Zimbabwe based Divine Ndhlukuka is a founder and Managing Director of the country’s first ISO certified Security Company SECURICO. She has taken her business which is in a huge male dominated industry, within 15 years to the highs she dreamt of. The $13 million company presently has more than 3,400 employees – 900 out of which are women. Her success has won her several accolades for entrepreneurship.
We used to seeing men making the top lists, like the Forbes richest people or entrepreneurs. But we believe when women make those lists we should embrace that and honour that especially if that list is of our beautiful continent Africa. It would be a huge success for us to get to a point that we would be used to seeing women on these lists. We now going to look at Africa’s top 5 women entrepreneurs, this women have made it to Forbes top list and have received honours for their work.
Khanyi Dhlomo
South Africa’s very own Khanyi Dhlomo known as the former editor of True Love magazine and now the publisher of Destiny magazine & Destiny man. She is the Managing Director of Ndalo Media which she founded in 2007, she is also the Independent Non-Executive Director at The Foschini Group LTD. Recipient of global honorary recognition and selected by World Economic Forum as a Young Global leader, Khanyi Dhlomo is definitely an inspiring success.
Adenike Ogunlesi
Nigerian based Adenike Ogunlesi is an owner and CEO of Ruff ‘n’ Tumble, a clothing range for children in Nigeria. She started her business in 1996 and today the business stands tall with 50 employees. She was quoted saying that she is not interested in exporting to America or to England “If 40 percent of the 120 million people in Nigeria are children, I have the potential of a huge market here.” Her brand Ruff ‘n’ Tumble is now a brand opted over the others in the range of children’s clothing in Nigeria.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu
She is from Ethiopia; she started her business of making hand-crafted shoes in 2004. Alemu was invited by Bill Clinton for addressing as a speaker by The Clinton Global Initiative’s panel. She was the first African woman entrepreneur to get an invitation from the World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, She also gives workshops & mentorship to young rural girls for their economic empowerment and to equip them with self-reliance.
Carmen Tal
Based in Morocco, Carmen Tal is an owner of a huge beauty enterprise. She is known as ‘The leading Lady of Moroccan Oil’ and started her business as a salon owner. She bought a firm importing argan oil to the US and started her business with a single brand. , Tal will be launching 12 luxury body care products in 2012 to bring innovation and quality to the salon-experience worldwide. Her enterprise is a multi-million business that has made her the queen of argan oil trade.