Emerging female business owners experienced a week of instructive and inspiring life and business lessons, when business advisory and consulting firm Alldens Lane, led an exclusive group of Ghanaian and Nigerian businesswomen to Johannesburg, South Africa.

There, they had an opportunity to interact one-on-one with and learn from some of the top entrepreneurs in the country.

The entrepreneurs included Wendy Luhabe, an internationally acclaimed social entrepreneur and author; Jenna Clifford, world-renowned jewellery designer; Lynette Ntuli, Founding Director and CEO of Innate Investment Solutions and Vusi Khanyile of Thebe Investments.

Speaking about the just ended Business Odyssey, Founder and CEO of Alldens Lane Ruka Sanusi said, “We were reminded of the price and the responsibility of daring greatly.  We also saw in the South African business leaders and their businesses the prize for daring greatly.”

She added, “They reminded us as women entrepreneurs to be jealous of the voices we let in.  When you are involved in a pioneering enterprise and idea, there will be those that will encourage and motivate you tirelessly, and there will be voices of others that will place doubt on your cause, its value and its longevity. You may misunderstand, and you will also be misunderstood, but you must be careful of the voices you let in.”

Business Leaders of South Africa

Participants in the program had exclusive access to leading entrepreneurs in South Africa. These business leaders shared their secrets to success and provided valuable mentorship and advice towards fostering community and empowerment amongst businesswomen across Africa.

The business leaders shared key lessons during the Business Odyssey. Vusi Khanyile shared that, in starting Thebe Investments, it’s Management and Trust wanted to create an environment in which they and their stakeholders could function at their best, and thus they focused on deploying traditional African community values to start and build the business - the very values and structures that had bolstered their survival in the apartheid era. 

Wendy Luhabe shared about selecting carefully and jealously, with regards to business partners, staff, clients, third party suppliers.  She said, “You need to work with people who you do not have to convince of you and your businesses value proposition.”Jenna Clifford offered the women strong encouragement and support when she said, “The world is your oyster. Offer the world your best.”

WCEO Participants

Speaking about their experience on the Business Odyssey, Leticia Browne of the Ghana Angel Investment Network said, "The Business Odyssey was enriching on so many levels and way beyond my expectations", Chef Selassie Atadika of Midunu added that, “The Business Odyssey was an amazing experience. 

We meet phenomenal business women and a few good men who were very open and generous with the lessons learned from their decades in business”, Paschorina Mortty of The One Event concluded by saying, “It was a reaffirming and reassuring experience for me. I learned the value of authenticity and to listen to that inner guiding voice.”

Held under the auspices of its WCEO Academy, the just ended Business Odyssey is designed by Alldens Lane for the daring business woman to gain inspiration through networking and sharing their experiences with extremely successful business leaders across the continent, creating an international support group of entrepreneurs.