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Lynda Aphing-Kouassi: The Woman Behind Initiative to Empower Business Aspirants with Cabinet International Kaizene

“Be Still and know that I am God.” – Bible

These words effectively steer motivation for Lynda Aphing-Kouassi, Founder & Managing Director, International Firm KAIZENE, a renowned name in Professional Training & Coaching that aims for excellence, Transformation specialized in capacity building; coaching, the organization of institutional conferences and women empowerment through the accelerator focused on agriculture.

Personifying a rigorous, determined; hardworking, daring, disruptive, spiritual, passionate for development, optimistic, and self-motivated individual who diligently transverses the path to achieving, Lynda enjoys the reputation of chairing a front-runner in the industry with a name that has ripened since she rooted it years ago.

In her 18 years of professional journey, Lynda managed to navigate through a journey of new experiences working with different professionals and achieving realistic goals. She started her career in the banking sector at Santander, Societe Generale, Vaultex (a subsidiary of the HSBC banking group) as a team leader, director of investments, and then investment banker in London for over 15 years. This career gives her solid expertise in the banking and financial field and the management of human capital constituting for her the “heart of the development of any Companies and the Society”.

In recent years, she has decided to return to her country in order to share her experience through the activities of her cabinet KAIZENE and thus contribute (i) to the development of the African continent (ii) to the empowerment of women and young people in through mentoring, coaching and training and (iii) through the organization, since 2015, of the annual conference on infrastructure and construction. She is a member of the board of directors of the African Diaspora Network (ADNE) based in Brussels (Belgium), the British chamber of commerce and a member of the Institute of Directors of London (I.O.D).

KAIZENE, Focusing on Women Empowerment & Youth Inclusion

KAIZENE was founded in 2015 on the initiative of Lynda Aphing-Kouassi. It is a training company that aims for excellence, specialised in capacity building; coaching, the  organisation of institutional conferences, and finally KAIZENE accelerator for women SME.

The leading lady came up with this initiative when she realized that there was a lack of adequate training for companies but mostly that the employee’s soft skills were not fully utilized; that women’s empowerment was at the back of the agenda, and youth inclusion slow. She decided to contribute at her level in the ways she knew possible:

KAIZENE is a team of experienced employees who put their expertise at the service of their clients. They all share the values of rigor; faith and excellence.  It is based in London Pall Mall Piccadilly (United Kingdom) and in Abidjan zone 4 (Ivory Coast).

Here, the clientele mainly includes institutions; governments small and medium-sized companies.  We instill in them values of determination, agility; excellence; ambition, innovation, efficiency, and commitment.

Some conference themes organized by KAIZENE

  • Mining, Oil and Gas (December 2015) – London, United Kingdom
  • Oil Sector: Challenges and Opportunities (April 2016) – Abidjan, Ivory Coast
  • Electrification of Africa (October 2016) – Cape Town, South Africa
  • Construction and Infrastructures (December 2017) – Dakar, Senegal
  • AGOA FORUM (August 2018) Cote- d Ivoire
  • Construction and Infrastructures (December 2018) – Kigali, Rwanda
  • Construction and Infrastructures (October 2019) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
  • ROADMAP CONFERENCE PRESIDENCY OF THE REPUBLIC OF COTE-D IVOIRE (October 2020)

Challenges & the Driving Force

“Our main challenges have been the sustainability of the empowerment for a larger number of women and the integration of young people through vocational training not being discouraged we carry on and are doing intense lobbying to achieve our goals”, shared Lynda when asked about her major challenges during the journey.

She continued, “As a woman entrepreneur in Africa, we worked hard and smart; we have met some very talented people and institutions that have also contributed to our growth.”

A Day in the Leading Lady’s Life & Her Hobbies

Lynda’s day is punctuated by her family and her work from the moment she wakes up she prays; speaks to her family and gets ready for her daily meetings, then she has meetings with her employees. Her hobbies are watching animated movies; travelling, art and culture and spending with her few friends

Jewels in the Crown

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi has been recognized by Forbes and Financial Afrique mentions; ASCOM awards, TOP MANAGER awards for our Nobel initiatives and contributions. Besides, the CSR activities have earned her the recognition of Forbes Africa and Financial Africa magazines as a development actor.

Through her services, Miss APHING-KOUASSI wishes to make a contribution to the economic and social development of the African continent. In her perpetual quest for development, she deeply believes that the desire to succeed and move forward must overcome obstacles and difficulties.

Favorite Read

Lynda said, “I have read a lot of books but the Bible is where I draw my real inspiration.”

Future Roadmap

Lynda Aphing-Kouassi and her team will continue to train as many businesses as possible to help them grow, empower as many women as possible and change the mindset and integrate as many young people so that they become the African leaders of tomorrow.

A Piece of Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Be unapologetic; intentional; determined; Believe in yourself, pray; have a mission and don’t give up until it’s done; embrace failures, don’t apologise for who you are and stay true to your values, don’t look for people to love you or to like your quotes look for real tangible impact in people lives and remember to stay humble.

Tips to Women Entrepreneur before the Entrepreneurial Journey Starts: Annabel Biggar-David

How can we advance female entrepreneurship and what can we do to stop the backslide?

ABD: “Governments need to realize the importance of women entrepreneurs in their economy and to inspire entrepreneurial attitudes. Women in business, sometimes feel invisible. African Women have a voice that can no longer be silenced. We are wanting to be the change and help create employment. But it starts with young girls at home: instill in them a love for reading and learning which will lead them to a sense of curiosity about the world. As the sayings go: “Little girls with dreams become women with vision” and “It is easier to build strong children than repair broken adults”. Government needs to create links between women entrepreneurs and corporates. Have these corporate giants pledge their support to include women entrepreneurs in their supply chain and governments to be equally committed to keeping those conversations alive. For a successful African woman, it is your duty as a woman to help another woman. When women support each other, incredible things happen. I do mentor a handful of women in business including our female staff complement and recommend they participate in great accelerator programs that are funded by the government. To women, I would recommend learning the basics of business, study, read, job shadow, ask for help. Use what is at your disposal, visit internet cafes and google, programs are waiting for you to sign up with. In South Africa, an organization called Seda will help you with your business idea and help turn it into a reality.”

What would be your advice to women who want to start a business?

ABD: “Remember start-ups default state is a failure, as an entrepreneur we have to work to un-fail it. In business we mistakenly think it’s all about that great idea, it’s not. Everyone has ideas. The most successful companies are founded on a combination of frugality, wise spending, customer service, and superior products. Always spend wisely. Don’t go broke trying to look rich. That’s a mistake lots of entrepreneurs make. When you buy things, you don’t need soon you will have to sell things you do need. Do you know that 85% of your financial success is due to your personality, ability to communicate, lead and negotiate? Only 15% is due to technical knowledge. Don’t get me wrong, KNOW, ABSORB, BREATHE and LIVE every aspect of your business but it brings it back to this. People buy People, not products. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Hustle like hell. I’ve begged, pleaded, and borderline harassed editors of magazines for free editorial. I hand-wrote letters to every single person who appeared on the tv show Undercover Boss USA, Dragons Den UK, Richard Branson, and every other successful person I admire asking for tips and mentorship.

As a women wellness entrepreneur what do you think is the most important skill that has helped you build your brand?

ABD: “Compassion! Knowing we are serving a purpose greater than ourselves. We have a great company culture and I personally strive to be flawless and impeccable with my word with my employees and customers. As women, our default state is to help and nurture. Honest, raw, and real conversations, exposing one’s vulnerability has opened many doors for me. I keep my values front and center. I believe Ego will destroy one. I am an open book, transparent about myself, my life, and my products. Persistence has taken me places, not talent or genius or even education. In business integrity is everything. Generosity and kindness go a long way too. I do not take the smallest gestures for granted as they speak the loudest. Being quite self-aware and
prioritizing personal development and that of my team, their development, and becoming the best versions of themselves is integral to my leadership style. I try and encourage strategic thinking, innovation, and action. This is the rainbow nation and we ensure to practice effective cross-cultural communication. I coach, motivate, and lead by example. I have a responsibility and need to develop others to succeed in their roles and prepare for future roles. Other roles include being a facilitator, strategist, visionary, a shoulder to cry on, a life and work coach but also being able to make tough decisions. Also, my company is a 100% black women-owned business and all of us come from disadvantaged backgrounds and gender bias- an inequality- is not a challenge we face as a company.”

 

 

In the always on era, creativity is key to business success

It’s often forgotten that business is a creative pursuit. Every business, be it a technology giant such as Microsoft, or a tiny corner store serving one community, stems from a single idea. An idea that’s born from creative intent, but can be lost in deadlines, bottom lines and lines of business. Success today is still defined by return on investment (ROI) and numbers, but it’s strengthened by the organisation’s ability to build a culture of creativity. In the era of the always on business, customer and employee, this is as invaluable as ROI.

This ethos has driven the rapid growth and expansion of Skynamo, a South Africa original organisation. Founded by Sam Clarke in 2012, the organisation now has a presence on four continents and in five countries, from New Dehli to South Africa to Columbus, Ohio with support teams that run 24/7. The goal of building a company at scale, globally, with offices in multiple locations with cross-functional teams has already delivered with a percentage increase in employee numbers 2020 of 66%.

“We grew from a company of 60 people to 100 in 2020, which was quite an exceptional increase for one year,” says Clarke, Chief Executive Officer of Skynamo. “We aren’t looking at doing that again – we’ve stabilised now, and are continuing to increase our capacity and growth at 10% year on year. This consistent growth has required that we focus on building a robust culture that’s embedded across every office, branch and silo.”

The core that Skynamo gets right is recruitment. This is the key to ensuring that the organisation catches the attention of the right talent, and that this attention is tightly held over the long term. One of the biggest challenges facing global organisations today is the lack of skills and talent diversity, which makes recruitment and talent management absolutely critical to ensuring business success. High turnovers, toxic environments, challenging workplace cultures tend to overflow into the public domain and have long-term negative impacts on reputation and organisation. To resolve this, companies have to get the core right.

“There’s an energy that comes from people working on projects they care about in environments that care about them,” says Clarke. “An energy that’s reflected in quality of product and service, and in a culture that’s capable of adapting to change and uncertainty. Elastic, capable and relevant companies are those that do more than just invest into process, talent and technology. They focus on the core creativity that each skilled person brings to the company.”

Clarke believes that the energy that drives projects and the passion that defines people who are passionate about those projects are two qualities that need to be replicated in the working environment. This has led to a recruitment drive that focuses on hiring people that share company chemistry right from the outset. They need to be capable of working autonomously and delivering to KPIs and creating outcomes without being handheld through the working day. They also need to understand that the customer sits at the heart of the business. Here, every employee spends time at the customer coalface so that they fully understand how their work impacts the business, and the people the business serves. Each employee is empowered to do this as a new starter as part of the company’s onboarding process is for employees to spend time taking customer support calls, for example.

“This ethos is embedded by a Chief People Officer, Sarah Rice, who does a deep dive chemistry check into a person’s values and their ability to fit within the culture of the company,” says Clarke. “The emphasis is on creating one team, globally. This isn’t one value set for one company in India, and another in the US – it’s shared teams, values and culture across every customer, partner and employee.”

The reality of 2020 has set in. The business shifts are being seen in 2021. Companies are no longer powered by shoulder pads and rage, as defined by the 80s and 90s. Today, business success is as visible in its bottom line as it is in its culture, creativity and recruitment retention.

Tips To Engage And Motivate Woman Employees

Over the last few decades, women worldwide have shown time and time again that they are equally adapted to do any work. Women have excelled in various fields such as technology and science, business, entrepreneurship, sports, the army and in every position once thought to be only for men. Through different movements, they have shown the world how minimal opportunities were there for them.

The question that arises now is whether they are getting enough equal opportunities?

Engaging and Motivating Women Employees

Various organisations worldwide are now hiring women in significant-high positions due to their qualifications. They are trying to get rid of the gender biasness that was present in every sector of jobs.

From hiring, mentoring and advancing to new roles, there are so many things that an organisation can do to encourage, engage and motivate its female employees.

Tips on Empowering Your Female Employees

  1. Importance of gender diversity in work: Accepting that gender diversity is a major priority in any work field by its leader will always put the matter in light. More people will enact on it when you address this issue. The need for diversity in gender in the workplace will bring the urgency to change the situation, and the rest of the organisation will follow in your footstep.
  2. End the Pay Gap: This has been one of the significant issues regarding female empowerment worldwide. Women are generally considered caregivers, and even if they work as hard as their counterparts, there is still a considerable margin in the pay rate between the genders. Organisations should start conducting equal pay audits and address this issue more and more for other people to notice.
  3. Create a Positive Work Environment: Statistics have shown that people, irrespective of gender, are more likely to work in a positive environment rather than working in a dull environment. The most effective way to engage your female employees is to create a positive and healthy work environment where they can feel safe, equal, and rightful to work.
  4. Support Developments: To engage and motivate its women employees, an organisation needs to support their professional development. Organisations can conduct mentorship programmes for freshers who are new in the field. This will get them more acquainted with their jobs and encourage them to work more. Sponsorships and training also play a significant part in engaging female employees.
  5. Focusing on Rewarding: Most working women are amazing multi-taskers and can manage any hectic environment far better than any man can. They are well familiar with juggling between home and work. It might sound easy, but it is not at all. Organisations should try to reward them for their achievements. Rewards like making a female employee the leader of a project, conducting training sessions to help and elevate their skills, written or spoken appreciation for their work, small gestures like these will motivate their employees.
  6. Accepting individuality: Not every woman is the same. Organisations should embrace their employees’ identity and end the gender biasness on how women should act or not. As a leader, you must address the uniqueness of every individual female employee and make them feel powerful about themselves.

Women are tough, strong, hard-working and powerful. They are the backbone of any society, and we have to encourage and motivate them for their spectacular achievements in their respective fields.

Strengths That Make Women Amazing Entrepreneurs

To be a woman is complex; to be a female entrepreneur is much more difficult! As a result, we’re left wondering: what are the essential qualities of a successful businesswoman?

As successful female entrepreneurs exist today, professional gender equality is still a long way off in almost every sector. Us being us and all for gender equality, we made a list of qualities of a successful entrepreneur to share with our friends and family members. Why? Encourage women (of any gender) to aim high, whether advancing in their current job or beginning a new venture entirely. How? Hopefully, this list will persuade you that all women are capable of running a successful company. What gives you the impression that we’re not worthy of your trust? Continue reading to learn more.

Integrity And Honesty

Integrity is the cornerstone of successful leadership because it means sticking to moral or ethical values and keeping your promises. As a result, trust is built with everyone from your workers to the partners and investors you bring on board to the consumers you serve with your product or service.

Since they can trust that they’ll be adequately treated, employees want to be led by someone who upholds the highest standards of ethical conduct and conducts business in an honourable manner. Furthermore, establishing a corporate culture based on ethical behaviour, honesty, and respect must begin at the top. Decide what kind of business you want to create before you say or do anything.

Adaptability

As businesses develop, companies, especially particularly start-ups, go through a lot of transformation. Entrepreneurs need to be flexible because of this. Women, on the other hand, have nailed this personality characteristic.

One study questioned 1,400 women about the qualities that help them succeed in the workplace. The most popular response was flexibility. Women are well aware of the need to be adaptable in the face of change if their companies thrive. One of the most common ways change occurs is by hiring new workers and setting new strategic objectives, budgets and even office locations. Women, on the other hand, appear to flourish regardless of the new path they choose.

Humility

Overconfidence is one of the worst things a CEO can do. There’s a lot of competition, and you never know who’s going to creep up on you. Keep your wits about you. Keep your head down and your heart in your hands. Keep an eye on the market and make adjustments as necessary.

Only 42% of women who took part in the Centre for Entrepreneurship’s survey felt their company was doing well. A subsequent study of the same firms found that they performed considerably better than the women had said in their first performance assessments. In the workplace, humility always has the upper hand.

Allow Yourself To Let Go Of The Past

Successful female entrepreneurs don’t obsess over the minor details or worry excessively about them. These ladies know that certain things in life are just trifles, and they don’t cling to them. They also know when and how to recognise when something does not need their time and attention.

Conclusion

Women are capable of incredible things. Numerous stories point to the fact that women have enormous global influence. Women nowadays are capable of doing anything and are often seen in positions of power. They can accomplish anything today. Web designers, alarm company owners, and everything in between makes up the diverse range of female entrepreneurs.

Elon Musk Has Become The Third Richest Person In The World Again.

Elon Musk became the wealthiest person in the world for the third time again on Monday. Now he has a net worth of 200 billion dollars. His Tesla stock has made him the wealthiest person in the world again by defeating Amazon founder and space rival Jeff Bezos.

Jeff Bezos became the richest person in the world in the year 2020, August, where his net worth was $200 billion. Musk’s electric vehicle firm Tesla’s stock maintained its four-month rise, finishing up 2.2 percent at $791.36, the highest level since February. Musk’s net worth increased by $3.8 billion on Monday, to $203.4 billion at the end of the day.

Bezos has completed in the second position where his net worth was $1 billion less than Elon musk. Due to the 0.6% amazon stock decline, he is now in the second position. Now, Elon has become more prosperous than he was in January, where his company was at the peak up point, and he had also become the wealthiest tycoon in the world for the first time. At that time, he received additional stock option grants that ultimately increased the value of Tesla. He has 73.5 million Tesla stock options worth $53 billion. Musk controls more than a fifth of Tesla, but Forbes deducts a part of that ownership to account for stocks he has committed as security for loans.

Musk’s fortune is a very lucky one, as it is tied with the ownership of tesla. It ended at $792 billion and more, and the market capitalization of SpaceX has gathered the value of $74 billion after they got a tremendous amount of funding in the month of February. He currently owns one property and classifies his permanent residence as a 400-square-foot rental apartment, despite agreeing to sell virtually all of his personal belongings last year, along with six mansions.

The share rate of Tesla has increased by almost 720% in the year 2020, and as a result, the current net worth of Musk has become $125 billion in a year. Once trading places with Bezos, the Tesla stock has started declining. Arnault also eclipsed musk by April. Last month, the unusually regular shuffle atop the billionaire list continued, with Musk reclaiming second place, following only Bezos. This has only become the trend of it, and they become in the richest page.

Comparison between Caloric Restricted and Plant-Based Diet for healthy weight

Our lifestyle and way of working changed a lot with time. There was a time when people use to do work that needed somebody moment or walking was part of their life. Today we live a simpler life. Our way of working involves no stress on the body. So it is very essential to maintain a healthy weight. Reducing body fat helps in gaining energy in the body. Food plays a very important role in maintaining out heath proper. According to food standards Agency, we must take balanced diet so as to gain natural health.

If we look for best way to maintain diet there may be lots of solutions on the internet. But it is critical to take balanced diet. Caloric Restriction diet and Plan-based diets are two different ways of diet to maintain ideal body weight

Caloric Restriction in diet

When someone wishes to follow caloric restriction way of diet, he/she need to restrict calorie intake in the body. This can lead to malnutrition if not followed properly.  Even though there lots of research work in going on caloric restriction diet, the exact way of action by which caloric restriction effects on the body is not known. The diet positively acts on the body. When we start caloric restriction in diet, our core body temperature reduces. Gradually it leads to reduced cellular divisions making metabolic rates minimum.

The principle of caloric Restriction is eat everything but in less amount. You need to always keep an eye on how much calories you are taking.  This means there is no actual restriction on any type of food just count the calories

Beans, chicken or turkey, tuna, fish, egg whites, low-fat yogurt,and milk are considered as best low- calorie diet.  According to studies on caloric restriction diet, ideal caloric intake for maintaining healthy depends on other body factors, like present weight, body type, height, male/female etc.

 Plant-based diets  

A plant-based eating regimen is likewise more inclined to bring about weight reduction than a veggie lover consume less calories. That is on the grounds that veggie lover eating regimens wipe out creature items yet don’t confine calories, fats or sugars. Plant-based eating regimens utilize little oil, incorporate few included sugars, keep away from handled fixings and spotlight on entire foods.

Plant-based eating methodologies are low in immersed fat, free of cholesterol, and rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and cancer prevention agents.In plant-based diet, there is no need to restrict anything. We need to increase intake of plant-based diet. The example of plant-based food is eating whole plants, unrefined, or minimally refined plants, fruits, vegetables, legumes,tubers, whole grains etc.

If we are taking plant-based diet, we need to reduce meat eating habit. It also includes chicken and fish

Plant-based diet suggest avoiding dairy products, eggs, refined sugar,and bleached flour oil.

We can summarize it by saying, caloric Restriction is known to be the exact opposite of plant-based diets. Caloric restriction is a restriction on the quantity of calories. Plant-based diet is about what type of food you are taking.

Apple’s big September 2021 event

Apple organized an event in September where he unveiled the new iPhone, Apple Watch, and two new iPads. Apple hopes to organize another event in October where new MacBook Pro models will be launched (14in and16in), as well as a new Mac Mini. AirPods were one product that was absent from Apple’s September event. But Apple might have had a good reason not to launch them this September. The October Apple Event date may be indicated by the AirPods’ absence from the September event.

Apple’s WWDC Keynote was held on June 7, where the company announced its plans for updating the operating systems of the Mac, iPhones, iPods, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. Apple also held its Spring-Loaded event on April 20, where it revealed the new 24in iMac and M1-powered iPad Pro and the new Apple TV 4K.

When will Apple hold its next event?

The fact that Apple didn’t reveal the AirPods during the September 14 event surprised us. But should we have been? Apple heads a campaign back to school/return to the university campaign where it offers free airpods to students to help buy Apple products. The Higher Education campaign closes on September 27 in the US and October 11 in the UK. Apple fans and critics both follow the event closely.

  • The company will offer the Pro devices with up 1TB of memory options
  • The iPhone 13 Pro also can shoot videos in Cinematic mode with different depths.
  • This camera features a three-lens setup, which includes a primary lens and an ultra-wide lens.
  • iPhone 13 features leather, clear MagSafe covers, and five new colors.
  • iPhone 13 features custom-designed antennas, radio hardware, and more than 5G bands. There are more than 200 operators in 60 regions.
  • Cinematic mode allows you to focus on video captures with your iPhone 13
  • Sensor shift OIS available for iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 min
  • Wide sensor gathers 47 percent more light
  • iPhone 13 camera will benefit from A15 chipset
  • Apple claims A15 Bionic is 50 percent faster than competitors
  • Apple iPhone 13 presents a 5NMA15 BIONIC SOC for more excellent performance and energy efficiency

AirPods 3, Macs, and other new products are what we expect.

Apple has unveiled a host of hardware and software updates during its 2021 events. This includes the iPhone 13, Apple Watch 7, and iPad Mini 6. A new entry-level iPad has also been revealed. There are still things we are waiting for Apple to unveil in the fall. We hope to see the AirPods 3 – a larger IMAC powered by Apple’s M1 chip, an Apple’s cheaper display, and a new MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro with an up-to-date M1 chip at the rumor. We are also searching for an Apple competitor to Amazon Echo Show intelligent displays, a soundbar with an Apple TV, and perhaps an Apple AR/VR headset.

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