Ibrahim Sagna, executive chairman of investment firm Silverbacks Holdings Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026. In a recent interview with…
We highlight five entrepreneurs building businesses in West Africa across sectors ranging from retail and footwear manufacturing to fitness. 1. Ghana: From side hustle to 16 stores – a retail entrepreneur’s story In 2012, Charles Antwi-Boahen was scraping by as a commission-only salesman at an air-conditioning company in Accra, often struggling to cover his own…
Partner Content: Africa’s Business Heroes The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) Prize Competition, a philanthropic initiative of Alibaba Philanthropy, has announced the 20 entrepreneurs who will advance to its 2026 Semi-Final, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 21–22 August. The Top 20 were selected from an expanded Top 100 cohort drawn from more than 24,000 applications…
Swahili Honey is the retail brand of Central Park Bees, a Tanzanian business based in Dodoma that aggregates, processes and sells honey sourced from a network of rural smallholder beekeepers. How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz spoke to co-founder and CFO Christopher Kadendula to find out more. Topics discussed during the interview…
Wandia Gichuru Interview with Wandia GichuruCO-FOUNDER & CEO, VIVO FASHION GROUP Lives in: Nairobi “I don’t come from a fashion background, so I tend to approach things purely from a business perspective,” says Wandia Gichuru, founder and CEO of Vivo Fashion Group, a Kenyan clothing manufacturer and retailer. “We try to focus on what the…
SOUK Farms’ main export markets are Europe and the Middle East. Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026. Entrepreneur Seun Rasheed…
JSE-listed fintech group Lesaka Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: LSAK; JSE: LSK) is consolidating its merchant-focused businesses under the name of Lesaka. The new brand signals how Lesaka has brought together leading fintech companies into a single platform that mirrors how merchants run their businesses. The move follows Lesaka acquiring the Connect Group in 2021 and Adumo…
The short answer? Around the middle of the year. While many businesses only start thinking about corporate gifts in the final few months before the holidays, that’s often when product choices become limited, production schedules tighten and unnecessary compromises creep in. The strongest year-end gifting campaigns don’t begin with a last-minute product search. They begin…
CEM Africa, Africa’s leading customer experience conference, has announced three internationally respected speakers who will take to the stage at CEM Africa 2026, taking place from 18 – 20 August 2026 in Cape Town. Bringing together senior leaders from customer experience, marketing, digital transformation, retail, customer service and business strategy, CEM Africa continues to attract…
Richard Okello, co-founder of African investment firm Sango Capital, sees strong potential across a variety of sectors. Okello is particularly keen on African retail. “The transformation from unorganised retail to organised retail is underway,” he notes. One of Sango’s standout investments has been Sundry Markets, the parent company of Marketsquare, a Nigerian supermarket chain founded…
