Extraordinary Women: Mathapelo Pitse

This July we are honored to spotlight Mathapelo Pitse as part of our Extraordinary Women feature. Mathapelo is the founder and CEO of J'ADORE D'AMOUR, a luxury female shoe brand that designs and manufactures heels for modern-day women.

Mathapelo converted her luxury retail experience and her entrepreneurial passion for the fashion footwear industry into a women empowerment movement and she "hopes to pave the way for female excellence in the footwear industry, one stiletto at a time."

Founded in 2017, J'ADORE D'AMOUR was birthed through the rebranding of an initial business that Mathapelo had started, through the selling of imported shoes. Through hard work, tenacity, and dedication Mathapelo was establish her brand J'ADORE D'AMOUR despite the harsh economic climate and established a movement for women's empowerment and style.

J'ADORE D'AMOUR embodies a collaborative spirit of female empowerment, representing young excellence, and has shoes in every shape and style to exude an essence of audaciousness, sophistication, timelessness, and tenacity for any woman who wears them.

Mathapelo is also at the forefront of community development through a heartwarming initiative called #1MillionSchoolShoes whereby every purchase at J'ADORE D'AMOUR sponsors a pair of shoes for children in underprivileged areas.

In the future, Mathapelo dreams of reigniting South Africa's local manufacturing industry by having her own facility that will not only produce her own brand but the brand of their designers as well, in hopes of reviving entrepreneurial activity in the manufacturing industry.

AfCFTA: ‘It has been a game changer’ – Groupe Filatex’s George Conde

This article was first published on The African Report on 30 June 2022

Groupe Filatex’s chief investment officer George Conde talks to The Africa Report about how the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is changing business on the continent. Filatex is based in Madagascar, and its activities are focused on energy, free zones, real estate and venture capital.

The Africa Report: Has the AfCFTA changed the way you do business since its launch?

George Conde: It has been a game changer for us in the sense that we went from being mainly focused on local development to seek strategic international partnerships that can help us access new competencies, innovation and lift our market development. We are also looking at expanding into mainland Africa.

"AFCFTA is a start, but private sector empowerment is needed to unlock full free trade benefits.”

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What has Womanomics Africa® Been up to in 2022

In the spirit of advocacy, research, and capacity building, Womanomics Africa® has had an eventful year filled with classic ventures as well as new and exciting ventures.

TEDxLytteltonWomen - What now? (10 March 2022)

In March, Womanomics Africa® co-organized the 7th annual TEDxLytteltonWomen event titled "What Now?" in which TEDxLytteltonWomen showcased the experiences of African women through the lens of an ever-changing reality. Hosted as a hybrid event, this year we featured a lineup of 12 dynamic speakers and thought leaders who represent women’s political, economic, and civic participation.

To listen to their talks, click here

Congratulations to Womanomics Africa® Co-Founder, Rehema Isa on Winning this year's Woman of Stature Award and Entrepreneur of the Year Award (12 March 2022)

On Saturday 12 March 2022, The Woman of Stature Foundation hosted their 7th Annual Woman of Stature South African Awards at the Indaba Hotel and Conference Center in Fourways.

The Woman of Stature Awards is a prestigious event that highlights South African female entrepreneurs and businesswomen across different industries and includes the youth. The purpose of the awards is to accelerate the careers and businesses of women within their respective industries.

Congratulations to Womanomics Africa® co-founder Rehema Isa on being the overall winner of the Woman of Stature Awards 2022 and the entrepreneur of the Year for her initiatives as the co-founder of OYA Foods - an agribusiness aggregator and processing enterprise linking women in the agribusiness sector to markets; and Womanomics Africa, charting economic highways which traverse geo-political boundaries connecting women in Africa to entrepreneur ecosystems, development partners and business opportunities facilitating Intra Africa Trade.

Womanomics Africa® Launches Abaxoxi - The Storytellers Podcast (08 April 2022)

Incorporating Womanomics Africa®'s theme of storytelling through the lens of African women, Womanomics Africa® launched Abaxoxi - The Storytellers™ Podcast, a platform to tell the intercontinental and intergenerational stories of women in the development of Africa on a social, political, and economic level.

Made possible by a partnership with the US Embassy in South Africa and the American Corner, we featured some exciting guests like Refilwe Ledwaba, Nomsa Kana, Hema Vallabh, and Hulisani Leswiswi.

Like many conversations, these are peppered with a lot of laughter, a bit of tongue in cheek, some really thought-provoking insights, and a-ha moments.

Be ready to be inspired, moved, and humored, listen to the Abaxoxi - The Storytellers Podcast on Podbean or on Spotify.

Womanomics Africa® Youth Month Campaign - Young Women in Business Series ( 16 June 2022)

As an extension of the Abaxoxi Podcast series, Womanomics Africa® introduced the Young Women in Business series in celebration of Youth Month with the aim of giving young women in a business a platform to share their experiences as female entrepreneurs in a modern-day context in their respective industries.

Listen now on Podbean or Spotify

Womanomics Africa® Launches PODCASTER Program (21 June 2022)

In partnership with American Corner's Makers Valley, Womanomics Africa® launched the PODCASTER Workshop brought to you by Abaxoxi - The Storytellers™. A program designed to provide the necessary knowledge required to launch a podcast show by providing a step-by-step beginners guide that takes an initial idea from a concept to a final finished product that is ready for launch and promotion.

To join our upcoming digital workshop in the month of August click here