Meet our Top 50 Thriving Female Founder for 2019 Edition
Farah Chirene Fortune, founder & director of African Star Communications (ASC) is a well-known businesswoman behind many successful corporate and celebrity brands.
She is better known to her clients & industry peers as "The Pitbull in Heels".
Farah, born in South Africa, spent most of her childhood and earlier adult years living in Belgium and the United Kingdom, before moving back to South Africa in February 2004.
Earlier on in her career she worked as a Publisist for Ster-Kinekor and as an editor at Alchemy Publshing just to name a few. Her public relations career took off when working on bigger projects such as the Oscar-winning movie "Tsotsi" and she later decided to pursue her own PR dreams.
Farah singlehandedly started ASC in 2008 with R1000 in her pocket, a laptop, and cell phone & worked off her bedroom floor, believing one day she would be operating a fully functional agency.
African Star Communications functions through 3 divisions comprising of Celebrity/ Corporate Public Relations & Event Management. The company only takes ten celebrity clients a year to ensure everyone gets the personal attention required.
Her first project with ASC was with AIG and Manchester United for the Vodacom challenge just 3 weeks after opening the company in 2008.
She has gone on to grow the company and become one of biggest household names for celebrity and corporate PR in South Africa and opened an office in Lagos, Nigeria in 2011, with a vision to open in Kenya and Botswana as well.
Through her company, ASC, Farah has worked on PR & events for corporates such as Ice Watch, African Romance for Miss world 2008, Cîroc Vodka South Africa, The Singleton Whisky South Africa, Special Olympics Campaign, Coca- Cola Confederations Cup 2009, Vuvuzela Eat & Sleep, Nandos Peri-Deli, The Dudu Zuma Foundation, J&B Whiskey, Nappy Run, Gert-Johan Coetzee and African International Hair Extravaganza, to name just a few.
For over 8 years with ASC, Farah has handled celebrity clients that are spread over several industries including, AKA, Cassper Nyovest, Solo, Tumi Molekane, Pam Andrews, Terry Pheto, Miss SA 2007 Tansey Coetzee, MC; Liezel van der Westhuizen, MarieChan, Ryan Botha, Mpho Madise (Mo-G) & Comedian Jason Goliath to name just a few.
With a keen interest and focus on female empowerment, since its inception African Star Communications only employs women and uses predominantly female suppliers.
Since the inception of ASC in 2008, Farah has been awarded for her achievements, such as being included on the Mail & Guardian “TOP 200 SOUTH AFRICANS” list in 2011 & in 2012 she was featured in the Annual Cool & Black Directory.
Farah’s achievements are a testament to the fact that hard work pays off, as she has also been awarded the ‘WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP’ award in Mumbai, India in February 2014 from the Women’s World Leadership Congress 2014.
She was awarded as one of the ‘Top 50 Most Impactful Social Innovators (Global Listing)’ by ‘World CSR Day and World Sustainability’ for 2017 & 2018 (She will collect this award in Feb 2018)
The prestigious Superbalist 100, also included her on their annual Top 100 list with the 10th position.
She won an African Woman Award 2016 in the ‘Industry Excellence Award’ category, which took place in December 2016 & also in the same month, Farah received a ‘Social Innovation Leadership Award’ in Mauritius. Farah has also been a mentor for the U.K Based ‘Cherie Blair Foundation’ since 2015.
In November 2018 Farah was awarded the title of ‘Glamour Woman Of The Year 2018’ (Business) as well as awarded Africa’s Most Influential Woman (SADC Region).
March 2019, Farah received an award in New York from the United Nations Chairwoman Awards, for her work within the women empowerment field.
Farah’s Speaker Appointments:
2011- Global Entrepreneurship Conference- Cape Town
2013- BrandU Conference- Cape Town
2013- Women’s Conference- (Workshop)
2014- World Women’s Congress, Women’s Business Issues Panel- Mumbai, India
2014- LLL Young Entrepreneur Symposium- Stellenbosch University- Cape Town
2014- Sanlam Bank- Women’s Conference- Johannesburg, South Africa (Keynote Speaker)
2014- Eldorado Park Community Conference- Johannesburg, South Africa
2015- Sanlam Women’s Conference- Durban, South Africa- (Keynote Speaker)
2015- Step Up 2 Start Up Gala breakfast- Johannesburg, South Africa (Keynote Speaker)
2015- Primestars Youth Workshop – Johannesburg, South Africa
2015- Regenesys Business School- Johannesburg, South Africa
2015- Leading Women Conference- Johannesburg, South Africa (Keynote speaker)
2015- Varsity College Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (Keynote Speaker)
2016- TEDX -Port Elizabeth, South Africa
2016- Stoves & Stilettos- Johannesburg, South Africa