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Success Stories for Women Entrepreneurs Entering Male-Dominated Fields in Africa: Post Two – Nkemdilim Begho and Anna Phosa


Women entrepreneurs in Africa may fear that they won’t be taken seriously in male-dominated industries, yet the two female entrepreneurs whose stories I tell here weren’t afraid to enter such spheres. In both cases, they started small and invested in their businesses, while maintaining a positive, empowered attitude. I hope their stories will inspire women entrepreneurs to launch into male-dominated industries with confidence and a sense of pride.

On Nkemdilim Begho’s IT Journey, Reinvestment was Key:

As successful as Nkemdilim Begho is now, business didn’t come easily at first for the Nigerian entrepreneur. As a young woman, Begho had help from her well-known father, Chris Uwaje, in starting her first company, but even so, she had trouble signing enough clients. Rather than backing down, however, Begho’s solution was to make the initial business small, focusing on a “slim and lean way of working” (as quoted at Lionesses of Africa). She kept reinvesting her own money into her venture while living off her savings—and that proved to be the key to her success.

Now, as the founder and Managing Director of FutureSoft, Begho is at the forefront of women in tech. Unfortunately, she has also seen her share of unfair gender stereotypes. Begho writes in an article by Mich Atagana at memeburn.com, “Most people (men and women) have the misconception that IT is only for men, and you can only have an IT guy and not an IT girl or IT lady.” She adds that you have to prove that you know your stuff before men in the industry will acknowledge you.

Begho advises women to be extremely good at what they do and urges them to forge their own path in the IT industry by starting their own businesses. At memeburn.com where you can read more about Begho, the entrepreneur gives the following advice: “I always say there is a market share for everybody, no matter how big or small you are. There are always people who need your services and will patronize you. All you need to do is be at the right place.”

Patience, Passion, and Perseverance are at the Foundation of $2.5 Million Pig Farmer’s Success: 

Another entrepreneur who started small is Anna Phosa, often known these days as “the celebrity pig farmer.” In an article at The Amazing Village, you can read how Phosa grew up in Boukenhouthoek, a village in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. Her father died early in Phosa’s life, leaving her mother a single parent of several children, with very little income, and Phosa was forced to give up her schooling. But things began to change when she got married, and went into vegetable and chicken farming with her husband.

By networking with others in the industry, Phosa soon met a pig farmer named Mr. Mohlabi. In 2004, after several discussions, she paid him all of her savings for four piglets. It was a small start, but she researched the industry carefully and continued to network with other farmers. Gradually, her business grew.

Before long, Pick ‘n Pay, a major supermarket chain, started buying pigs from her, and her pig farming business began to grow more rapidly. Pick ‘n Pay started out by buying 10 pigs per week, and two years later—just six years after buying the initial piglets—she signed a 25 million rand (just under $2.5 million) contract with Pick ‘n Pay to supply the company with 100 pigs per week.

However, according to chemonics.com, in order to meet the new demand, she had to hire 20 members of staff and buy land. This, in itself, involved applying for credit—a process that didn’t work at first. With perseverance, she discovered that ASBA Bank had a new scheme in place for supporting smaller businesses, and she also received funding from USEAD. Thanks to that loan, she was able to build out her business. Now known as a “celebrity” in her industry, Phosa has never looked back.

“I didn’t have any skills. I was just driven by passion,” says Phosa in this USAID South Africa video. “I had to learn very, very, very, very fast.” She also explains that pig farming is often dominated by white people, but this didn’t stop her. In fact, she learned all she could from those who were already in the industry. “If you have a passion, and if you are willing to go into farming, you must be patient,” says Phosa, who started small, persevered, and never looked back.

--Chimuka Moore

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