Chioma Ezekwesili highlights the Essentials to Building and Growing Your Blog
“The main essential for starting a blog is to first have a passion for something”. – Chioma Ezekwesili Blogging is a great platform to express yourself, build a brand, and even make a source of income. Due to the diverse benefits of blogging, there is an influx of blogs and bloggers. This can make the process of building and growing your blog daunting. You might question whether it is worth it and how do you go about building this presence online? In this interview with fashion and lifestyle blogger Chioma Ezekwesili, she provides inspiration for prospective and current bloggers on her experience of starting and building her blog and brand. When and why did you decide to start your fashion and lifestyle blog and what were the essentials to beginning it? The main essential for starting a blog is to first have a passion for something. It could be cooking, fashion, gossip, politics, and other topics. You don’t have to be an English guru but you should always endeavor to read something new about your passion. This is significant because you can then provide your readers with new insights into your niche. In addition, you will be able to come up with new and diverse ways to relate to your readers. Secondly, you should draft a consistent timetable. It’s hard at the beginning but once you start, keep at it. Every day, have a topic you can write on. What will help you is approaching each day with an open mind? Also, make sure the photos, write up or videos are original because it allows your readers to connect with your originality. As for myself, I started my fashion and lifestyle blog in 2015 but I couldn’t keep up with it. This was because I started the previous blog with the sole purpose of making money. The blog was just alive for about three months and that was it. Then, I officially started www.yhitschioma.com in July 2016. This blog is out of my love for fashion. I also felt the need to express my opinion on lifestyle tips. I try to make my posts inspirational. I merge fashion styles to relatable inspirational quotes. I want to let people know that fashion is more than wearing designer clothes. Fashion is also a way of passing a positive message to the people around you. [bctt tweet=”I grew my 7k followers on Instagram by posting my Sunday bests every Sunday and tagged it #fashionforchurch – @Yh_ItsChioma” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What is the best platform for intending media influencers to be on and why? Instagram and Twitter are the best platforms, dependent on the type of influencer you are. Instagram is mainly for fashion, lifestyle, and style. It’s best for visual appeal through photos and videos. Then, Twitter is good for sports lovers, especially soccer. The discussions on Twitter around the leagues is something that anybody building his/her brand around soccer needs to be on. Twitter is also a good platform for having discussions about politics, sports, music, health tips and more. I advise that you be linked on both platforms. That way, whatever you post on one can reflect on the other. However, more attention should be placed on the social media platform primarily for your type of brand. Social media metrics are ever changing and for those looking to make an impact online, the competition is increasing. Is it possible to grow one’s social media organically? Yes, you can grow organic followers and I am a testimony to it. I grew my 7k followers on Instagram by posting my Sunday bests every Sunday and tagged it #fashionforchurch. Every Sunday, people were looking forward to what I wore to church. Once you find out what your followers like, stick to it and be consistent. Do not buy followers because interactions on your post will not match your followership. That matters because people and brand will immediately see through that. The first year might not be easy but keep posting. Also, make sure you use hashtags because they work like magic. What is your process of growing your brand presence? Building your brand starts with a conscious effort to actually build the brand. Find the social media platform that suits what you are trying to build Try to make your followership on any social media platform that you are on organic. If you are on Instagram, never miss relevant hashtags like #MCM #MondayMotivation #WCW #TBT #FBF or things like that. You can even come up with your own personal hashtag that people can follow through your post. For me, it’s #LifeOfAStartingEntrepreneur and #yhitschioma. If Twitter is your platform, be sure to check the trending hashtags and draft your tweets around it. Finally, you have to be consistent your post on social media. Be sure to have your contact details available for people to reach you. Reply and like comments so that there is a discussion around your post. How can one stand out and be unique online? You stand out by being real. Don’t try to be in competition with anyone. Rather, you should strive to be a better version of yourself. Keep doing what you love and don’t copy others. Be original with your posts. What steps should an aspiring media influencer take to attract opportunities to work with organizations, brands, and collaborations? Keep your profile open not private. Make sure you give credit to other brands you are wearing or using on your page. Then, you get other brands to notice that you are promoting other brands. They will then want to work with you. For blog collaborations, if you never reach out to people, you might not have anyone reach out to you. Last year, I sent about 5-6 messages to other bloggers like myself for collaboration. However, I got turned down by about 4 and I didn’t mind. I did a collaboration with the bloggers that wanted to. The result is that other bloggers saw it and then reached out to
Gugu Sithole-Tyali Shows Us How to Take Over the World of PR
As you know, we’re always so incredibly proud when we see amazing women who are not only succeeding in their respective careers but uplift other young women for success too! With over 10 years’ experience, Gugu Sithole-Tyali took her once small side hustle and turned it into one of the most respected PR companies in the creative industry. Sprout Creative PR is not only completely black-owned, but they also have an all-woman team, and together, they eliminate the misconceptions society has of women working together for a bigger and greater purpose. Below, Gugu shares a bit about her challenges, successes and how she is using her talents to empower other women on the come up. Tell us more about Sprout PR? We’re a budding, black-owned, creative boutique, specializing in brand communications. Our talents lie in strategic public relations, digital marketing, brand development, creative content creation, and event curation. [bctt tweet=”Turning a side hustle into a business has been interesting, to say the least – @ZuluGirl1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] What do you think is the most challenging part of being in the industry? From the perspective of being a startup in the industry, the challenges are endless. I’ll stick to three that have been particularly pertinent to Sprout over the last couple of years. Carving a niche for ourselves: In the beginning, there was a temptation to do a lot of things, often more than what our business could handle. As soon as we stopped trying to be everything to everyone, and played to our strengths as a team, we were able to carve a space for ourselves. Currently, that’s working with brands in Fintech, Agritech, AI, etc. We also have a love for and wide-ranging experience in the lifestyle sector, so we’re excited to see that portfolio grow. Staying competitive: As a young and small agency, competing with the well-established agencies can be pretty tough. They’ve got long track records and name recognition going for them. We’ve found however that being small has its positives, so we’re working hard to take advantage of those. We’re adaptable, have a niche specialization, and I think we’re way more invested in our clients and their brands. We’ve also been lucky to get extensive exposure to design thinking and Lean Startup methodologies. Adopting and implementing those practices has allowed us to collaborate with clients in a way that harnesses our shared strengths, and has resulted in them viewing us as partners, rather than vendors. Assembling the right team: This one’s a biggie. Striking a balance between hiring experienced professionals and being a training ground for up-and-comers – something close to my heart – is tricky. We’re fortunate to work with clients who are passionate about entrepreneurship/startups, and so as long we’re working our butts off, staying accountable, and are passionate about their brands, they’re giving us the room to figure this part out. We’re working hard at it though. [bctt tweet=”As soon as we stopped trying to be everything to everyone, and played to our strengths as a team, we were able to carve a space for ourselves – @ZuluGirl1″ username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] We have heard about your difficult journey, tell us a little more? Turning a side hustle into a business has been interesting, to say the least. Nothing could have prepared me for the hardships of this journey. But, it’s also been an incredibly fulfilling, and the best part is that it’s helped me find my tribe – smart, creative, hardworking, tenacious women (and men), who are overcoming similar challenges every day. They’ve helped me find the good in these hardships. I’m most grateful for them. We are so inspired by your All Woman staff, how has the dynamic been, and have you had any criticism? I’m proud of the fact that with each day we’re dispelling this myth around women not being able to work together. We live by one, simple rule: Collaboration over competition. It’s formed the foundation for how we deliver for clients, deal with conflict, and show support to not only the members of our own team but women in our broader network. It’s also a value that’s been extremely helpful in the hiring process. Have you had any challenges in the industry as a black-owned company? I think a lack of belief in our value is probably one of the biggest challenges faced by black-owned businesses in general, it’s not industry-specific. As a black business owner, I think I’ve often let this self-doubt negatively influence my decision-making. I’ve charged less for services, bent over backward for clients who didn’t necessarily deserve it, etc. I realize though that this made me part of the problem because it does us a disservice by diminishing our worth. I feel like I’m currently in a season of truly backing not only myself but my team and our ability to deliver. How is the future looking for Sprout PR? If the caliber of the brands in our portfolio (the likes of Standard Bank, DHL Supply Chain Africa, Switch Innovation, and the African Fintech Unconference) is anything to go by, the future is looking bright. We have a long way to go and lots of learning to do, but we’re up to the challenge. What advice do you have for anyone trying to break into the industry? I have a few pointers… Work on those writing skills, they’re key to your arsenal. Stay at it. Persistence is essential to getting over the rejection of your ideas and stories. Learn to network. You never know when a contact will help you land a dream job or client. Take good care of your online reputation. How else is a brand going to trust you to take care of theirs? Break into the industry with an agency that’s breaking into the market. Startups are a great training ground. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Big Company Strategies for Start-ups/Small Businesses to adapt
Running a small business has its pros and cons, the same as running a large corporation. Large corporations may have endless resources to implement and execute elaborate and detailed strategies as they have hundreds of great minds constantly devising new ways to grow their business. Whereas in a small company, you have to keep overheads lean, hence, there is no massive budget for strategy sessions with great minds from Ivy league schools. In a small business, the entrepreneur is the great mind and the world is your Ivy league degree, you have to make do with what you have. But how exactly can you do that? I highlighted some solid, foolproof strategies that big corporations employ to achieve massive results and successes, which can be applied to your small business on a lean budget. Market Segmentation Enterprises spend millions annually on research to find out what market segment their products are best suited to. Market segmentation is important in every business as knowing your customer is the key to finding your market, which consequently leads to sales. You need to know who your customers are, where to find them and how to reach them. For small businesses, market segmentation helps you focus on a particular demographic or geographical area, thereby allowing you focus efforts on being the market champion in that market segment. To figure out your market, small business owners should ask questions like who is your ideal customer? Which customers are you avoiding? What markets are the most profitable? Answering these questions would help entrepreneurs prioritize and apportion resources to market segments that have the highest returns. Marketing Funnel A marketing funnel is basically a fancy term for all the points in your customer acquisition strategy where you contact prospective clients. As a prospective customer moves down the funnel, the better your chances of converting them into a paying client. Big businesses have a large team and budget to automate and implement this process, with small businesses on a lean budget, you can adapt this technique by being intuitive to your customer’s buying pattern. Ask yourself, how does a customer find out about your service? How often do they come to your page? When do they buy? What motivates this purchase? Asking yourself these questions gives you a clearer understanding of how to move your customer from being aware of your product to become paying clients. Partnerships That Work Large corporations usually cut deals with their counterparts that their customers can benefit from, small businesses should employ this tactic. By bundling your services with another that complements you and your customers, you rake up good points with your clients. For instance, if you sell hair extensions, you can offer your clients free hair care products, this would cause clients to be more inclined to your products, or event decorators could team up with an event space to offer a bundled service to customers. It’s about leveraging what you’re good at, not trying to be everything to everyone and giving your customer a more wholesome and rewarding experience. Chief Sales Officer Enterprises can afford to pay several people bucket loads of money. Especially people who work just to think about how to execute more sales every day. These people have access to real-time data and analytics. The data is what helps them make sensible insights, that make executing a large number of sales a reality. On the other hand, for small businesses, it is usually hard to have more than one person in this role. It is of utmost importance to have someone who is constantly thinking of ways the company can generate revenue. You must always know who your customers are, where they are and know what they want. As you scale, have more people in sales and segment each section of the market the person should be handling. By focusing on the customer and how to make them advocates, generating sales and loyalty. Most businesses have grown to become big businesses. If you’d like to get featured on our Facebook page, click here to share your story with us.
Tiyani Majoko shares her 5 Ways To Cheat The Hustle
We often hear it said “the dream is free but the hustle is sold separately”, but what if the hustle didn’t have to be so expensive? It has been a dream of mine to visit Lagos, Nigeria for a very long time. I am happy to share that I recently visited Lagos, Nigeria to explore opportunities that may be available for Lawgistics Legal Consultants. A legal consultancy that I run based in Johannesburg. Also, I had to keep a promise I made to myself and very publicly in my last post on What To Do When You Hit A Wall. Nothing can replace hard work, commitment, and sacrifice in order to be successful but I want to explore other practical measures I took to make my Lagos dream come true so that you also can Cheat The Hustle. [bctt tweet=”In order to Cheat The Hustle, you have to hustle! – @TeyAni” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Here are 5 effective ways to Cheat the Hustle: 1. Network In May 2018 I had a coffee meeting with Moyo, she was visiting Johannesburg for her brother’s graduation and a mutual friend put us in touch. She is a content creator and PR genius that is based in Lagos and we spoke about all the ways I could expand my brand. Moyo also invited me to the Flourish Africa conference that was happening in July 2018. I previously did not know anyone in Lagos, but after 1 coffee meeting and a loose invite to Lagos, I started planning and a few weeks later I was on the ground. Meeting Moyo helped me Cheat The Hustle because I now had a contact and she organized several meetings for me in Lagos with people in positions I could barely imagine connecting with. The Flourish Africa conference is the brainchild of Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, who needs no further introduction and by virtue of the one person in my network, I was able to personally meet Mrs. Alakija and even appear on Channels TV station. Build your networks to help you Cheat The Hustle and this is a 2-way street, you also have to be willing to help others in their feat to Cheat The Hustle. Being part of the She Leads Africa community is a killer way to Cheat The Hustle because you get access to a great network of women and events around you. [bctt tweet=”To Cheat the hustle, you need Value, Visibility, and a Voice – @TeyAni” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 2. Partnership When I did my research on accommodation in Lagos, the places I would have liked to stay at were out of my price range so I decided to approach South African brands that have a presence in Nigeria. The first on my list was Tsogo Sun which owns Southern Sun Ikoyi and I asked them for sponsored accommodation – to my shock and pleasure they said yes! Working with a big partner can give you leverage so that you don’t have to hustle too much to make your dreams come true. The key is that you show them value! When you send that cold email to make your ask, study what they do and how it can tie in your message. Brands want to work with someone that shows them Value (by understanding their value), someone who can create Visibility for their brand (this doesn’t necessarily mean you have 100k followers on Instagram but that when you tell your 1000 followers something they engage) and someone with an authentic Voice! The value I showed to Southern Sun Ikoyi, with the help of Moyo, I was able to secure a spot on Bella Naija to invite entrepreneurs to a Cheat The Hustle Brunch. I created visibility. I also had several meetings which I shared online to showcase the venue as Southern Sun Ikoyi has private meeting rooms that can be used for presentations, meetings, small book launches, etc. During my time in Lagos, I had a radio interview with Tunji Andrews on Nigerian Info FM. We spoke about ways in which entrepreneurs can Cheat The Hustle because entrepreneurship is not just a passion- for me, it’s my lifestyle so I use for voice to speak on it! How can you put these 3 V’s in place for you to partner with a big brand? [bctt tweet=”You cannot Cheat The Hustle with a helter-skelter mentality – @TeyAni” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 3. Being Organised My new saying is “What you don’t have in intelligence, make up for in being organized.” If you are organized and plan well, it can make look really smart. I learned the hard way that the yellow fever vaccine must be taken 10 days before you travel. Fortunately for me, I got my shot the day before my trip. It could have been easy to blame my travel agent or other friends who travel to West Africa for not telling me earlier- but this could have been avoided by a simple Google search. You cannot Cheat The Hustle with a helter-skelter mentality. I am still learning this one because I suffer severely from procrastination, general disarray and doing things “on the fly”. Being organized may not sound sexy because its so basic- but the results of an organized life are very attractive! 4. Mentorship I swear by mentorship and currently have 3 mentors who have been fundamental to help me Cheat The Hustle. Mentorship can be so misunderstood and this affects its impact. If done right, your mentors can help you see opportunities and overcome obstacles. Mentors serve in the space of the tension between “running a business for the present and building a business for the future.” I recently read a great article by Dr. Ola Brown, who I met at the Flourish Africa conference, where she talks about the difference between a mentor and political godfather. She also highlighted something to me- that I can help my mentors! They are human too, and still, have their own goals they want to accomplish. However, I
How to Invest Collaboratively with Friends: Tomie Balogun
[bctt tweet=”When you invest with others, you take advantage of the power of many – @tomie_balogun” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] As a certified financial educator and Instructor, Tomie Balogun has a lot of experience in investing with friends. While pursuing her MBA, she and a few classmates started an investment club. Their passion to achieve financial freedom and make an impact on society saw them successfully invest in various small businesses and assets. However, investing with friends hasn’t always been that easy. Like Tomie, many people have had bad experiences either loaning money to a friend or requesting for a loan. The conclusion: money and friends are a horrible mix! However, the question many ask, is it still worth investing with friends or anybody else?. Tomie gives us tips on how to make this work. The Power of Many Think about the way you ask more people to contribute money to a party, so everyone can have more food options. Investing with other people helps increase the number of resources you raise and strengthens your financial future. Investing in Bigger Things Co-investing in an investment club gives you the opportunity to invest in bigger opportunities, share risks and share higher returns as well. For instance, while real estate is a great asset class that always appreciates, not a lot of young people can invest in it. However, if 5 or more people decide to come together and invest, they will have more cash. Over time, they can earn returns from their initial investment and continue to flip multiple real estate deals. That’s a better option than waiting till your 40’s to eventually own real estate. Choosing the Right Team You might be thinking, co-investing or starting an investment club is great but what about the emotional issues that come with investing with friends or colleagues at work? This can be tricky! The first thing you need to do while selecting partners is to avoid sentiments. You need to make sure that you choose your partners with clarity and objectivity. When identifying people, choose partners who are disciplined with spending money and more importantly, have a strong sense of integrity. Shared values are very important when co-investing. Details, Details, Details! First, you need a legal structure in place to protect everyone’s interest. When this happens, you limit liabilities in investment deals. You can register your club as a limited liability company or a limited partnership. What’s important is to make sure you have the papers to support your words if things go wrong. Secondly, they say the devil is in the details. In creating your legal documents and other admin paperwork, make sure you don’t skim through anything. Practice good financial bookkeeping, assign roles to manage tasks and create a constitution! Remember all information can be important! Make that Money Work Once you sort your membership and legalities, you can then start contributing money. Don’t set unachievable contribution rates, but set goals that everyone can work towards. If everyone believes in the goal, they will eventually build it too. At the end of the day, there are many options to invest. However, investment clubs are both great for collaborative investing and also fun! They are a smarter way to take advantage of the power of many to achieve your wealth goals sooner. So as soon as you can, get your motherland moguls into formation and start co-investing together towards your financial freedom.
Mavis Zaina: Slaying From accounting to agriculture
Mavis Zaina is a chartered accountant with over 8 years’ experience in strategic management, accounting and finance. But beyond her accountancy, Mavis is passionate about the agricultural value chain and its potentially high impact reach for poverty alleviation and development. Driven by this passion, Mavis founded Kanjadza Acres. Kanjadza Acres is an agricultural enterprise that grows fruits and vegetables together with employing 10 locals. Mavis’ overall aim is to become a world-class entity participating in the end to end agricultural value chain. Through this, she hopes to create jobs and wealth for her community and eventually Africa. What made you desire to start a business in agriculture? I have always been fascinated by the agricultural value and the impact and change it has on an economy and its people. Specifically, I decided to focus on horticulture because of its high productivity and value. With this passion, I launched my agribusiness journey. It has been quite exciting as the margins made are good and the products are often demanded and used daily in my community. How friendly is the Malawian business environment to young female horticulturists? I think the business environment is challenging. The value chain is highly informal so the hustle is real to find market information that drives production and this results in unpredictability. You have to be as strategic as possible and also very resilient and tough. Males dominate marketing and supply and many assume that as a young female, you are naive and vulnerable. I once harvested a lot of cassava, and cassava must be sold or processed the very day it’s harvested or it changes colour and customers shun it. I went to the market once I was done the harvesting. Knowing it was my first time, buyers undermined me and started changing the agreed prices. Refusing to bow down, I took a chance and went to offload at a new market. My risk paid off as I was able to sell all the cassavas. Although, since I stayed much later, I had to hire security as thieving gangs often disrupt women-led businesses. This is price men don’t have to pay. [bctt tweet=”My biggest mistake was doing too much too soon. I tried to build Rome in a day and lost money and time” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How can the business environment be improved for young entrepreneurs? For the business environment to improve, we need clear and functioning value chains and infrastructure. I also believe in mentorship and so having agribusiness incubators and accelerators is key. These two accompanied by financing options would really do wonders for the environment. Has collaborating worked for you? And why do you think it’s important for women? I love collaborating because synergies created through collaboration can be very transformative. But just like any worthwhile relationship, it requires a good amount of work to find good collaborative partners, not just because we are in the same field, or because we are friends. Collaboration should be done objectively and soberly. Otherwise, most end up in turmoil and discord. Are they any women that have helped you in your journey? I look up to many women in my life. My mother, for example, has provided me with the drive, determination and support system to be able to pursue my dreams. Another woman who supported me is Ngaba Chatata. As a fellow farmer, Ngaba has advised me on horticultural production. It was after I visited her farm that I realized she was living the life I wanted. This challenged me to go an start my own business. Overall, the women in my life have motivated me and provided me with a support system that has kept me going. They keep reminding me that with diligence and focus I will be successful. What mistakes did you make in business and how can other women avoid that? I made and still make lots of mistakes. They make me grow and redirect me. So first, realise that mistakes can be lessons. My biggest mistake was doing too much too soon. I tried to build Rome in a day and lost money and time. So learning to be patient and work one step at a time is one great lesson to learn. Secondly, it is important to draw up a plan, do research and map your journey. Although plans change, having one will grant you focus and purpose. With this, you will also be able to track progress. Lastly, stay in your lane. Do not compare yourself to others. Journeys differ and comparison has a way of killing off your motivation and making you ungrateful. [bctt tweet=”Work on your hustle and keep your eyes ahead. – Mavis-Zaina Kanjadza” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Any final words to our Motherland moguls? Find out what you want to do and do it. Know your purpose and pursue it militantly. You can do anything but only with clarity of purpose and hard work. If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Meet the women taking their place as CEO’s in Kenya
A lot has been said about women entrepreneurs in Kenya. Women have distinguished themselves and we have trailblazers like Tabitha Karanja of Keroche Industries, Flora Mutahi of Melvin’s Tea, Gina Din Kariuki of Gina Din Communications, Judith Owingar of AkiraChix, Lorna Rutto of Eco posts, Ruth Mwanzia of Koola Waters, Shikha Vincent of Shikazuri and Michelle Ntalami of Marini Naturals to name a few. Entrepreneurship is mainly about business skills, determination, resilience, networking, and social impact. Women are working their way into this area and are slowly but surely making headway. A lot of focus and support has been given to women entrepreneurs through grants, training, access to finance and favorable government policies like Access to Government Procurement (AGPO) to name a few. More women are encouraged to participate in this sector. Women in the corporate world have an uphill task to get their place and break all the glass ceilings. Sheryl Sandberg – COO of Facebook, in her book LEAN IN, gives insights into what the life of a woman in corporate America is and how to maneuver it. According to Fortune.com, there were 27 women at the helm of Fortune 500 companies as at January 2018. How about corporate Kenya? I admire women in the corporate world because apart from the normal barriers they encounter and overcome, boys club mentality, patriarchy, high technical skills, experience, glass ceiling mentality (Gender stereotyping), sexual harassment, inflexible working conditions and integrity. The corporate world is harsh and cutthroat. The impact is mostly measured in terms of PROFITS and PROFITS. Only recently have corporates embraced a wider scale to measure the impact of CEO’s to include social impact, teamwork, employee innovation and customer retention to name a few. This shift gives women a chance to shine as their natural skills of collaboration and teamwork are an asset. Entrepreneurship is forgiving on the requirements of higher education and experience. A person with a basic education can quickly become a business mogul. However, in the corporate world, experience and education have a lot of weight. The current trend to consider leadership, softer skills and strategic leadership has made it more accessible for women. Due to gender roles and social pressure, many women in the past were not in a position to access higher education and therefore did not get promotions to enable them to rise up. Currently, women are taking up chances to improve their education hence giving them more edge to compete in the corporate world. Experience is a matter of time; men had an advantage of this. In the last 20 years, women have proved that given a fair chance they too climb the corporate ladder right up to the top. Why do we need women in CEO positions? People in the corporate world manage a large amount of money and direct how it is used. Gender diversity has also been proven over the years to increase profits and performance of corporations. Therefore, further inclusion of women has been proved to attract talent in the boardrooms where innovative solutions are created. Invariably more women-friendly products and policies emerge from companies that are managed by women. After all, women are 50% of the consumers of products and services. The simple fundamental reason why women should be in the corporate world is that it’s fair and inclusive to do so. In Kenya, we have many distinguished ladies at the helm of corporates and organizations. This has increased recently, but to date, only 2 women lead corporations listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange i.e. Maria Msiska of BOC (until 2016) and Nasim Devji of DTB Bank. We can do better. Here are examples of Women CEO’s in Kenya: Jennifer Riria is a pioneer of women in CEO position and has been holding this and similar positions in the microfinance and banking industry for 20 years. She is the CEO of Kenya Women Holdings that has a subsidiary Kenya Women microfinance Bank which is a leading bank for women entrepreneurs. She is a Ph.D. holder and has a Degree and Master degree as well. Stella Njunge: CEO of Sanlam Life, part of Sanlam Kenya Group. She has over 15 years’ experience in the insurance industry, a CPA(K), CPS(K), and holds a degree and masters. Stella also has over 16 years’ experience in Insurance. Catherine Karimi: CEO of APA Life part of Apollo Group a leading insurer in Kenya. She has 18 years’ experience in Insurance industry, a degree, postgraduate certificate in Actuarial Studies, and is a member of Chartered Insurers (UK). Rita Kavashe: is the CEO of General Motors East Africa, Kenya with 35 years’ experience working at GM. She has a degree and postgraduate certificates and rose through the ranks. Phyllis Wakiaga: is the CEO of Kenya Association of Manufacturers. She has a law degree, Higher Diploma in Law and Human Resource Management, Master Degrees in International Trade and Investment Law and Business Administration. There are many more female CEO’s in Kenya. The common items in their profiles are EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE. This is a true testament that education is an equalizer. Given equal opportunity and based on merit, women can excel and are excelling in the corporate world. Girls need to be encouraged to plan their career path early to help them reach the top CEO positions to bridge the current gap. I look forward to more women taking up the CEO roles and reducing the barriers to getting there. Got an article you’d like to share with us? Share your story with us here.