Starting with why

Mareike Mgwelo

by Mareike Mgwelo

Story

The love we share for entrepreneurship is a book for those of us who feel deep satisfaction when real-life problems are being solved. These are problems that affect the lives of people around us and problems that we cannot ignore.

I am writing this book to showcase what we can achieve when we decide to set up our minds for success. And what we can do when the journey gets tough.

This book includes learnings from various female entrepreneurs who started social businesses in a country that has become my second home over the past ten years: South Africa. It also serves as a medium for me to reflect on what I have learnt from my past life experiences while studying and working in the field of entrepreneurship education.

During my career, I got the chance to explore multicultural settings across different industries, including consulting, education, tech, energy, and finance. Therefore, I aim to inform my readers about great initiatives and support programmes offered to female founders on the African continent, simply because I am a big believer in sharing opportunities that are unknown to many but known to a few. I would argue that knowledge is powerless until it is shared.*

So, if we do not see, hear, or read about something, how should we know about it? Therefore, let us spread the word together – particularly to those of us with limited access to resources and networks.

If you are holding this book in your hand right now, please pass it on to an (aspiring) African female founder, or feel free to purchase another copy of this book if you want to keep yours. 50% of what I earn with the sales of the books will be used to sponsor activities of the Young African Women in Computing (YAWiC) initiative that Prof. Brenda Scholtz started at Nelson Mandela University in 2017. YAWiC aims to highlight the demand for skills in the field of Computing Sciences, the misrepresentation of women in the sector, and to dispel the false perception regarding careers in Computing Sciences. If you want to join this community, you can find us on Facebook by scanning the QR code on the previous page.

While I am writing this book, I am on a Europe trip with my husband, Xolisa Mgwelo, who grew up in Makhanda and Qqeberha in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. I truly miss my second home. Nevertheless, I am glad to be back in my first home (Germany) to spend time with loved ones, and I am thankful that I get to meet like-minded people across the world who share my love for entrepreneurship almost daily. It excites me to explore which cool products are being used by people in Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark in their daily lives and what these countries’ innovation landscape looks like. I know for sure that an entrepreneurial life has a lot to offer and believe that we need to find more ways to explore and expose innovators around the world to the fullest.

*adapted quote from Dale Carnegie who once said that “Knowledge isn’t power until it is applied.”

© Mareike Mgwelo 2023-08-31

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