She Leads Africa is looking for entrepreneurs to enter their Dark and Lovely x SLA Beauty Accelerator. The 10 week entrepreneurship development program aims to support early stage entrepreneurs who are building businesses in the beauty industry.
Five entrepreneurs will participate in an intensive program which includes a boot camp in Johannesburg, South Africa and access to business coaches with experience in the skills entrepreneurs need to succeed.
Entrepreneurs in the program will focus on business strategy, growth marketing, finance and branding. If selected, they will receive intensive support from the SLA team, the Dark and Lovely team and industry experts.
The program will end with an opportunity for participants to pitch their businesses to investors and stakeholders in the beauty industry for a chance to win cash to support their growth.
They are looking for creative businesses all across the beauty industry such as: media: platforms that make it easier for women to learn beauty techniques, discover new styles and connect with customers; products: physical products that enhance the beauty process; technology: software and services that support the beauty industry and retail: platforms that simplify the buying process for consumers.
Application Requirements
Businesses must be:
- Based in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa
- Must have at least one woman aged 18-35 as a founder or owner
- Has been in operation for less than 3 years
- Has received no more than $50,000 in external investment
- Is within the beauty industry
Entries close 1 September 2017.
Seifsa Urges Government To Protect Metals And Engineering Manufacturers
The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) has urged the government to consider additional measures to protect local metal and engineering manufacturers from cheaper and subsidised imports.
Seifsa’s chief executive, Kaizer Nyatsumba, said on Monday that the influx of cheaper imports had eroded the competitiveness of local businesses, bringing key sub-sectors within manufacturing to the brink of collapse.
“The government must do more to support fragile sectors from the unfair competition posed by subsidised imports,” Nyatsumba said in a statement.
“The sector had not fully recovered from the 2008 global financial crisis. Instead, circumstances in the sector have deteriorated, with a number of our members either down-scaling their operations or closing down. We need an urgent intervention to protect the sector and create jobs.”
This comes as Seifsa will host the 3rd Southern African Metals and Engineering Indaba 2017 next month where global competitiveness of manufacturers will be discussed.
Recent economic data paints a picture of subdued conditions in the sector. The seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) declined by 3.8 points to 42.9 in July, a level last seen in the second half of 2009.
Manufacturing is considered the engine of growth and employment as it is one of the largest contributors to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Nyatsumba said the South African economy needed a vibrant and competitive manufacturing sector.
Seedstars Returns To Lagos
Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes is returning to Nigeria.
With the support of sponsors Orange, Merck, Enel and the local host Seedspace Lagos, Seedstars World will be holding a dynamic pitch event on the 25th of August. In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 75 countries this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to USD 500 000 and network with investors and mentors from around the world. Its previous participants have raised over USD 61M collectively, employing more than 1000 employees worldwide.
The companies selected to pitch at the Seedstars Lagos event need to be less than two years old, have raised less than USD 500,000 in funding and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction.
The Seedstars World team is searching for one additional criterion – the startup’s regional and global scalability. With a strong network of international partners such as BBVA, Merck, Enel, Trecc and Standard Bank, Seedstars World is looking for smart startups that solve regional issues and develop profitable products for the global market, to support their regional businesses and growth.
Up to 10 of the best seed-stage startups in Nigeria will be invited to pitch for the opportunity to compete at the Seedstars Summit, which annually takes place in Switzerland.
At the same time, Seedstars World is also working very closely with Enel Green Power to source the most innovative business models in the energy sectors and ones that are fostering socio-economic development in rural villages in Africa.
Up to five of the best startups in this sector will be invited for an exclusive RES4Africa networking event taking place later this November in Nairobi and compete for an Africa Energy Prize which consists of a financial contribution and a three-month acceleration programme for a total value of up to 50,000 USD.
