Dare 2 Aspire - meet the panelists.

Dare 2 Aspire: 

Women in Entrepreneurship 

13 November 2018 

Meet the panellists 

Memuna Janneh 

Memuna says: 

"According to the British 

Council, ?Social enterprise 

is playing a growing role 

in support of women?s 

empowerment ? notably, 

as a source of funding for 

women?s rights, a means 

of delivering training and 

creating employment, and 

as a way of empowering 

women socially and 

economically.? Cassava 

Bistro is doing exactly 

that by creating a space for women to earn and grow, 

while championing issues that matter most to them". 

Memuna Janneh is a devoted wife and loving mother of two. She?s an Accountant and a 

Business Intelligence Consultant with over 25 years of experience in business development 

and financial reporting. Highly specialized in providing group consolidation and BI 

solutions to multi-national companies around the world, with a client footprint in over a 

dozen countries in Europe, Middle East, Africa and North America. Currently leading a 

systems integration project for an international renewable energy conglomerate in Europe. 

She is the founder and Trustee of LunchBoxGift, a UK and Sierra Leone based charity that 

is currently focused on advancing primary school education, by providing nutrition and 

sustenance to disadvantaged children at school. 

She?s also the Owner-Director of Cassava Bistro, a social enterprise restaurant and catering 

service based in Freetown. Profits from Cassava Bistro help to fund the charitable activities 

of LunchBoxGift.. Currently studying Sustainable Leadership at the University of 

Cambridge, UK. 

Ps: Ready to dance, whenever you are! 

What is GEW? 

Each November more than 9 million people in 160 countries take part in over 25,000 events in recognition of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). This one 

week celebration of entrepreneurs, aims to encourage support for entrepreneurial activity and foster a greater understanding of the importance of entrepreneurship 

to innovation and economic growth. 

IFC Sierra Leone (FCS Africa/ CASA) supports Dare 2 Aspire: Women in Entrepreneurship




Aminata Kane Ndiaye 

In April 2018 2018, Mrs. Aminata Kane Ndiaye was appointed the Chief Executive Officer for 

Orange Sierra Leone. 

Prior this appointment, Mrs. Ndiaye was the Chief Marketing Officer for Orange Money in 

Senegal, a business that has grown exponentially and become profitable in the past two years. She 

had previously been the B2C Marketing Performance Manager, in charge of strategy, sales and 

margin growth, return on investment and process efficiency, customer experience and loyalty 

retention. She led many structuring projects within Sonatel from 2013 to 2018. This earned her the 

confidence of Top Management Orange Group. 

Mrs. Ndiaye began her career as a strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company in France and Africa, designing strategies and 

operations for telecommunication and technology providers, banks, and consumer goods manufacturers in Europe and West Africa 

from 2009 to 2011. She also gained experience interning at Goldman Sachs in London, BNP Paribas in Geneva, and at the French 

Business Confederation (MEDEF) in Paris. 

Originally from Senegal, Mrs. Ndiaye holds a Bachelor?s degree and a Master?s degree in Management from HEC Paris Grande Ecole, 

coupled with an MBA from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management, during which she was 

appointed President of the Africa Business Club. 

What is GEW? 








Meet the panellists 

Margaret says: 

"Women entrepreneurs are on the 

rise but access to finance to scale up 

their businesses if often a big 

challenge. Banks and financial 

institutions needs to ensure that 

women in remote areas and women 

in capital cities have the same access 

to finance. 

We also sometimes have lower 

quality networks which can hinder 

the growth and development of our 

businesses since network 

relationships are the most frequently 

used and trusted source of advice and 

support for women entrepreneurs." 

Margaret Kadi 

Margaret Kadi is the CEO of 

Pangea which is a Made in Sierra 

Leone company specialising in 

locally made furniture, home and 

fashion accessories. Prior to being an 

entrepreneur, she worked for 

multinational companies in London 

like MTV Networks Europe, British 

Sky Broadcasting (Sky Sports) and 

Discovery Channel. 

What is GEW? 








Edleen B Elba 

Edleen says: ?When I decided to manage my own company 

in Sierra Leone, I knew there would be challenges, and even 

more so because I am a woman. It has been physically, 

mentally and emotionally exhausting, but the rewards have 

been immense - providing solutions to other organisations 

and individuals, reinvesting in my community, being part 

of Sierra Leone?s skills revolution, building my network and 

adding to my own experience and knowledge. I wouldn?t 

change it for the world? 

Edleen B Elba is a Chartered Global Management Accountant and Human Resources practitioner, 

owns and manages JobSearch (SL) Ltd, a HR management firm; and is co-founder of DataPool, a data 

management company. 

She is trained in strategic business management, risk management and financial management, has 

over two decades of experience within the private and public sectors and is an IFC trained trainer in 

Corporate Governance and productivity courses. 

She started her career with KPMG, working in the Advisory departments in Sierra Leone and Ghana. 

During this period, she implemented financial management software for clients, and trained users; 

and assisted with due diligence assignments and preparation of financial statements, which helped her 

learn business processes and organizational structures. In 2005, she created the Human Resources & 

Risk Management departments at KPMG and managed both for 3 years. 

She worked at Guaranty Trust Bank for a little more than a year as Group Head, Human Resources & 

Corporate Affairs and at National Power Authority for over four years as Human Resources and 

Administration Manager. 

For just over a year, she worked with Adam Smith International on its Revenue for Prosperity project 

at National Revenue Authority, as Training Advisor. 

Over the years, she has acquired skills including Strategic Human Resource Management, Strategic 

Risk Management, Presentation, Software applications, Team Leadership, Time Management, 

Effective Communication, Assertiveness and Negotiation. 

Edleen is the Chairman of the MEPS Trust Well Woman Clinic fundraising committee and member 

of Heaven Homes?fundraising committee. She is passionate about skills development and women?s 

empowerment. 

What is GEW? 








Randa says: "Put on your coat 

of confidence and own your 

dream." 

Randa Swaid 

Randa Sw aid née Randa Sahid Mohamed is a Sierra Leonean business woman and philanthropist, born in Sierra Leone of mixed Sierra Leonean 

and Lebanese parentage. She attended Murraydeen Preparatory School, where she was a founding pupil, and Annie Walsh School for Girls, before 

being sent to England to complete her education. She was accepted by the world-famous St Edmunds College, Oxford University to read Politics, 

Philosophy and Economics, but bowed to family pressure and instead joined her brothers at California State University, where she graduated Magna 

cum Lauda BSc Finance. After college she discovered a passion for interior design and in 2004 opened City Plaza ? Sierra Leone?s first interiors and 

design retail outlet. The shop provided an avenue for Randa?s particular combination of creativity and business acumen and has gone from strength 

to strength. 

Her next business venture ? Swiss Spirit Hotel - confirmed her position as a trail blazer in Sierra Leone?s business community. The hotel, which is 

Sierra Leone?s first branded boutique hotel, opened in 2014 and has already established a reputation for its high-end design ethos and excellent 

service. Building on the success of Swiss Spirit and cementing her reputation for thinking outside the box, Randa embarked upon a new venture ? 

Freetown?s first short-let fully-serviced luxury apartments. Eighteen studios have been completed and she is presently working on an additional 18 

one-bedroom flats. In 2010, her desire to contribute something more to her country resulted in Friends of Education Salone (FoESL). The charity, 

which was initially inspired by Randa?s childhood ties to Tokeh Beach, funds educational projects in Sierra Leone. FoESL?s innovative fundraising 

ventures include Sierra Leone?s best-loved day out ? the Tokeh Beach Regatta, as well as newer but equally successful initiatives like the Masquerade 

Ball at Radisson Blu Mammy Yoko. The charity is entirely run by volunteers and all money raised goes directly to school construction projects and 

educational resources. Beneficiaries to date include Tokeh School, Binkolo Catholic Secondary School, Cardiff Community School and York 

Secondary School amongst others. She is married to Sierra Leonean businessman ? Jihad Swaid, and has two children. She?s also the winner of the 

following awards: 

2016 Women mean business trailblazer award 

2017 Sisters Choice Award- Best Female Entrepreneur 

Heirs Africa- the dawn of Entrepreneurship and Philantrophy 

Lifetime Award for your contributions in Arts and Design 

What is GEW? 








Mariama Kamara 

Mariama says: "'Be the change you want to see. Encouraging 

women to become energy entrepreneurs offers multiple development 

benefits, such as an expansion of economic activities for women, a 

diversification of productive options and the creation of new sources 

of wealth and income to support family investments in education 

and health.? 

Mariama Kamara is the Founder & Director of Smiling Through Light 

which provides clean, reliable & Sustainable energy in Sierra Leone 

through the sales of solar products. Beam Talks is the company's UK 

initiative which aims to inspire young women by highlighting different 

job sectors amongst Sierra Leoneans in the U.K. She started the company 

after a trip to Sierra Leone in 2011, on a placement with Restless 

Development as a SRH Curriculum Development Technical Assistant. 

Her current and previous roles include working on development projects 

at local, national and international levels relating to Science & 

Technology, HIV, Microbicides, Education and Innovation. She has 

worked with organisations such as SciDev.Net, African Health Policy 

Network, VSO, DFID, SIDA, African Development Association for 

Progress, Restless Development, UN and Africa UK in contributing 

towards the development of Africa. She has always been interested in 

development issues especially on poverty, energy, education, sexual and 

reproductive health and HIV issues relating to women and young people. 

Mariama has a MSc in Development Studies from Birkbeck University 

and BSc (Hons) in Psychology. 

What is GEW? 








Madeleine Sahr-Marah 

Madeleine Sahr-Marah(Mrs. Marah) 

Married to Samuel Sahr-Marah with three kids 

Acting CEO Orange Money SL 

Madeleine says: "Girls and women are creative in problem-solving and in finding solutions. Young girls and 

women are good multipliers, especially in the context of their families. They adapt quickly to advancement 

and they look forward to their achievements and successes. They are desirous to do well, impact families, 

generations and their communities. When their environment offers them a chance, young girls and women 

reap the benefits of opportunities and build a society where they network, not because of their self-desire but 

because of a unified dream to make the world a better place for children, husbands, and parent. 

I have also identified that greater number of the people engage in commercial activities are women and they 

are very instrumental in development/ transformation process. Their involvement in national economy can 

drive economic development faster, if they have the required skills and resources needed and are involved in 

Economic Development Programs. Women?s empowerment is often measured by their access to resources and 

their ability to make decisions over what they have. I believe Global Entrepreneurship Week present a new 

way to increase women's economic participation. With this solution many women will be empowered to drive 

growth within their communities, gain better control over resources, improving the performance of their 

enterprises and participate more in market opportunities." 

What is GEW?

Dare 2 Aspire - meet the panelists.

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