Cape Town lifestyle blogger and influencer, Aisha Baker is moving up in the world.
The 29-year-old award-winning businesswoman and style icon has been named on the annual Forbes Africa Under 30 list.
The stylish wife of former Proteas cricket star Wayne (Waleed) Parnell was named along several other South Africans across four categories, including recent BET award-winner, Sho Madjozi and Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi.
Aisha, who has over 135 000 followers on her Instagram account, founded “Baked the Blog”, which she later renamed “ Baked Online” in 2009.
She said being named on Forbes’ prestigious list has inspired her to work harder.
Excited to announce that I’ve made it onto @forbesafrica’s 30 under 30 list. What an incredible milestone thank you Forbes for this honour during my ten year anniversary of Baked Online! pic.twitter.com/aEhxmsHK4g
— Aisha Baker (@bakedonline) June 28, 2019
“It’s a nod of approval that I am doing things right and headed in the right direction,” she told Weekend Argus.
“Baked Online started as a passion project and became an accidental business.
“Had I known it would turn into this, I would have approached things differently, but I think the magic lies in the uncertainty of it all.
“This has been my aspiration for the past five or so years - to incorporate e-commerce and a few brand extensions.”
UNEXPECTED SUCCESS: Aisha’s blog is called bakedonline.com. Photo: Supplied.
Aisha is no stranger to local and international fame.
In 2016, she was named favourite African blogger at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and also received Glamour SA’s Glamorous Woman of the Year award.
Last year she featured on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine’s influencer issue and most recently she was nominated for a 2019 Global Social award in the Inspiration & Influence category and won E! Entertainment Africa’s Pop Culture Social Media Award.
#30Under30 list unveiled at the #Under30MeetUp @Under30MeetUp This year there are 4 categories , follow the hashtag get to know them! pic.twitter.com/RWbM1n7YAQ
— Forbes Africa (@forbesafrica) June 28, 2019
Aisha’s advice to aspiring bloggers is to be both authentic and strategic.
“I think I live authentically and keep it real online, amid the facade that is social media - I think that’s important,” she says.
“I express when things are not going my way as much as I celebrate my success, reminding young people that life is not linear and there are bumps along the way.”
HUBBY: With Wayne Parnell. Photo: Instagram.
Aisha and Wayne have a one-year-old son Khalid and she says: “Since having him (my son), time is more precious, so I’ve learnt to work smarter.”
Aisha currently lives in the UK, where her family lives for part of the year due to Parnell’s cricketing commitments.