Chimuka Moore

For female entrepreneurs who are launching a business in Africa, high self-esteem is important. For female entrepreneurs who are launching a business in Africa, high self-esteem is important. Self-esteem helps you to deal with day-to-day challenges more smoothly and to see the lesson in every struggle. I hope that these quotes from Africa’s women entrepreneurs will help you to develop an empowered attitude, in spite of the challenges your business might face before it starts to grow. "If you have a crazy idea, go for it! Don’t be afraid to make mistakes." - Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu "Everything is possible. Impossible just takes a little longer.” - Wendy Ackerman “Taking an idea that’s on paper or in your head and moving it forward into real, tangible action is the true spirit of entrepreneurship.” - Neri Rionge (Quote source: Lionesses of Africa) Many thanks to these women entrepreneurs who are helping us to feel positive and inspired.

"When you look at the statistics around leadership, men are leading every single industry worldwide." - Dr. Shawn Andrews on The Emotionally Intelligent Recruiter . Are you an aspiring female leader? According to Dr. Andrews, women comprise over 50% of the workforce, but less than 5% of Fortune500 company leaders are women.  This leadership gap is astounding, given the fact that women are also receiving college degrees at a higher rate than men.  If you are an aspiring female leader, it's important to know your strengths.  Here are three things that you come to the table with: Emotional Intelligence.   According to Caroline Stokes , being the best requires emotional intelligence.  Emotional intelligence is about being able to read and identify emotions - something that comes naturally to women.  This is especially helpful when in a leadership position.  Your top talent will thank you. Problem solving.    According to...

I am pleased and humbled to announce that I was a regional and country winner for this year's Most Influential Women in Business and Government Awards.  It wasn’t too long ago that women were barred from political, legal and economic rights that their modern-day counterparts take for granted. Thankfully, owing to the perseverance and personal sacrifice of many, African women have become an economic force to be reckoned with.Today, women occupy various top managerial positions not only in the private sector, but also in government. CEO Global long recognised the important role women play in the development of society and since the founding of the company in 2000, has promoted initiatives to recognise women.These initiatives have evolved into the Most Influential Women in Business and Government programme, which has been recognised over the course of several years as the pre-eminent recognition platform for women. I would like to thank CEO Global, especially Annelize W...

“Aligning yourself with a similar type of business can be a powerful way to expand quickly,” writes Karen E. Spaeder at Entrepreneur . Alignment has long been a tried and tested marketing technique that can also build powerful relationships with others. When you align yourself with another brand or business, you say to both of your audiences, “What matters to one of us matters to both of us. Thus you can attract each other’s potential clients. Alignment doesn’t have to take place online. For example, if when you shop at your favorite clothes store, you receive a “percentage off” voucher from a different store, those two stores are being aligned. The implication is that if you like one store, you will also like the other. As famed marketing expert and bestselling author Seth Godin writes, “Alignment isn’t something you say. It’s something you do.” Here are two easy ways to align your brand with another brand: Choose a social cause to openly support: If there is a socia...

“All that’s expected of you is to be your authentic self. It allows you to focus on building organic relationships with like-minded people who you can add value to.” — Chantelle Martins, Joburg head of the Fine Women Business Network via Women’s Health SA There is a myth that networking is a superficial process, but this is simply not true. Remember that if you have a family and/or friends, you already have a network. At its core, networking is simply getting to know new people and keeping in touch with those that you esteem. In this article, I offer two tips for women entrepreneurs in Africa who want to network effectively and authentically. (For more on this, take a look at my article “ Making the Right Connections: A Networking Guide for Women Entrepreneurs Doing Business in Africa.”) Here are three tried and tested tips for authentic networking: Start with who you know: If you already have a few friends, even if they aren’t entrepreneurs, you can start by asking them ...

If you are already blogging as a female entrepreneur, I recommend the following tips from three of Africa's top women bloggers. They can help you to take your blog further and create the content you desire. Find your voice: Bloggers often agree that voice is vital. MsAfropolitan , multiple-award-winning writer and blogger, suggests in her post 7 tips for African women bloggers : “I would like to encourage you to do everything you can to find your voice. Understand, however, that this ‘finding’ is a process. You will not wake up one morning and encounter your voice wrapped in a box underneath your pillow, and even if you did chances are that it would change as you change. I’ve come to see voice as not about speech but about sound. Voice is namely what evolves from really listening.” Read more here . Don’t fear questions: Public relations specialist and lifestyle blogger Charell Star writes that bloggers should never be afraid of questions: “It’s impossible to know everyth...

It is all too easy to believe that successful women entrepreneurs in Africa have been fortunate from the beginning, when the truth is they have all overcome challenges. In this post, I share tips from three successful female entrepreneurs on some of the biggest mistakes to avoid when growing a business in Africa. Get capital in perspective : Ory Okolloh, Director of Investments at Omidyar Network , has founded multiple successful companies. She told CNN , “Most entrepreneurs think capital is the biggest problem they have—but it’s not.” Okolloh recommends that entrepreneurs prioritize their own understanding of the marketplace and how they can develop a strong position in it. “You can have all the capital you want,” says Okolloh at CNN, “but if the market fit and ability to adjust are not present, your startup will likely not succeed.” Mistakes can be your best teachers : For Sheila Afari of Sheila Afari Public Relations , mistakes are a vital part of entrepreneurship—and tryi...