Monday, 19 August 2013

Top Women in Business: South Africa


This week we feature content from who’s who South Africa.  As we continue with Women’s Month celebrations, the below blog post touches on the most influential businesswomen in South African according to Mail and Guardian.



Dawn Mokhobo is an Independent Non-Executive Director for Allied Electronics Corporation Limited. She was the first black woman to be elected to the management board of Eskom. She is the Chairperson of African International Advisors and the Ombudsman Council for Long Term Insurance and Executive Deputy Chairperson of Partnership Investments, a woman-controlled BEE enterprise. She won the Businesswoman of the Year award in 1993.

Dawn Mokhobo



Salukazi Dakile Hlongwane is Chief Executive of Nozala Investments. Nozala Investments is a leading investment company with interests ranging from hospitals and education to construction materials and telecoms. She is former Assistant General Manager of Specialised Finance at BoE, and Senior Manager of the structured finance unit and Former Senior Project Officer at the Lesotho National Development Corporation. She is also the Director of Educor, Tsogo Sun, Eskom Enterprises, and the CEO of Eqstra Holdings Limited.



Joan Joffe is a Lead Independent Non-Executive Director of Datacentrix Holdings Limited. She has been in the IT and telecoms industry since 1960. In 1977 she started Joffe Associates, where she sold the company 10 years later. She is a founding member of broad-based women empowerment group Nozala Investments.



Christine Ramon is an Executive Director and the Chief Financial Officer of Sasol Limited. She is a member of the risk, safety, health and environment committee. She is also a former Non-Executive Director of Transnet Limited. Ramon is a Chartered Accountant and completed the Senior Executive Programme at Harvard Business School in conjunction with Wits Business School. She currently serves as Deputy Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Council in South Africa.



Santie Botha is the Chancellor of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Botha also serves as the Independent Non-Executive Director of Tiger Brands Limited.


Susan Botha



Su Birch is the CEO Wines of South Africa, the industry organisation responsible for the promotion of all South African wine in export markets. Birch is former Marketing Manager of Capespan.



Wendy Luhabe is a South African businesswoman, social entrepreneur and author. She gained ten years of national and international corporate experience with Vanda Cosmetics and for the BMW Group. In 1991, Luhabe founded Bridging the Gap, her first exercise in social entrepreneurship. In 1994, she pioneered the founding of Women Investment Portfolio Holdings, which listed on the JSE in 1999. In 1999 she was also honoured as one of the 50 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World. She was inaugurated as Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg in September 2006.



Totsie Memela Khambule is Managing Director of Postbank, in 2006. She joined First Rand in 2001 and prior to moving to Postbank, was CEO of customer services and retention for First National Bank home loans division.



Mamphela Ramphele is the Chairperson of Circle Capital Ventures Limited. She is the former Chairperson of Goldfields Limited. She is also an academic, businesswoman and medical doctor and was an anti-apartheid activist. She was one of the founders of the Black Consciousness Movement, along with Steve Biko. Mamphela Ramphele was voted 55th in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004. She is currently serves as a Director of Medi-Clinic Corporation Limited and Business Partners. In February 2013 she officially launched a new political party platform called Agang, which is Sesotho for ‘build’.



Established in 1992, Jenna Clifford Designs is a brand which is synonymous with quality, style and luxury. The company originally focussed exclusively on jewellery design, but today has grown to include four innovative brands: Jenna Clifford Fine Jewellery, Renaissance Jewellery by Jenna Clifford, Jenna Clifford Homeware and Jenna Clifford Trophies. By adding a personal touch to the purchase of jewellery, Jenna Clifford Designs has differentiated itself from any other jewellery designers and manufacturers. The jewellery is still designed by Clifford herself, who is assisted by highly qualified designers who have received years of training, honing their skills to create jewellery which carries the signature Jenna Clifford style.
Jenna Clifford




Libby Lloyd started out as a journalist, working mostly in radio for Capital Radio in South Africa, National Public Radio in the United States and BBC Ireland. CEO of the Media Development and Diversity Agency. She was chosen as Vodacom Media Woman of the Year in 2005.



Khanyi Ntsaluba is the Director of Mvelaphanda Platinum Limited. She served as an external audit committee member for the Gauteng provincial government.
Financial Director of Mvelaphanda Resources



Phuti Mahanyele is Director of Energy at Shanduka Group. Prior to joining Shanduka Group, she headed the Project Finance South Africa unit at the Development Bank of Southern Africa. Phuti Malabie was listed as one of the “Top 50 women in the world to watch in 2008” by the Wall Street Journal and awarded the “Most Influential Woman in Government and Business by Financial Services” in 2009.



Khanyi Dhlomo is the Managing Director of Ndalo Media, which she founded in 2007. She is also the founder of DestinyConnect and the Founding Editor of Destiny Magazine. Prior to beginning her own media company, Dhlomo served as editor of True Love magazine for eight years. She was named most influential woman in South African Media by The Media Magazine in 2003 and made the 2011 Forbes list of 20 Young Power Women in Africa.




Sibongile Sambo is the Founder and Managing Director of SRS Aviation, a 100 percent black female owned aviation company that provides personal and professional flights to global destinations. In 2007, Sambo was named a Leader of Tomorrow by Fortune magazine, and in 2008, Sambo featured in the World Bank report entitled Doing Business: Women in Africa.
MD of SRS Aviation




Precious Moli-Motsepe is an Executive Chairperson for African Fashion International. Her company owns and hosts Fashion weeks in South Africa. AFI's mission is to promote and develop South African and African fashion and to bring it into the mainstream. Through partnerships with various companies and government, AFI brings together fashion designers, media, retailers and consumers. This gives fashion designers media publicity and orders from retail buyers and the public. She is also a Chairperson for Leisureworx. Moloi-Motsepe was a speaker on 'Women and Health in the Workplace' at the Global Summit of Women held in South Africa in 2000. She has worked in public hospitals in Johannesburg and Pretoria, specializing mainly in Paediatrics. She then went to Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. where her interest in women's health first began. She holds a Diploma in Reproductive Health and Child Health.
Precious Moli-Motsepe





Lulu Letlape is a Communications Practitioner and business leader; Executive Director for Mercedes-Benz South Africa (Proprietary) Limited. Former Group Executive for Corporate Communication and Brand Management at Telkom.



Adria Greene is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lawpoint. The World Economic Forum named Greene a Young Global Leader (2009).She is a Founding Member of the South African Legal Process Outsourcing Association and is an active member of a number of boards and non-profit organizations.




Tania Holgate is the Sole Member Zulugas Fuel and Transport. Zulugas Fuel and Transport was formerly known as Zululand Gas and Outdoor, the company name was changed in 2006. Holgate was a finalist in the 2008 Businesswoman of the Year competition.




Portia Maurice is Chief Officer of Corporate Affairs at Vodacom Group Limited. She is also a member of the Vodacom Group Executive Committee. Maurice was previously Vodacom’s Chief Officer of Public Affairs and Sustainability. She has been Chief Executive Officer of environmental management company Tedcor and Nehanda Group, a women’s investment company of which she remains a non-executive board member. She spent five years as a General Manager at the MTN Group. Maurice is a Non-Executive Director of Ga Ra Geng Travel. She is a former journalist, she has worked in a range of media houses including The Argus, Mail & Guardian, Sowetan and the South African Broadcasting Corporation.




Leigh Meinert is a co-founder and Managing Director of the Tertiary School in Business Administration (TSiBA), a private not-for-profit provider of higher education based in Cape Town. TSiBA offers emerging leaders an opportunity to study towards an innovative and enriched business degree that is focused on entrepreneurship and leadership.
Leigh Meinert




Maud Motanyane is the Chair of Kagiso Media Limited. She is the founding editor of Tribute magazine.




Kerrin Myres Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship at Wits Business School, University of the Witwatersrand. She was the founder and CEO of Resonance (a research-based consultancy which specialises in the design and evaluation of entrepreneurial development programmes). Myres also established the Richard Branson School of Entrepreneurship at Cida City Campus.


 

For more information on these phenomenal women visit: http://whoswho.co.za/list/Top-Women-in-Business%3A-South-Africa


Monday, 5 August 2013

The 20 Most Powerful Women In African Business



August has been deemed Women's Month in South Africa. TBT Creative Agency would like to pay homage to all the women who have made a significant contribution in our society
This week we kick off with a blog post on 20 most powerful women in African business. The blog is courtesy of http://www.ventures-africa.com

“You have to think fast in business. If someone asks – Are you selling your blouse? Sell it!
You can always buy another one. The first day I opened my shop, I only had five bunches of roses.
My first customer didn’t see the flowers I had – all he saw was water. So he asked me: Are you selling water? I told him – Yes! That 20 cents he gave me was my first income. You have to be brave. You have to be aggressive. Don’t be embarrassed.”
- DINAH BINAH, FLORIST, TANZANIA

VENTURES AFRICA - With incredible business savvy, determination and resilience, many African women have succeeded in creating a name for themselves. Whether they achieved by moving up the ranks of the corporate world, through entrepreneurial innovation or fighting for social justice, these 20 Women represent the most powerful of the African business cohort across various industries.
Like Dinah, each woman’s remarkable achievement is the result of a combination of many elements: identifying and maximising opportunities, striving for excellence in everything and a refusal to turn from their vision. Maybe you’re just starting out in your career; perhaps you are 30 years deep, let something from these women drive you to be the absolute best in whatever you do – be it creating floral masterpieces or brokering contracts worth millions. 

Nonkululeko Nyembezi-Heita (South Africa) CEO ArcelorMittal
As the Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal SA, Nonkululeko leads the South African branch of the global steel manufacturer which is the largest producer of steel on the African continent, a position requiring steely determination. Prior to this, she served as the Chief Officer in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Vodacom Company.
Siza Mzimela (South Africa) CEO South African Airways, Oprah Winfrey Academy
Siza Mzimela was appointed in 2010 as the first female Chief Executive Officer of South African Airways. After joining the company in 1996 as a Research Analyst, Siza moved up the ranks to assume her current position while garnering recognition for her work in tourism. She serves on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy board and was a finalist for 2002 Nedbank Businesswoman of the Year award.

Isabel Dos Santos (Angola) President’s daughter, oil, diamonds and media
First daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola, Isabel Dos Santos has made her mark as perhaps the most powerful and richest woman in her country. Deftly using family influence and financial backing by her father, she started her own business. Through strategic investing, she currently has holdings in diamond trading industry, media, retail and energy both in Angola and Portugal.

Mamphele Ramphele (South Africa) CEO Circle Capital Partners, former MD of World Bank
Former Managing Director of the World Bank group, Mamphele is a renowned academic and businesswoman. She has succeeded in her work as a medical doctor and anti-apartheid activist and she now sits on the board for the Rockefeller Foundation in New York, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, rewarding good governance in Africa and leads Circle Capital Ventures, a Black Economic Empowerment Private Equity firm.

Bridgette Radebe (South Africa) Founder and Chairman Mmakau (Platinum, coal, chrome gold)
Bridgette Radebe, elder sister of South African Billionaire Patrice Motsepe, wields great power in the mining industry. She founded and runs Mmakau Mining with investments in platinum, gold, coal and chrome. She is the nation’s first black female mining entrepreneur and serves as the President of the South African Mining Development Association and was awarded the International Business Person of the Year Award in 2008 from Global Foundation for Democracy.

Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria) World Bank, Minister of Finance, Co-Founder Makeda fund
Well-known for her role as the Managing Director, World Bank and her part in shaking up Nigeria’s finances, Dr Ngozi has returned to her country as the current Minister of Finance and leader of President Jonathan’s economic team. She continues to work towards economic reform and investing in capital projects with the aim of reducing Nigeria’s high unemployment rates. She founded the Makeda Fund, investing in helping African women entrepreneurs.

Folake Folarin-Coker (Nigeria) CEO, Fashion designer, Tiffany Amber
Responsible for revolutionising the Nigerian fashion industry in 1998, Folake started the Tiffany Amber brand. Every collection created pays respect to her African heritage blended with the influence of her childhood spent in Europe. The Tiffany Amber collections have received wide acclaim in the global fashion industry, showing in fashion weeks in Lagos, London, Paris and South Africa. She is the first African designer to have shown at New York fashion week twice.

Dolly Mokgatle (South Africa) CEO Peotona Group Holdings Ltd and Thandi Orleyn (South Africa) Co-Founder, Peotona Group Holdings Ltd; Lawyer
Dolly and Thandi co-founded Peotona Capital, an innovative women’s investment company with stakes in De Beers, South Africa, the world’s top diamond miner as well as holdings in Lafarge, one of South Africa’s cement makers. Prior to this Dolly served as the CEO of Spoornet, a heave freight rail company and has set up and continues to support numerous women’s initiatives. Thandi is a highly qualified lawyer and expert on labour and employment matters.

Iman Abdulmajid (Somalia) Founder and CEO Iman cosmetics
Somali-born former supermodel Iman is best known for her high-profile modelling career and beautiful cosmetics created for women of colour. During her 14 years of modelling and TV appearances, Iman mixed her own products to match her skin tone and after retiring she started the self-named cosmetics brand to fill that gap. As of 2010, Iman Cosmetics is a $25 million a year business.

Joyce Banda (Malawi) Country Vice-President, CEO, Joyce Banda Foundation and National Association of Business Women
Joyce Banda has had a long and successful business and political career. Prior to her role as the current vice-president of Malawi, she was the founder and CEO of Joyce Banda Foundation, focused on improving educational opportunities to children and orphans and micro-credit to poor women. She also founded the National Association of Business Women to empower women economically. She received the United Nations Population Fund International Award for the Health and Dignity of Women in 2006 and the African Woman Development Fund Woman of Substance award in 2010.

Adenike Ogunlesi (Nigeria) Founder, CEO Ruff n Tumble
After dropping out of undergraduate Law program at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in Nigeria, Adenike joined a tiny tailoring shop as the second member of staff, after her mother. In this shop, she found her calling and in 1996, her entrepreneurial spirit. She began selling the clothes she made from a suitcase and eventually turned Ruff N’ Tumble into a widely recognisable children’s brand across West Africa. She was featured in the documentary, Africa Open for Business and named the 2005 FATE Foundation Model Entrepreneur.

Maria Ramos (South Africa) Group CEO, Absa Group Bank
From her former role as Director General of South Africa’s National Treasury, Maria later became the CEO of the Barclays Bank subsidiary, Absa, a role in which she has excelled till date, raising the group profits significantly even through trying financial times. 

Linah Mohohlo (Botswana) Governor, Bank of Botswana
Linah Mohohlo has served as the Governor of the Bank of Botswana since 1999, following 23 years in other areas within the bank. She has also worked as International Monetary Fund Special Appointee and been a member of the International Monetary and Financial Committee. An eminent academic, she has published several papers, books and chapters in the field of economics, reserves management and governance. She is the recipient of Botswana’s highest public service award, Presidential Order of Honour.
These trailblazing women have opened the door for a younger generation of African power women. The next six women represent increasingly the next generation of African women taking the mantle in business. 

Susan Mashibe (Tanzania) Founder and Executive Director TanJet Aviation
At 29, Susan Mashibe returned to her home of Tanzania to start up TanJet in 2002, a company offering logistical support for company, diplomatic and private jets. Her clients include Heads of State, monarchs, celebrities and corporate gurus. She has received numerous awards and was honoured as 2011 Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum. 

Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu (Ethiopia) Founder and Managing Director, soleRebels
Bethlehem brought the soleRebels brand to life in 2004 in an attempt to create jobs in her community in Ethiopia. By innovatively fusing artisan skills and entrepreneurial wisdom, she has created a globally recognisable brand that produces excellent fair trade shoes sold and distributed in more than 30 countries around the world.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) Author
According to her, Chimamanda began writing as soon as she could spell. She published her first book of poetry in 1997 and released her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, in 2003 to wide critical acclaim. She is the recipient of many awards including the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best first book (2005). She is working to pass on her expertise and vision by teaching writing workshops in Nigeria.

Khanyi Dhlomo (South Africa) CEO, Editor, Destiny Magazine, Destiny Man
Through a combination of wit, passion for media and good luck, Khanyi Dhlomo has positioned herself as a leader in the South African media industry. At 22 she was appointed Editor of True Love magazine and succeeded in doubling circulation within her first year. She acquired an MBA from Harvard University and set up her own company, Ndalo Media, a joint venture with the publishing arm of South Africa’s largest media company. Destiny Magazine, Destiny Man and DestinyConnect.com are the successful products of Ndalo.

Isis Nyongo (Kenya) Managing Director, InMobi Africa
Isis was appointed Vice President and Managing Director of InMobi, the world’s largest independent mobile advertising network in 2011. She is well-suited to the task of driving the company’s business strategy for Africa having previously led the African business development initiatives for Google. A graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Business School, Isis has been instrumental in driving the launch of MTV networks and setting up Kenya’s first online recruitment service, MyJobsEye

Magatte Wade (Senegal) CEO, Adina World Beat Beverages
Who knew a business could be based on the Hibiscus flower? Magatte Wade co-founded Adina World Beat Beverages in 2004, a manufacturing company based on a simple, sustainable, fair-trade model relying on manufacturing and products from Africa. Their beverages include herbal drinks, organic coffees and teas sold across the US. Her company supports the Quality Biological Agriculture Cooperative (QABCOO), a group of Senegalese women earn a living producing the traditional hibiscus drink. Adina’s annual revenues are reported to be over $3million by UNDP.

Friday, 7 June 2013

Jay Naidoo, Political Activist, author and founder of the J&J Group Development Trust speaks on civil society, poverty levels in South Africa and the role of NGO's.

http://www.gibs.co.za/igibs_1/igibs/igibs-videos-and-audio.aspx


Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Do South African companies take corporate social investment seriously?


This week we feature an article from Political Analysis

In 2008, the New Companies Act 71 was ratified, and it radically modernised South Africa’s corporate legal landscape. The act aims to “reaffirm the concept of the company as a means of achieving economic and social benefits.” Many business models do not initially consider corporate social investment, yet it has become advantageous for companies to participate in future-orientated development of the community, not only idealistically, but also for financial advantages. In the end, a responsive social image also contributes attracting and maintaining high-customer relationships. In South Africa, which has been shaped by great injustices among the society over decades, there is especial need for initiatives which promote social growth.


The country’s corporate law does not explicitly oblige businesses to engage in social initiatives, however, it has internationally renowned measures implemented to ensure that businesses act socially responsive. To be able to be listed on South Africa’s largest bourse, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, it is necessary for companies to comply with three reports, which form the King Report on Corporate Governance. It obliges the companies to report “at least annually on the nature and extent of [their] social, transformation, ethical, safety, health, and environmental management policies and practices.” Companies who do not invest in Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives need to explain why they do not do so. Businesses do not only need to give information about potential social initiatives; they also need to outline their future prospects of sustainability. Contrary to many other countries, which focus on financial aspects only, the South African corporate law focuses more on businesses positions and roles in society.

Naturally, companies usually try to depict themselves as sustainable and social responsible. Their own statements about the issue are thus insufficient evidence. First Principles, a sustainability research company, has specialised on surveying the South African population about their opinions towards Corporate Social Responsibility in South Africa. In April 2011, it published a study in which 1000 South Africans from urban and rural areas were questioned. It was found that the biggest share of the people see backlog demand in the education and training sector, not in human health, environment or poverty.


Among the country’s economic communities, which were divided into twelve sectors, the financial sector is regarded as being most socially responsible. Certain individual companies were praised more than the average, such as Coca Cola and telecommunications company MTN. South Africans think their government is the organization which fulfils its social responsibilities the least, followed by alcohol, tobacco, oil and mining companies.



Social initiatives in South Africa tend to focus externally, increasing awareness and social favour of the companies involved.

In addition to that, the majority attaches more value to the manner in which companies carry out their business than to additional external social initiatives. This might also explain the negative assessment of the country’s big mining sector. Many mining companies put much effort in Corporate Social Investment among communities, however the wildcat strikes over the last months have shown that the businesses’ employees are everything but satisfied with the administration of the business.

Generally, South Africa’s model of corporate law, in terms of corporate social responsibility, has induced several outstanding social initiatives by the private sector. Nevertheless, the high social dissatisfaction within the country shows that, in the perception of many South Africans, many companies do not act as responsible internally as they do outwardly. It may be commendable to support disadvantaged communities as a company, but the first focus should be on being socially responsible towards one’s own employees.

The problem is, paying adequate salaries and promoting social contributions for employees is more difficult to exploit on a marketing level than building a school in a rural village. South Africa’s continuing labour unrest and the high unionization emphasize the fact that many people feel the country’s companies do not act socially responsible. Improving certain issues is definitely desirable, but the first step for the private sector should be for it to use its resources to care for its own employees. If that situation is satisfactory, it can turn towards external initiatives. A sustainable private sector would help to prevent many social issues from arising in the first place, and would thus decrease the need for external social initiatives by companies.

Fabian Scherer
f.scherer@politicalanalysis.co.za