Marriott to establish her own spas in their chain of hotels. She’s also launched her own line of massage oils and beauty and skincare products, and has plans to start her own beauty and spa training school.
Arlene Mulder is the co-founder of We Think Code_. She is passionate about growing tech in Africa and has created her business in order to teach disadvantaged youth how to code and solve real-life problems using tech. Arlene left the world of banking to actualise her dream to open a learning institution that will not only fill the digital skills gap in Africa but provide learning and growing opportunities for under-resourced youth who would otherwise not afford to learn the skill. We Think Code_ is disruptive because it flips the switch on the traditional ways of becoming a developer, by training coders for free, while teaching them to understand tech and how to use it to solve problems. By democratising education, Arlene and her partner have created a strong community of developers who have gone on to work at some of the best tech firms in the world.
Ellen Fischat is a South African social impact entrepreneur and the founder of Story Room. Story Room specializes in designing and implementing powerful, tailor-made, and relevant incubation and acceleration projects for local and international partners. Growing up in exile with her family in the Netherlands, she got to see first hand how European start-ups developed solutions to socio-economic problems. Her time there was paramount to shaping her outlook on technology and its ability to create social change, and it has inspired her to create a similarly diverse and inclusive ecosystem for tech ventures right here at home. Ellen has played a key role in setting up various community social entrepreneurship initiatives around the country that focus on personal development, digital literacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) initiatives, winning a lot of recognition for her impact along the way.
Dineo Lioma has co-founded not one but three innovative companies in the biotech space - Deep Medical Therapeutics, CapeBio Technologies and Incitech. Through her businesses, she aims to create health solutions to reduce the avoidably high mortality rate in most African countries, as well as the strain on its healthcare system. Deep Medical Therapeutics is a project she is working on with IBM to uncover how artificial intelligence can be used to determine the best therapies for drug-resistant diseases. CapeBio Technologies, manufactures laboratory reagent enzymes for use in molecular biology research, while Incitech is working on a test that will diagnosis HIV a lot faster than is possible now. Dineo has been widely recognised for her contribution to the medical field so far, with features on prominent lists like the Forbes Africa Top 20 Wealth Creators. More recently, CapeBio made the news for creating a COVID-19 test kit that provides results in a little over an hour.
Claire Reid is the founder of Reel Gardening and the owner of one of the coolest businesses (with one of the coolest names) we’ve come across in a while. Claire had the first flash of inspiration for the idea for her business when she was only 16. Struggling to grow her first vegetable garden, she got to experimenting with simpler, more effective ways to flex her green fingers. She’s since refined her invention into a world-famous biodegradable seed tape that makes it super easy to grow your own herbs and home crops. The seed tape is quick, easy to use and environmentally friendly since it requires 80% less water than traditional farming. Claire has won numerous awards and received a lot of recognition for her smart idea. Today, Reel Gardening also has an app that keen gardeners can use to guide them on their growing journey.
Hailing from Site B in Khayelitsha, Nolitha Qhuma is the owner of Rea’Nubia, a clothing brand that has been going from strength to strength with little to no funding and only her vision and will in hand. Nolitha started her journey in fashion at the Cape Town College of Fashion Design but had to drop out due to lack of money for fees. Intent on her dream, she worked for the fees and later completed the same course at a different college before starting her fashion business, Rea’Nubia, in earnest in 2017. The fashion line embodies something Nolitha is passionate about - African authenticity - and has quickly gained a following with local and international clients alike. Nolitha’s wish is to be an inspiration to her fellow entrepreneurs, particularly in her community, so that they too can achieve what they set their dreams on.
Songo Didiza is a true ‘greenie’. The entrepreneur and a green economy expert founded the Green Building Design Group as an advisory solution to promote real economic growth and innovation in reducing carbon emissions in SA. Songo believes that the emerging African green economy will result in innovation-driven solutions to our social and economic challenges, solutions that will be driven by our own communities. In her capacity as a green economy expert, Songo has advised on integrated strategies for big corporates in various sectors in SA. She’s also consulted for a number of startups in the consulting and renewable energy business service offerings sector and participates in various leadership development organisations as an expert on sustainability and the broader green economy.
Ntsiki Biyela is South Africa’s first woman winemaker and has since played a monumental role in opening doors for many more. The founder of Aslina Wines started her journey in rural Kwa-Zulu Natal and has worked her way up from being a domestic worker in her earlier days to running a successful wine brand in a competitive and male-dominated space. Ntsiki got her break when she won a sponsorship to learn the art of making wine, after which she worked her way to the head Stellakaya Wines before starting her own brand. Aslina premium wines are now exported globally and Ntsiki is a celebrated figure in the industry who’s won numerous awards for her wine and her impact on the industry.
Enygma Ventures Kicks Off Its Investor Ready Programme With 11 African Women-Owned Businesses
This January, Enygma Ventures announced that it has chosen 11 female entrepreneurs out of 900 applicants across the SADC region to receive funding from its US-based R100 million venture capital fund and participate in its first investor-ready programme.
Women-owned businesses have been the backbone of many African households. We all know a mother whose side hustle has managed to get all her children through school, or an aunt who runs the local tavern. Or that tannie who sells cigarettes, chips and sweets at the kiosk next to her house.
The spirit of entrepreneurship in Africa is mostly embodied by its women, yet they receive the least business support and often find their businesses stagnated, never moving beyond a home industry. This is slowly starting to change as African investors shift their gaze to a largely neglected part of the business sector. One of the key drivers in this movement is Enygma Ventures, the first venture capital fund of its kind to invest solely in female entrepreneurs within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.
This January, Enygma Ventures announced that it has chosen 11 female entrepreneurs out of 900 applicants across the SADC region to receive funding from its US-based R100 million venture capital fund and participate in its first investor-ready programme.
Enygma Ventures, a US based R100 million venture capital fund selected 11 companies out of hundreds of applications to participate in their first investor-ready programme which kicked off in January 2020.
Back row (L – R): Claudia Castellanos (Black Mamba), Muchu Kaingu (Lupiya), Enygma Ventures Co-founder and General Partner Sarah Dusek, Enygma Ventures Co-founder Jacob Dusek, Amy Putman (obabyco), Nicky Swartz (Spoon Money), Liliane Munezero Ndabaneze (WidEnergy Africa), Caron Williams (The Throne Agency), Ego Iwegbu (MsLondon Cosmetics), Africa Trust Group Co-founder Sandras Phiri
Front row seated (L – R): Melissa Cummings (PlaySense), Lara Schoenfeld (PlaySense), Megan Faure (PlaySense), Enygma Ventures Operating Fund Manager Lelemba Phiri, Jeannetta Craigwell-Williams (Waka Global)
“We are delighted to work alongside these 11 companies who are part of our very first cohort. After an intensive period of vetting all the applications we received, we are delighted to be working with these incredible women and their companies,” says Sarah Dusek, Enygma Ventures co-founder and general partner. “We are eager to demonstrate that women-owned businesses in Africa are extremely investable.”
The female entrepreneurs of these 11 companies are from South Africa, Angola, Zambia, Swaziland and Rwanda. They all convened in Cape Town during January 2020 to participate in the venture fund’s open weekend for their investor-ready programme, where they were introduced to the programme and participated in a series of rigorous strategy development sessions.
“It is very exciting to be part of a programme that is willing to focus and invest tangibly in women entrepreneurs in Africa. I feel privileged to be part of the first cohort, like a pioneer in new, unexplored lands,” says Claudia Castellanos. Castellanos is the co-founder and managing director of Swaziland based company Black Mamba, and one of the chosen eleven.
“So far, the programme has allowed me to think big, to understand the sort of growth that can be achieved with the right investment, strategy and execution team. It has also allowed me to meet a group of exceptional women entrepreneurs with whom I can share the challenges of running your own business, as well as practical advice and moral support,” adds Castellanos.
The eleven female entrepreneurs who have been selected to take part in this exciting programme are:
• Chiinga and Lynn Musonda – Business: Savanna Premium Chocolate; Country – Lusaka, Zambia
• Claudia Castellanos – Business: Black Mamba; Country – Mbabane, Swaziland
• Ego Iwegbu – Business: MsLondon Cosmetics; Country – South Africa, Johannesburg
• Farah Mulji – Business: Educartis; Country – Luanda, Angola
• Evelyn Kaingu – Business: Lupiya; Country – Lusaka, Zambia
• Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham – Business: Waka Global; Country – Kigali, Rwanda
• Liliane Munezero Ndabaneze – Business: WidEnergy Africa Ltd; Country – Lusaka, Zambia,
• Megan Faure - Business: Playsense; Country – Cape Town, South Africa
• Nicky Swartz - Business: Spoon Money; Country - South Africa, Cape Town
• Amy Putman – Business: obabyco; Country – South Africa, Cape Town
• Caron Williams – Business: The Throne Agency; Country – Johannesburg, South Africa
Lelemba Phiri, Enygma Ventures’ operating fund manager from Africa Trust Group says, “We are very excited to walk alongside these incredible women, help them fine-tune their businesses and go to the next level in expanding and growing their businesses with the necessary training, mentoring and support we provide to them over a three to six-month period.”
Five countries and eleven incredible, scalable businesses later and it’s important to note that in light of the very pro-fintech stance of the investment scene in South Africa, a programme whose doors are open to non-tech start-ups is very much welcomed.
Time To Accelerate Women Into Top Posts In SA Organisations, Says ReimagineSA's Mathulwane Mpshe
An organisation’s shareholders, customers, employees, and the community all benefit when it focuses on the deliberate advancement of women. ReimagineSA board member Mathulwane Mpshe explains why it is now more important than ever that we accelerate women into top posts in SA organisations.
An organisation’s stakeholders – shareholders, customers, employees, and the community – all benefit when it focuses on the deliberate advancement of women. The empirical evidence shows that workplaces with a diverse workforce – including women at all levels of the hierarchy – are more progressive and successful.
That’s why organisations that are positioning for success should be aiming to recruit and retain the best female talent; developing, mentoring and coaching women to take up positions at every level and in every discipline of the business. The importance of empowering women is also acknowledged in the framework of the law, through legislation such as the Employment Equity Act.
The Act refers to affirmative action measures to be put in place to ensure advancement of women in the workplace. It classifies South African women as a designated group, meaning people who were previously disadvantaged as a result of the country’s history. The goal is to ensure equal opportunities for all designated groups.
Women empowerment is not about equality but about equitability. Equality assumes all have an equal start and are able to compete on an equal footing. Equitability, however, acknowledges that the past was inequitable, and requires a deliberate effort to fast-track the development and progress of women in the workplace.
Empowerment of women in the workplace includes creating a conducive workplace where:
· Women are treated with dignity and respect
· Women are safe and free from any form of harassment
· There is awareness around the challenges women face
· Women are provided with facilities for nursing babies and nursery schools where possible
· Women have access to opportunities to learn, develop and grow
· Women are promoted to decision-making roles that impact the bottom line of the company
· Women are allowed to make mistakes and failure is regarded as an opportunity to learn
· Women’s earnings are determined by equal pay for equal job principle and not by their gender
· Women’s performance is based on their contribution, competence and capability and not on their gender
There is not much here with which the average HR director or CEO would disagree. Yet the recently released Commission for Employment Equity (CEE) report for 2018 found that top and senior management posts in South Africa remain male dominated. Three quarters of top management are men, as are two thirds of senior managers. Organisations could and should do better.
It is time for business leaders in South Africa to go beyond paying lip service to empowering women, and take tangible steps to bring more women into the boardroom. It is imperative that we unleash the power of our female talent if we are to catalyse sustainable economic growth that makes our country more prosperous, fair and equal.
About Mathulwane Mpshe
Thuli has extensive experience in leading and transforming human capital as a general manager, executive and executive director. This experience spans over 18 years in large global organisations across industries including and not limited to banking, retail and airline.
Thuli is a Professional Consciousness Coach. She supports individuals and executives by co-creating achievement of goals through self-discovery thus empowering them to be the grandest versions of themselves.
She is a non-executive director for ReImagine SA and Field band Foundation.
Thuli served as a council member of the University of Zululand for seven years and Chairperson of the Board for Kids Haven, a home for street children in Benoni, for seven years.
She was a member of the South African delegation on the Trust Reflect and Tell (TRT) experience in Hamburg and remained a member and president elect before TRT’s dissolution. The main objective of TRT was to advocate for peace and reconciliation.
About ReimagineSA
ReimagineSA NPC is a Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) co-founded by Dr Mamphela Ramphele (Club of Rome co-president) and Dr George Lindeque that adopts the concept of Ubuntu to make the gains of democracy real for all living in South Africa.
The ReimagineSA Impact Incubator works on behalf of ReimagineSA NPC, as a catalyst for change and to connect patrons, partners and activists, invested in co-creating scalable social impact initiatives that advance inclusive growth in South Africa.
Image credit: Thabiso Tshabalala
Power Couple Danielle Withers LeChat And Tim Withers Talk Candidly About Female Empowerment
In this interview, we host the power couple, Tim Withers and Danielle Withers LeChat to talk about what companies can do better to protect the rights of women and mothers in the workplace. Tim and Danielle share their Individual experiences of the challenges they faced in the workplace when Danielle fell ill with serious hyperemesis gravidarum, the infamous and potentially deadly morning sickness-ailment related to pregnancy.
This Heavy Chef interview is the first in a series of tough conversations about tough topics anchored by Ondela Mlandu as she talks about what companies can do better to protect the rights of women and mothers in the workplace.
In this exclusive interview, Ondela chats to Tim Withers, Head Of Digital at 2U and Danielle Withers LeChat, Founder of Calico Ceramics as they share their individual experiences of the challenges they faced in the workplace when Danielle fell ill with hyperemesis gravidarum during her pregnancy.
It's not all doom and gloom, as both were able to channel their experience into new opportunities that ultimately led to the founding of Danielle's business, Calico Ceramics while Tim began advocating for the rights of women in his company.
After a nasty physical battle with hyperemesis during pregnancy and an emotional struggle with her company, Danielle gave birth to a healthy baby girl and established Calico Ceramics, which has seen great success. Through founding her own business, Danielle was able to nurture her body and her child with the necessary time to heal after her illness. Self-employment, through her company, afforded Danielle the privilege of staying at home to care for her child during the early development stages, while still earning an income doing something that she loves.
Tim was shocked by the injustice that his wife experienced as a woman in the corporate environment, and was appalled to learn what little legal protection is available to women. Since then, he has taken it in his stride to be active in the inclusion and diversity committee, giving a voice to marginalized groups in the workplace. Tim is a loud and proud feminist who believes in creating a platform for everyone to succeed in a fair and equal working environment.
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Happy Women's Day! We Look Back At Five Extraordinary Women Heavy Chef Speakers
Heavy Chef has a long history of celebrating women entrepreneurs. Starting with our first ever speaker, disruptive musician Verity, who spoke about crowdfunding her album prior to being produced, before 'crowdfunding' even became a thing; to this month's lineup of stellar female superstars, Annette Muller, Dr. Eve and Heidi Patmore. Today, on this auspicious day, we cast our eye back to five of our favourite talks by women on the Heavy Chef stage.
Heavy Chef has a long history of celebrating women entrepreneurs. Starting with our first ever speaker waaaay back in 2007, disruptive musician Verity spoke about crowdfunding her album prior to being produced, well before 'crowdfunding' even became a thing - and culminating in this month's lineup of stellar female superstars, Annette Muller, Dr. Eve and Heidi Patmore. Today, on this auspicious day, we cast our eye back to five of our favourite talks by women on the Heavy Chef stage.
Heleen Mills: How A Social Influencer Campaign Reached 1 Billion People
We didn't really know what to expect from Heleen. A first-time speaker, sharing the evening's agenda with two seasoned pros, we figured it could go either way. The HC team was concerned that Heleen might be a little out of her depth in front of a packed audience of around 250 people in Cape Town. Instead, Heleen strode onto the stage and blew everyone away with one of the most entertaining, inspiring talks we've seen at Heavy Chef. Bubbly, effusive and remarkably confident, Heleen spoke of her journey with Mina Guli, the world-famous water-activist who is trying to raise global awareness around the impending water crisis our humble planet is facing.
Arlene Mulder: My African Coding Training Company Is Disrupting An Outdated Education System
Arlene is that rare breed of entrepreneur. Highly technical (she codes in her spare time), but also extremely adept at communicating, marketing, sales and generating PR. Arlene spoke in 2018 about the extraordinary success she has achieved with her startup We Think Code_, ushering in a new business model to the SA education system with a very compelling Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Check out Arlene's seminal talk here.
Aisha Pandor: Sweepsouth, The Startup That's Transforming The Informal Employment Sector In Africa
In this riveting talk, Aisha shared what it was like working with family, selling everything and following her dreams. Aisha, who founded SweepSouth with developer husband Alen Ribic, gave our community a taste of what it is like to live and work with your business partner, getting funding, fixing a fast-expanding service and introducing improvements for customers and their 'SweepStars'. Aisha also touched on their experience working in Silicon Valley, along with its associated challenges.
Emma Sadleir: Don't Film Yourself Having Sex
Emma was one of our most incendiary speakers. Emma is both a lawyer and television celebrity. Back in 2015, fresh off her success as an outspoken legal commentator of the Oscar Pistorius trial, Emma wrote the book "Don't Film Yourself Having Sex". This is still sage advice today, and we posted some of the Q&A snippets of that talk here.
Dr. Adriana Marais: My Quest To Be The First Woman On Mars
We cannot lie. Adriana freaked us out a little bit. She's hellz smart, adventurous and perfectly looks the part of a explorative space missionary. With her fresh face, sparkly eyes and surfer dreads, Adriana epitomises nerd-cool. But, seriously? Mars? It's a one way ticket, and she's fine with that. In her talk, mid 2016, Dr. Adriana Marais gave us a glimpse of why she's set to be one of the most famous women on the planet (or the universe?) Check out part one of Adriana's talk below. Part 2 can be found here.
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She Says, The Largest Creative Network For Women, Launches Second Event, Focusing On "Side Hustle"
Whether you're toying with the idea of starting a side hustle, or want to become an intrapreneur in your company, SheSays Cape Town’s second event, on 23 August 2018, will explore how to inject your life with more disruptive thinking and be a game-changer in your own right. SheSays, the world’s largest creative network for women, launched its Cape Town chapter in April 2018. The next event promises to be a cracker.
Starting new every day is at the core of an entrepreneur’s mindset. But you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to think like one.
Whether you're toying with the idea of starting a side hustle, or want to become an intrapreneur in your company, SheSays Cape Town’s second event, on 23 August 2018, will explore how to inject your life with more disruptive thinking and be a game-changer in your own right.
SheSays, the world’s largest creative network for women, launched its Cape Town chapter in April 2018. Focused on the engagement, education and advancement of women creatives, it has a presence in over 42 cities around the world and is run by a volunteer network of women.
The local launch event brought together almost 300 women from various creative industries, and featured a lively panel discussion around future-proofing your career. The second event will be hosted by GetSmarter on Thursday 23 August 2018. Themed DAY JOB / SIDE HUSTLE / WHAT ELSE?, it will take the form of a panel discussion featuring five incredible women who found their “slash” and explore how they apply entrepreneurial thinking each day.
There will also be a Q&A session, followed by networking and drinks.
Each of the five panelists was chosen to contribute their unique point of view of the spirit of entrepreneurship: Lauren Fowler is a revered Cape Town creative entrepreneur; Izelle Venter, channel head of Via effectively runs a start-up within a big corporate; celebrity chef Zola Nene has built a multi-faceted personal brand; newly-appointed CEO of the IAB, Paula Hulley has a wealth of experience in business innovation; and Yogavelli Nambiar, CEO of the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation boasts a career empowering and educating entrepreneurs.
“At its core, SheSays is about empowering creative women, and giving them a leg up in their careers. What better way to do that than to discuss and dissect entrepreneurial thinking – arguably one of the most vital skills to survive and thrive in our industry today,” says SheSays Cape Town director, Johannie van As.
Tracy Ellis, Head of Communications from GetSmarter, echoes her sentiments, “SheSays's focus on the education and advancement of women in creative industries really resonates with our purpose of improving lives through better education.
The entrepreneurial theme of this event also hits home. GetSmarter grew from a small family startup to a global company, who went on to be acquired by US based Edtech giant 2U, Inc., so entrepreneurship is in our roots and is still deeply embedded in our corporate culture.”
How to register?
Register for the SheSays Cape Town at EventBrite (click here).
Entrance is free but seats are limited. Join the group on Facebook and Twitter @SheSaysCapeTown.
SheSays, the world’s largest creative network for women, opened its Cape Town chapter – the first in Africa – in April 2018. It focuses on the engagement, education and advancement of women creatives, and provides them with the thought leadership and connections to fast-track their careers. With a presence in over 40 cities around the world, it is run by a volunteer network of women. It’s different to other organisations in that it affords its chapters complete freedom in how they shape their offerings. Members have a say and everything is free.
The Cape Town chapter directors are content strategist, Anelde Greeff, senior freelance copywriter Johannie van As, and brand strategist Marina Tokar. Launched in 2007 by Mr President creative partner Laura Jordan Bambach and experience design consultant Alessandra Lariu (selected by Fast Company into the ‘League of extraordinary women” alongside Oprah and Hillary Clinton), SheSays has since pioneered a series of firsts in the women’s’ space: the first female director’s festival in Cannes, the first women-only hackathon, the first to do speed mentoring events – amongst many others.
The organisation has also accumulated its share of accolades, including being honoured for its “The Greatest Individual Contribution to New Media” by New Media Age.