Page 32 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)
P. 32
FORBES AFRICA
COVER STORY • POWER WOMEN
CLARE AKAMANZI,
wasaverybadFirstLady[since]Ididn’tassume RWANDA
myactivitiesasFirstLady;Icontinuedtodo
whatIhavebeendoing,evenbeforeImarried CEO, RWANDA DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Samora[Machel];beforeImarriedMadiba Clare Akamanzi is a cabinet member of the
[NelsonMandela].WhenImarriedMadiba,I Rwandan presidency serving under the stew-
wasalreadywiththeUnitedNations(UN),I ardship of President Paul Kagame. On Febru-
wasalreadyaspecialrepresentativewiththe ary 4, 2017, she was appointed executive di-
secretary-generaloftheUN. rector and CEO of the Rwanda Development
Board (RDB). She was born in Uganda to
InMozambique,everybodyremembers Rwandan refugee parents in 1979.
mytimeasministerofeducation.Theynever Akamanzi's career began in 2004 as a trade
remembermeasaFirstLady.Inthiscountry diplomat at the World Trade Organization. She over 15 years of experience in
[SA],I’mknownassomeonewhohasbeen later transferred to the Rwandan embassy in the promotion of foreign di-
inthehumanitarianspace.Iestablishedthe London as the commercial diplomat. In 2006, rect investment, private sector
GracaMachelTrustfromSouthAfrica.What she returned to Rwanda and was appointed growth, business environment
Iwouldsay,isthatitsimplymadesense[for deputy director-general of the then Rwanda reforms and her expertise in-
me]tocontinuetochampionthecausesI Investment and Export Promotion Agency be- cludes trade and investment
haveembracedregardlessofbeingmarriedto fore transitioning to the RDB. policy and economic devel-
someonewho,fromhisownmerit,wasinthe Under her current leadership, the board reg- opment policy. Throughout
highestpositionintheland. istered foreign and domestic investments her term, she has established
worth $2.46 billion in 2019, an increase of
Fortunately,[MadibaandI]hadsucha 22.6% from the previous year to support the innovative projects to tack-
maturerelationship,and[he]respectedall government's ambition to create 214,000 le youth unemployment, pro-
myengagements.IwouldtravelwhereverI new jobs every year. mote tourism, small-medium
enterprises and stimulate ag-
couldandsometimesevenwhenIwaswith The lawyer-turned-public administrator has ricultural productivity.
theAfricanPeerReview;hewouldcomewith
metoallowmetodomyworkwhenIneeded
todotwotothreeweeksinKenya.Wewent When there’s talk about breaking
togethertoKenya,andhestayed.Hewasretired ceilings in Africa, Folorunso Alakija
atthattime.Hecontinued to do his work, and I is top of mind. She is a mother, wife,
continuedtodomine. minister, philanthropist, author, an
eight-time honorary doctorate, and
Whatisnextfor‘MamaGraçaMachel’? the definition of ‘self-made’.
IwanttoconsolidatetheinstitutionsI Alakija made a name for herself as
established.Iwantthemtobestrongenoughto a fashion entrepreneur catering to
allowmetogradually‘retirefromretirement’as West Africa’s elite before diverging
Madibawouldsay.Myenergywillbereducing her business interests towards oil
andbythetimeIdecideIwillnotbeatthehead prospecting and mining in 1993. The
only billionaire on our list, she is the
ofmyowninstitutions,Iwantthemtocarryon vice-chair of Nigerian oil exploration
withoutfeelinganykindofdifferencebecause and production company, FAMFA
ofmyabsence.Secondly,Iwouldalsoliketo Oil. The company holds a lucrative
identifyagroupofyoungwomenwhomIcan stake in one of the country’s most ex-
feelIhadadirectimpact[with]toincreaseand tensive offshore discovery known as
amplify‘those’facesand‘those’voices. I would the Agbami Oilfield.
likethatsenseofcontinuity. With a networth of $1 billion, she is
one of only two female billionaires
Whenyoueventually‘retirefromretirement’, in Africa.
whatwillbeonyourbucketlist? As managing director of the Rose of
IjustneedtobeinaspacewhereIcanenjoy FOLORUNSO ALAKIJA, Sharon Group, Alakija attentively
watches over her empire which spans
thebeautyofnature,mygrandchildren,my oil exploration, printing and real estate.
friends;andperhapsbeabletoreflectandif NIGERIA By the same token, she equally directs
there’sanythingI’dlike to share with the world, EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIR, her efforts to plough back into society,
perhapstowrite. FAMFA OIL purposefully exercising her respon-
DAILY MANTRA: “Whatever is worth sibility to bridge the gap between her
– For the full interview, visit cnbcafrica.com doing at all is worth doing well.” fortunes and those less fortunate.
28 | FORBES AFRICA MARCH 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM
