Cape Town – Cape Town Mother of three Alicia English, who is also a former journalist, entrepreneur, publisher and children’s book author, has won the Home-Based Business of the Year Award at the prestigious Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards 2024.
The international awards event was held in Dubai on June 6, organised by Mastercard, in partnership with Entrepreneur Middle East, to recognise and celebrate women entrepreneurs in the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
According to their website, the Women SME Leaders Awards aligns with Mastercard’s global pledge to connect 25 million women entrepreneurs to the digital economy by 2025 as part of its efforts to build a more sustainable and inclusive world.
Previously the events were held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, for the first time, the award ceremony took place at Bluewaters Forum by Banyan Tree hotel in Dubai.
Amnah Ajmal, Mastercard executive vice-president for market development in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said they believed in women who were entrepreneurs and who were also supporting the economy, and their desire to solve real needs.
“The Mastercard Women SME Leaders Awards is an integral part of our women’s empowerment journey.
“This initiative helps us generate momentum so we can continue to uplift the most impactful women change-makers.”
English is the founder and executive director of The Olive Exchange, a publishing business that specialises in affordable children’s books to support educators, librarians and parents in their efforts to improve literacy outcomes for children across the country.
The Home-Based Business of the Year Award category recognised a business led or founded by a woman that is run exclusively from her place of residence and has been operating for more than two years.
The winner had to demonstrate a significant growth in terms of value created and revenue, as English did.
English began her entrepreneurship, following the death of her husband, Noel, in 2021, during the pandemic, and published her first book, I miss daddy, which told of her seven-year-old son Matthew’s story of grief and missing his father.
“It is such an honour to have received this accolade along with women entrepreneurs from across our continent and the Middle East, and to have been able to represent my business, community and country,” she said.
“People were moved by our story and the work we do back home,” said Alicia.
“Statistics are stark; 81% of Grade 4 learners and 56% of Grade 6 learners in South Africa struggle with reading comprehension.”
Alicia is on a mission to change this narrative.
She recently wrote two new children’s books, Mahalia the Rainbow Princess, and, Shanté and the Whale, which are aimed at foundation phase learners.
“Winning this award is not just about clinching another accolade. I am hoping it will go a long way in helping us raise awareness about the issue of poor reading comprehension among our primary school learners in South Africa,” she adds.
English feels passionate about reading and inspiring women, including her own children.
“I have seen in my personal life how reading has transformed my life,” she stated.
“I was exposed to reading as a child by my dad growing up in Mitchell’s Plain.
“As a mom and as a woman, to have won this award means a lot to me, always saying I am a mother from Mitchell’s Plain.
“I do that because everything that I do is to create a better life and better opportunities for my children.
“I also want to inspire them to be able to do great things and to believe in themselves.
“I run my business from home because I made a decision after my husband died in 2021. I am the only parent they have and I have a very supportive family.
“We as women do not have to limit ourselves, this award is a validation and to encourage moms and to inspire them no matter where you are.”
English is an award-winning magazine editor, publisher and children’s book author, and holds a Humanitarian Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Switzerland.
She is also a proud alumni of the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s Entrepreneurship Development Academy, at the University of Pretoria, as well as a graduate of the Whitaker Peace and Development Initiative’s Women’s Livelihood Programme.
She launched her career in journalism in 1998 and has worked as a reporter on community newspapers such as The Plainsman, Athlone News and Southern Mail.
She has 18 years’ experience as an editor.
Stanley Jacobs, who utilised English’s services when publishing his book, said she was a great asset to society and authors such as himself.
“I am proud of Alicia for claiming her space. She lost her husband not too long ago, and through this difficult time she got up and started working because she has three boys who are depending on her.
“She assisted me in the self-publishing of my second book, Cape Flats Undercover. Her guidance and support were priceless and it was a great journey because I learned so much in the process. I wish her all the best and the sky’s the limit.”
Weekend Argus