Women Mean Business 2016 put it's best foot forward!

Freetown, Sierra Leone was the place for women entrepreneurs to be on  March 12th  2016. For the first time in Africa, Women Mean Business celebrated 4 dynamic African Female Entrepreneurs at the 3rd Annual Women Mean Business Entrepreneurial & Leadership Honors Brunch.  The event powered by Rhoyalty Concepts is a platform for aspiring female entrepreneurs to gain practical skills, confidence, and motivation from business women in a variety of business fields. 

Approximately 80 women leaders and entrepreneurs  gathered together at the Sierra Lighthouse Hotel where they had the opportunity to shared their experiences on doing business and brand management. The event featured an amazing panel discussion with the theme and focus

 “Putting your best Foot Forward: Developing & Maintaining Brand Awareness” by this year's Honorees.  The Mistress of Ceremonies was Sierra Leone's own Millicent Lewis-Ojumu Managing Director of CLAS Consults.

The event also featured powerful poetic words by  poets from Afere -a group of young artist channelling their passion for the creative & practical arts for social change. Guests enjoyed a nice ambience and great food provided by the Sierra Lighthouse hotel in Freetown. 

During the keynote address Anita Erskine encouraged the crowd to Think Big, Dream Big, Create locally and sell Internationally. She emphasized that African women entrepreneurs need to think about how our African Brands align with the global market.

She stated that as women we should not be fearful. Her powerful acronym resonated so strongly with the crowd. She encouraged participants that they needed to look at the challenges and face them  head on as they worked to develop their brands and businesses.  One particular advice that sums up the theme of partnership and sisterhood in the event was her plea for Sierra Leonean women to appreciate and support other women and their businesses and also create a warming and inviting environment for young  women who are interested in business.

Other memorable quotes from our Honorees were: 

Be Ready, Aim & Fire- Kumba Dugba

Dream, Dream, Work Hard & Achieve- Randa Swaid

My keys for success are -Hard Work, Perseverance, Sacrifice and Faith- Yvonee Aki-Sawyerr

Women Mean Business 2016 Honorees include:

Innovator Award Recipient- Yvonne Aki Sawyerr and Investment Manager at IDEAS UK

Trailblazer Award Recipient- Randa Swaid the Managing Director of City Plaza & Swiss Spirit Hotel

Ingénue Award Recipient- Kumba Blessing Dugba  CEO of FB Customized  Weddings & Events

Keynote and Legend Awards Recipient Anita Erskine - Founder of Brand Women Africa & Anita Erskine Media

Women Mean Business Honor 2016  would not have been possible without support from our strategic partners and sponsors. Special thanks to Job Search SL, Africell, Women Change Africa,  Trainingsol, A Call to Business, , Afrilosophy, DSTV, Life by Design, Sierra Lighthouse Hotel, Sierra Gems Media, Graphics World, CLAS Consults & FB Customized Weddings & Events.

Stay tuned for more information on Women Mean Business 2017. In the meantime enjoy the pictures on our Facebook page at Women Mean Business Honors.

Submitted by Ajara Bomah, Curator WMB

WOMEN MEAN BUSINESS ENTREPRENEURIAL & LEADERSHIP HONOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                                                                                                       

 Contact Name: Moiyattu Banya 

Company Name: Women|Change|Africa
info@womenchangeafrica.com
www.womenchangeafrica.com

                    Putting Your Best Self Forward: Developing your Business and Personal Brand

What do networking, branding, sisterhood and uniqueness have in common? A meeting of the minds at the Women Mean Business Entrepreneurial and Leadership Honors. This year, Women Mean Business brings an experience like no other to Sierra Leone by announcing it’s 3rd Annual Women Mean Business Entrepreneurial & Leadership Series – March 12, 2016 at the Sierra Lighthouse Hotel in Freetown Sierra Leone, West Africa. 

African women have always been in the business arena, however time and time and again women lack the necessary resources to scale up and position their businesses to become successful. Internationally, women make up 50 percent of the world’s population, 40 percent of the global workforce, but yet only own about 1 percent of the world’s wealth. As the backbone of communities and the continent’s greatest potential to unlocking economic growth, African women provide the majority of labor with the least amount of resources. In Africa, ‘Women in Africa represent 52% of the total population, contribute approximately 75% of the agricultural work, and are responsible for 60-80% of the food production. Yet, they earn only 10% of African incomes and own just 1 percent of the continent’s assets’ (UNDP). When given the opportunity, women will invest the majority of their income in their families and communities but still face barriers to fully participate in the economy.  It is critical that women are recognized and position themselves as a driving force in the development of Africa’s Small and Medium Enterprises. 

Women Mean Business is a unique and intimate annual educational and inspirational platform for young and emerging African female entrepreneurs in all business fields. In 1975, International Women's Day was given official recognition by the United Nations and became a national holiday in some nations around the globe. As part of International Women's History Month this event serves as a way for us to impart practical skills, confidence, and ambition among African female entrepreneurs and most importantly  honor women of African descent in business who continue to  play their part in the global fight for economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future.  

Curator Ajara Bomah states “ This will be a life changing event for women business owners in Sierra Leone, and they surely will not want to miss this”. She is looking forward to an engaging and unique event that she believes will open up the Sierra Leonean market to other markets on the  continent and is pleased to be providing Sierra Leonean women the opportunity to learn how to sharpen their brands and take their businesses to an international level, by Putting their Best Foot Forward. 

This year’s event will be in the form of a Entrepreneurial and Leadership Honors Brunch.  The honorees are from both Sierra Leone and Ghana will share insights on the importance of profile development and branding one’s personal and business selves. 

This year’s Honorees include: 

Anita Erskine - Founder of Brand Woman Africa, and Keynote Honoree. Brand Woman Africa is an organization that projects the advancement of women across African societies and in the diaspora through Television. 

Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr – Investment Director, IDEA-UK. IDEA UK is  a real estate and infrastructure development company that is currently building the Hilton Freetown Cape Sierra Hotel and has a portfolio of other projects in Sierra Leone.  

Randa Said Swaid – Managing Director City Plaza. City Plaza is Sierra Leone’s first interiors and design retail outlet and the Swiss Spirit Hotel - Sierra Leone’s first branded boutique hotel. 

Kumba Blessing Dugba- Founder of FB Customized Weddings and Events. A highly recognized national wedding planner and one of Sierra Leones youngest trailblazer in the hospitality and decoration industry. 

The Mistress of Ceremony is Mrs. Millicent Lewis-Ojumu- Managing Director of CLAS Consults a consulting firm operating in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the United Kingdom, providing corporate advisory services in the areas of investment, project development, finance, immigration, emigration, tax, banking, auditing, accounting, real estate and more. 

Event Details are as follows:

ï WHO:  New and emerging business women & men

ï WHAT: Brunch and Honor Ceremony 

ï WHEN: March 12^th, 2016 11am-2pm 

ï WHERE: Sierra Lighthouse Hotel, Freetown Sierra Leone

ï COST:  Le 250,000 in advance 

Follow Women Mean Business 

on Twitter @womenmeanbizz

on Instagram @womenmeanbusiness

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/Womenmeanbusinesshonors

Follow updates via our event hashtag #WMB2016 #Mybrandmeansbizness                                                      

For event information, tickets and sponsorship contact:                                                                                          

Contact Name: Ajara Bomah
Company Name: Rhoyalty Concepts                                                                                                                            

Contact Info: info@rhoyaltyconceptssl.com / +23244111214 , +23299605755, +23279655486  

WCA is a proud media partner of WMB 2016 and we look forward to a spectacular event.