Page 35 - Forbes - Africa (March 2020)

FORBES AFRICA
COVER STORY • POWER WOMEN

IBUKUN women entrepreneurs to access

AWOSIKA, international markets. Moreover,
she set up the Afterschool Grad-
NIGERIA uate Development Centre to en-

FOUNDER AND CEO, THE hance the employability of grad-
CHAIR CENTRE GROUP uates.
Through all her projects, Awosi-

bukun Awosika didn’t ka aspires to use her success to
plan on becoming an further the development of Ni-
Iaward-winning entre- geria by raising entrepreneurs to
preneur, but she did. One create jobs and reduce youth un-
of Nigeria’s most celebrat- employment. “Nigerians have
ed businesswomen, she de- great tenacity. Once you create
ELSIE KANZA,TANZANIA fines resilience and tenacity. an enabling environment, you’ll
The founding CEO of furni- be shocked at what they can
HEAD OF AFRICA AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, ture manufacturer and retail- achieve,” she said in an interview
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM er, the Chair Centre Group, with FORBES AFRICA.
DAILY MANTRA: “CANI: Continuous And Never-ending she also serves as chair of the
Improvement.” board of Access Bank PLC
As one of the youngest and most dynamic female leaders emerging from and First Bank of Nigeria.
Africa, Elsie Kanza is not one to be overlooked. A Tanzanian economist Women empowerment peaks
born and raised in Kenya, she spent parts of her career serving with the Awosika’s social interests.
ministry of finance; the central bank of Tanzania as well as the presiden- She co-founded Women In
cy as personal assistant to the country's former president, Jakaya Mrisho Management and Business
Kikwete, where she was responsible for economic affairs. (WIMBIZ) to inspire, em-
Since 2011, Kanza has been leading the African agenda at the World Eco- power and advocate for bet-
nomic Forum (WEF). Based in Geneva, her mission is to bring issues of
regional importance to the forefront; thereafter engage and collaborate ter representation of women
with political, business and social leaders to make the right policy choic- in leadership positions in
es to transform Africa's economy and build sustainable growth. both the public and private
She is especially passionate about how the private sector can confront sector.
unemployment and lead the charge to place job creation on the front In 2019, Awosika became the
burner and improve its competitiveness through economic reform. new president of the Inter-
According to Kanza, the safeguarding of women’s rights may be of more national Women Entrepre-
importance to regional growth. neurial Challenge based in
During her term, she has increased the participation of women attend- New York. The female-based
ing the WEF summit on Africa to 30%, the highest ever, more than the economic empowerment or-
annual international summit held in Davos. ganization supports leading

JUDY DLAMINI, SOUTH only matters if it is used to make a difference

AFRICA in the lives of those less fortunate than your-
self,” Dlamini says.
FOUNDER, MBEKANI GROUP In partnership with her husband, she regis-
DAILY MANTRA: “Life is a gift, treasure tered and co-founded a public benefit trust
it. Never give up on yourself and on your focused on rural development with the pur-
pose of providing access to tertiary education,
dreams.” sporting, computer literacy, quality health and
A woman of many feats, Judy Dlamini left exposing emerging African designers to main-
her medical practice to pursue her entre- stream luxury retail.
preneurial aspirations as the founder of In March 2017, Dlamini authored Equal But
Mbekani Group. Different, illuminating the rise and struggles
Dlamini has successfully built businesses in of female business leaders in South Africa.
pharmaceuticals, luxury fashion and property
management, to name a few. Amidst her busy She further leveraged the opportunity to
launch a publishing company, Sifiso Pub-
schedule, she still finds time to pursue a string
of degrees, lead the University of the Witwa- lishers, to give a voice to other African writ-
tersrand as Chancellor, and do philanthropy. ers and bring to the forefront more narratives
that detail societal issues today.
“Power for its own sake has no value; power

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