Femi Ogunjimi co-founded the Nigerian financial firm CardinalStone in 2008. He now focuses on its private equity arm, CardinalStone Capital Advisers, which invests in companies across West Africa. He spoke to How we made it in Africa editor-in-chief Jaco Maritz about his journey as an entrepreneur and investor. Topics discussed during the interview include: The…
What happens when more than 90 women with influence across corporate, SMME, government, community, diplomacy and the broader economy come together in one room to think about what they would change? That was the question at the heart of the Greater Tygerberg Partnership’s (GTP) inaugural The Future of Cities Is Female Breakfast 2026, held at…
Successful entrepreneurs can build exceptional businesses while continuing to struggle with self-doubt, overthinking and the need to prove themselves. Success is supposed to make us more confident. Yet for many entrepreneurs, the bigger their business becomes, the greater the pressure, uncertainty and expectation, and the more there is to lose. Additionally, business success does not…
When South Africa’s two-pot retirement system was introduced, the big question was whether people would treat their retirement savings as easy money to dip into or leave it alone for retirement. Two years later, the data tells a more complicated story – one driven primarily by real financial pressure. Many assumed withdrawals would happen evenly…
Like clockwork, as the final quarter rolls around, attention turns to whether a business will hit its annual sales target. How much still needs to close? Which deals can realistically land before year-end? What does the pipeline look like against the target? Those are fair questions when there are only a few productive weeks left…
Abby Bakare After more than a decade in medical aesthetics and more than 10,000 aesthetic procedures, Nigerian skincare expert Abby Bakare identified a problem beyond the treatment room: helping clients achieve results was only half the battle. The bigger challenge was helping them maintain those results at home. For years, Abby Bakare had watched people…
Voice assistants, smart-speakers, and voice-assisted systems are becoming increasingly popular in the modern workplace. However, this increasingly popular wave of voice-activated accessibility is creating a whole new privacy vulnerability for the organisation. A 2025 review on Privacy in Speech Technology found that voice interfaces can hear conversations occurring in the same acoustic space and can…
More than 500 verified Chinese exhibitors showcasing over 10,000 products will gather at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from 23–25 September 2026 for the 10th edition of China Homelife South Africa and Machinex. The three-day trade fair will connect South African and African importers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, entrepreneurs and sourcing professionals directly with Chinese manufacturers…
Learn how Hadija Jabiri started a business that exports Tanzania’s agricultural produce to Europe and beyond. Our new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. French entrepreneur Grégoire Schwebig is the founder of AfricaWorks, which operates co-working spaces in seven cities across six…
CEM Africa 2026 concluded at the Century City Conference Centre following three days of strong engagement across Africa’s customer experience community. The 14th edition welcomed 970 attendees from more than 260 companies across 20 countries, bringing together senior CX, customer service, marketing, digital, technology and transformation leaders alongside solution providers and industry partners. The event…
