After Claudia Sheinbaum took the oath of office as Mexico’s president in October, a historic cheer filled the congressional chamber:&nbsp;“Presidenta! Presidenta!”



Sheinbaum, 62, is the first woman to preside over the nation—the world’s 12th-largest economy—in its 200 year history as an independent country. “Many of us were told a version of history since we were children, which wanted us to believe that the course of humanity was led only by men. But little by little this vision has been reversed,” she said in her inauguration speech. “It is time for women.”



The women on the 2024 Power Women list define this moment. It is determined by four main metrics: money, media, impact and spheres of influence. The result: 100 women across finance, technology, media and beyond who command a collective $33 trillion in economic power and influence more than 1 billion people.



Five Africans have been featured on the 2024 list: Judith Suminwa Tuluka from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mpumi Madisa from South Africa, Samia Suluhu Hassan from Tanzania and Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mo Abudu.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/power-women/">Click here for the full 2024 list</a>

The World’s Most Powerful Women

Considered the most entrepreneurial continent in the world, Africa is also home to the highest proportion of women entrepreneurs globally, with 58% of the continent’s self-employed population being women, who contribute some 13% of Africa&#8217;s total GDP.



According to the 2022 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, South Africa is one of only 12 economies across the globe where women&#8217;s entrepreneurial activity rates increased during the previous year, despite the impact of Covid-19. “The growth of this sector and its potential has not gone unnoticed by Access Bank, and we are committed to advancing entrepreneurship – especially ‘Womenpreneurs’ – to continue encouraging what Access Bank South Africa sees as the country’s economic backbone,” says Sugendhree Reddy, CEO of Access Bank South Africa.



It was with this in mind that two large and well-loved local brands &#8211; Jacaranda FM and Access Bank South Africa, came together to provide a broad platform to businesswomen in South Africa in the form of a competition called ‘Womenpreneur – Her Perfect Pitch’, offering prizes to the value of approximately R2 million (approximately $107,000) in business assistance during Women’s Month, August 2023.



Deirdre King, Managing Director at Jacaranda FM emphasizes the importance of women supporting and learning from one another. Deirdre encourages businesswomen to uplift and inspire their peers while confidently claiming their rightful space in the entrepreneurial space. “This campaign drives tangible business and marketing assistance, layered with access to mentorship for the finalists. Last year, our finalists shared that the transfer of knowledge and experience from women leaders within Jacaranda FM and Access Bank was the most coveted part of this magnificent prize,” says King.



This high-profile event shows both brands’ commitment to women in the entrepreneurial space in South Africa, with ‘Womenpreneur &#8211; Her Perfect Pitch’ offering priceless and life-changing business experience for the winners.



The entrants’ experience will encourage other women to reach for the stars, while enabling Access Bank to tap into a diverse pool of talented and driven female entrepreneurs, potentially identifying promising investment opportunities or forging long-term business relationships.



Crossing the great divide



The bank&#8217;s commitment to nurturing the growth of local businesses and contributing to economic development in South Africa is seated in the knowledge that the country is “talent-rich but fiscally needful”, according to Sugendhree.



The World Economic Forum (WEF’s) 2022 Gender Gap Report noted that it would take a shocking 151 years to close global economic gender gaps without a massive and speedy change.



“Solutions must come from the corporate and private sectors who have the wherewithal to advance female employment, and we believe that creating opportunities like ‘Womenpreneur – Her Perfect Pitch’ are important stepping stones to generating enthusiasm among entrepreneurs and providing a platform for finance and business knowledge,” says Reddy. 



&nbsp;HOW TO ENTER



<ol class="wp-block-list" type="1">
<li>Head on over to <a href="https://southafrica.accessbankplc.com/womenpreneur/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JacarandaFM.com</a> to enter electronically from 1 to 31 August 2023.</li>



<li>Complete the form and upload your documents.</li>



<li>If you are successful, you will be notified that you are in the Top 30 Womenpreneurs and invited to a breakfast networking event with a special guest speaker.</li>



<li>The Top 10 successful women will be invited to the judging event that will take place on 19 October in the pitching den.</li>
</ol>



Winners will be announced at a gala event to be held in November. Jacaranda FM and Access Bank South Africa are looking forward to seeing the pitches of the special and vital part of the South African economy, Womenpreneurs.

Womenpreneur Her Perfect Pitch 2023_PR-02

Women Get Opportunity To Pitch Their Plan And Close The Pay Gap

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">TOPLINE</h2>



The lawsuit against Uber comes a month after Uber released a US Safety report revealing nearly 1,000 sexual assault incidents.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY FACTS</h2>



The complaint, filed Wednesday in San Francisco, claims that Uber has known since 2014 that drivers have sexually assaulted and raped female customers, but has “prioritized growth over customer service,” according to a statement from attorneys Slater Slater Schulman who are representing the alleged victims.&nbsp;



In June, Uber published its second <a href="https://www.uber.com/newsroom/2022-us-safety-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">US Safety Report</a> showing that nearly 1,000 passengers were sexually assaulted in 2020 by app drivers across the US.



The statement from the attorneys alleges that women have been “kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harrassed,” by Uber drivers they were matched to in the app.



Adam Slater, founding partner at the firm, said more can be done to protect passengers, including adding cameras to deter assaults, performing more background checks on drivers and a warning system that alerts when drivers change destination.



Uber declined to comment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



Uber is now <a href="https://www.forbes.com/companies/uber/?sh=1be29c0010b0">valued</a> at a $42.36 billion market cap. Founded in San Francisco in 2009, Uber has a history of impressive growth, but also controversy. Starting as a car service, the company later expanded to other services like UberPool (multiple parties in a ride), UberEats (delivery food from different restaurants) and it became a publicly traded company. The company has been surrounded by a series of scandals – including allegations of a sexist <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2017/06/21/ubers-travis-kalanick-said-to-resign-as-ceo-amid-investor-backlash/?sh=10ba353743c8">work culture</a>, lack of safety measures for passengers and failure to comply with a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2021-12-02/uber-9-million-california-settlement-regulators-sexual-assault-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">request</a> from California regulators for information on sexual assault claims. In 2018 Uber introduced a new technology to monitor US drivers for new criminal offenses and background checks, resulting in 80,000 drivers being<a href="https://uber.app.box.com/s/vkx4zgwy6sxx2t2618520xt35rix022h?uclick_id=6324d6d0-ac5c-4ab9-a137-d08cba8e01c4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> removed</a> from the app till this date. Some other <a href="https://businesses.uber.com/rs/613-QPH-162/images/UberforBusiness_SafetyGuide_US.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">safety measures</a> include GPS tracked trips, the option to share your ride with other contacts and a 911 assistance emergency button in the Uber app.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">CONTRA</h2>



Uber said that sexual assault claims&nbsp;<a href="https://www.uber.com/newsroom/2022-us-safety-report/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">decreased</a>&nbsp;by 38% from its first report from 2017 to 2018, but data remains unclear since it corresponds to 2020 during COVID-19, when Uber reported a decrease by 80% of drives.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/07/10/uber-courted-politicians-to-help-it-expand-worldwide-despite-other-than-legal-status-leaked-docs-reportedly-show/?sh=1c7b697c1917">Uber Courted Politicians To Help It Expand Worldwide Despite ‘Other Than Legal’ Status, Leaked Docs Reportedly Show</a> (Forbes)



By Gabriela Lopez Gomes, Forbes Staff

Young woman ordering a taxi ride with mobile app on smart phone

Over 500 Female Passengers Sue Uber Over Sexual Assault Complaints

Strictly Come Dancing on the BBC is arguably one of the biggest shows in the United Kingdom. And 2020 saw, for the first time since the ballroom and Latin dancing show started in 2004, a back-to-back win for a South African professional dancer.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Oti Mabuse Answers Seven Questions" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2s_V9e1cViw?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>



Pretoria-born, Oti Mabuse, took home the Glitter Ball trophy for the second time in December 2020 making her the first professional on the show to win a back-to-back title. What made the win more significant was the dancer was paired with 56-year-old English comedian, actor, and musician, Bill Bailey. Bailey is the oldest-ever winner Strictly has seen in its 18 seasons.



A win that everyone said could not happen in week 1 of the competition.



“You don’t know this but in the UK they take a vote,” Mabuse laughs from her home in London in a recent interview with FORBES AFRICA. “And they will tell you who they think the first person to go out will be. And we were voted the first couple to go out… And that motivated me and I said fine I will show you all. We will show you all.”



And show she did, in the nine-week-competition. What further drove the 30-year-old ballroom and Latin dancer to want to win is the fact that she loves her job and that she is representing her country.



“It’s in my DNA. I always say it&#8217;s because of where I come from that I am the way I am. I look at how my mom literally raised us. From the Winnie Mandelas and the Sarafinas. Women in our country are just strong. We are fighters,” she explains. “I have never met a South African woman who is just like ‘meh’.”



Mabuse has been dancing on Strictly since 2015 and won for the first time in 2019 with English actor and racing driver, Kelvin Fletcher. The format of the show, unfortunately, had to change in 2020, from having to have a smaller crew, fewer couples, and no live audience. The win feels more special to Oti because it was during a time that has been very difficult, so having something positive happen does feel “amazing.”



“In the last couple of weeks, I think it&#8217;s soaked in slowly and but I think that’s only because we’re in lockdown. But you know, people at home don&#8217;t really get to see what it meant to people other than us. We did the show, and we were kind of isolated in our own small bubble. So you didn&#8217;t get to see other than the cast and crew and what their reaction was. It’s just been absolutely unbelievable,” Mabuse says. 



Mabuse also took part in the &#8216;IN THE SPOTLIGHT &#8216;segment at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit.

Graham Norton Show – London

Frontrunner: South African Dancer Lights Up The Strictly Stage

Like wealth, fame, or even love, power is not static. As any of the 17 newcomers to the 2020 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women can attest, a person can quickly gain power through elections, mergers, and acquisitions, or the stroke of a pen affirming a promotion. Likewise, as the women who’ve fallen off the Power Women list illustrate, power can just as easily fade when a company fails (we hardly knew ye, Quibi), a board wants a new direction, or a country wants a new administration.



Sometimes, though, power shifts gradually: a person is nominated for a position, but doesn’t yet have the job. She has taken the top job, but hasn’t had time to make her mark on the organization or execute the turnaround that is crucial for survival. Or perhaps she is clearly in charge but is methodical in growing market share, creating a company or investment fund that is large but not hasn’t yet reached the level that earns her a spot among the top 100 most powerful women around the globe.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2019/12/12/power-rising-these-are-the-women-to-watch-in-2020/?sh=36ec15567964">As we noted last year</a>, this is not to say that women who have not quite yet arrived aren’t powerful. In fact, their power is rising, and likely at a rate that could earn them a spot on the power list as soon as next year. To that end, these are the women to watch for 2021:



Janet Yellen:&nbsp;The former chair of the Federal Reserve last ranked No. 6 on the Power Women list, in 2016, but fell off the list when she was not renominated for the role. With the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicahaider/2020/12/01/bidens-economic-team-and-first-female-treasury-secretary-janet-yellen-supported-by-powerful-women/?sh=48c196272418">news</a>&nbsp;that president-elect Joe Biden has decided to nominate Yellen as his Treasury Secretary—a move that would make her the first woman to hold this particular Cabinet position—Yellen’s return to the power list is all but one Senate confirmation away. (And this, too, she should achieve, having already notched bipartisan support to become the first female Fed chair in 2014.)



Dana Canedy: A Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who is also the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, Canedy has long been respected by writers and media types for decades. (Her Pulitzer was for her work on the incisive 2001 New York Times Series, “How Race Is Lived In America.”) In July, she was appointed as the senior vice president and publisher of Simon &amp; Schuster, the eponymous imprint of one of America’s largest book publishers. Canedy is the first Black woman to have the job, and with Simon &amp; Schuster poised to merge with Penguin Random House (pending clearance from antitrust regulators), her influence could soon grow even larger.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignright size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-764x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49219" width="271" height="362" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-764x1024.jpg 764w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-224x300.jpg 224w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-768x1030.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-1527x2048.jpg 1527w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-300x402.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-892818756-scaled.jpg 1909w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 271px) 100vw, 271px" /><figcaption>Pearlena Igbokwe. (Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Pearlena Igbokwe: In September, NBC promoted Igbokwe to chairman of the Universal Studio Group, a move that effectively handed her the baton of power from former group head (and Power Woman) Bonnie Hammer. Jeff Shell, the CEO of NBCUniversal, called Igbokwe “ideally suited” to run the company’s television studios and cited her “extraordinary taste.” Having overseen critically-acclaimed comedies like “Russian Doll,” &#8220;Superstore,&#8221; “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” and “The Good Place,” Igbokwe’s next decisions at NBC are almost certain to entertain.



Catherine MacGregor:&nbsp;Eight months after the board of directors at French utility company Engie pushed Isabelle Kocher out of the CEO suite, the company has appointed longtime oil and gas executive MacGregor as her successor. MacGregor will start the role in January.



Julia Cheek: The 36-year-old founder and CEO of at-home testing company Everlywell <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/leahrosenbaum/2020/12/03/at-home-health-testing-company-everlywell-raises-175-million-series-d-round-reaching--13-billion-valuation/?sh=244c28115702">announced</a> in early December that her company had raised a $175 million Series D round of funding—a capital injection that propelled the company to a $1.3 billion valuation. With the pandemic accelerating consumer demand for (and comfort with) at-home health testing kits, Cheek is confident Everlywell will continue to grow. “Hopefully,” she told Forbes, “we’ll emerge as one of the winners.”



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-1024x776.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49221" width="356" height="270" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-1024x776.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-300x227.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-768x582.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-1536x1165.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-2048x1553.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-1137862240-600x455.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px" /><figcaption> Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid (Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Anna Diamantopoulou, Kersti Kaljulaid and Cecilia Malmstrom: All three women are running to be the next head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). All three are already pretty influential within Europe: Diamantopoulou has had&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniefillion/2020/11/27/anna-diamantopoulou-wants-to-lead-the-oecds-post-covid-recovery/?sh=6d59a5061c19">a long career in Greek politics</a>; Kaljulaid is the first woman have to ever been elected as the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniefillion/2020/11/10/estonias-president-wants-to-lead-the-oecds-ditigal-revolution/?sh=52d9e4445a29">president of Estonia</a>; and Malmstrom was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephaniefillion/2020/11/19/cecilia-malmstrom-wants-to-bring-her-trade-expertise-to-the-oecd/?sh=39a9f9cf5337">Europe’s trade commissioner</a>&nbsp;for five years until 2019. Any one of the three would be the first woman to run the OECD, which is an intergovernmental organization whose goal is to stimulate economic progress.



Dr. Özlem Türeci: As the co-founder and chief medical officer of BioNTech, a German biotech company, Türeci was, until 2020, focused on researching and developing cancer treatments. But when her husband and co-founder, Ugur Sahin, realized in January that Covid had the potential to become a pandemic, their work shifted—as did their global profile. BioNTech partnered with Pfizer in March to develop a Covid vaccine, and last month, the two companies announced that their drug, which relies on mRNA technology, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthart/2020/11/18/pfizer-biontech-says-covid-19-vaccine-is-95-effective-will-seek-emergency-approval-within-days/?sh=569b110441f7">is 95% effective</a>. With vaccine deployment set to be the dominant story of 2021, the effect Türeci’s work can only grow larger.



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-49081" width="353" height="234" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GettyImages-462834336-600x399.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 353px) 100vw, 353px" /><figcaption>Nigeria&#8217;s Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Photo credit should read ERIC PIERMONT/AFP via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>



Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria’s first female finance minister (and its longest serving) and spent 25 years working for the World Bank. She sits on the boards of Twitter and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and is poised to become the first female head of the World Trade Organization. It is for these reasons, and more, that Forbes Africa named her its <a href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/cover-story/2020/12/04/african-of-the-year-ngozi-okonjo-iweala/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">African Person of the Year 2020</a> and that we’re calling her a woman to watch closely in 2021.



-By Maggie McGrath, Forbes Staff

Federal Reserve Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

Power Rising: These Are The Women To Watch In 2021

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“Men have singled out women of outstanding merit and put them on a pedestal to avoid recognizing the capabilities of all women” <cite>–Huda Sha’arawi, founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union</cite></blockquote>

Quote 2

Quote Of The Day

Why companies must make gender equality a central, guiding theme, not only in their diversity and inclusion efforts and hiring practices, but in their business strategy and leadership.



Businesses that want to grow sales and market share are looking for ways to increase their pool of customers. The good news is that there is a massive market segment and resource that remains under-utilized: women.



Consumer product companies and marketers have long understood that women are the key decision-makers when it comes to household purchases. While they may have invested in understanding the purchasing behavior driving sales in their markets, often, the data they rely on doesn’t adequately capture women’s experiences and needs. Moving into the future, the companies that compete successfully will be those that build women’s participation into every level of their workplace and decision-making processes, from leadership and strategy, through product design to customer-facing roles.



This need for diversity extends to the new frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). As companies are increasingly using data to drive decision-making, we have to confront the reality that women are often excluded from both the creation of AI and the data that is being collected.



There is already strong evidence that companies that have women on boards and in senior executive roles are out-performing their competitors. Studies show that businesses with diverse leadership enjoy 21% higher revenue than their peers and are 27% more likely to have long-term value creation. These numbers are more significant at a time when revenues are being challenged due to the Covid-19 pandemic.



Women’s increased participation in the workforce also holds the prospect of greater economic growth. Women’s unequal participation costs the economies of sub-Saharan Africa an estimated $95 billion (R1.7 trillion) every year. Women also invest more than 90% of their incomes back into their families and communities, further contributing to prosperity. If women participated equally in the global economy, they could add $28 trillion to global GDP by 2025, a number to consider as we look for a global recovery from the pandemic.



In a report from the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO), almost two-thirds (65.3%) of enterprises in Africa reported that initiatives on gender diversity and equality helped enhance business outcomes, including profitability and productivity. Yet inequality, exclusion and inflexibility hold women back in many aspects of their everyday lives, including at work. The challenge: how do we design workplaces that enable women’s participation at every level?



First, are you dedicated to gender balance in the workplace?



Companies must make gender equality a central, guiding theme, not only in their diversity and inclusion efforts and hiring practices, but in their business strategy and leadership. We must be committed to reshaping the way our world is designed, coded and constructed by bringing different perspectives to the table. Decision-making marked by a diversity of perspectives and experiences is stronger and companies that create diverse teams will win.&nbsp;



This commitment must be explicit and measurable. At Mastercard, for example, we link our management goals and KPI’s to diversity and inclusivity, creating accountability. If you believe in it, make it real.



Second, do you have expertise you can develop into a learning opportunity for women?



Examine your core business and its intangible assets. Is there knowledge that you can transfer to women in your own workplace and beyond? The key is to identify pockets of expertise core to your company and place women in those areas. They will build their knowledge and, in turn, impart that knowledge as they move to increasingly senior roles. For example, we are a diversified payments technology company that operates a global network, which I characterize as the beating heart of the company. Immediately prior to joining our South African office, I worked for 18 months in our Operations and Technology Group. I believe that all of our employees should cycle through a technology role to gain knowledge of our core business. For my part, my understanding of our company is forever changed.



Beyond our company walls, we have committed to growing financial inclusion, with a goal of bringing one billion people into the global financial system by 2025. As part of these efforts, we do extensive training around digital financial literacy, 4IR technology fields and business mentorship. We have also created Girls4Tech, which is developing a strong pipeline of talent by encouraging girls to embrace STEM subjects that will prepare them for the workforce of the future.



Third, how can we re-wire the workplace to better function for women?



Having women in your workforce is one thing, but have you examined your workplace? The upheaval of lockdowns and social distancing in the last few months have made many of us rethink our idea of the ideal workplace. According to UN Global Compact, the Covid-19 pandemic has hit women disproportionately hard, as they are more likely to be in lower-paying, insecure and informal jobs. They are also more likely to be burdened with increased childcare responsibilities with schools and nurseries closed. In South Africa, two-thirds of those who lost their livelihoods are women.



How do we rebound from this? Too much of the world was not designed with women in mind, and more often than not, workplaces aren’t optimized in such a way where both men and women can be productive, contribute to success and reach their potential. Return to work programs and flexible family-friendly environments are key, as they promote and encourage women’s participation in the workforce.



The business case, economic case, and societal case for diversity in the workplace is clear. Now, we need to devise roadmaps and act to build the workplaces that meet the challenges of the future.



Because a world that works better for women creates limitless possibilities for us all. It’s a world that gives everyone the chance to unleash their potential, pursue their passions and make extraordinary things happen.



– By Suzanne Morel, Country Manager, Mastercard, South Africa

Suzanne Morel Country manager mastercard South Africa – Landscape

‘Meet The Needs Of Women In The Market By Having Women In The Workforce’

One morning, when I was 14 years old, I woke up with&nbsp;excruciating&nbsp;stomach pain—the worst I’d ever had. My mom took me to urgent care, and the doctors there concluded that I had gastritis, or essentially a “bad stomach ache.”



But I&nbsp;knew&nbsp;they were wrong. I knew it was more than just a bad stomach ache. I kept pushing my parents until they finally took me to the hospital. After doing a variety of exams, the doctors said something along the lines of, “We really can’t find what’s wrong, but you seem to be in a lot of pain.” They gave me two options: wait four hours until the next available CAT scan, or let them do exploratory surgery and see what they find.



I decided to do the exploratory surgery. It ended up being a major, major surgery—over six hours long—and they found a tear in my intestine. They had to remove about 10 feet of my intestine, and it turns out that if I had waited for the CAT scan, I actually would have died. So, I like to say that that was the first time I learned how to trust my gut (in this case, my&nbsp;literal&nbsp;gut).



I think about this experience all the time, but I found myself reflecting on it even more as I was reading my friend Dr. Alyson McGregor’s new book, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.amazon.com/Sex-Matters-Male-Centric-Medicine-Endangers/dp/073824676X" target="_blank">Sex Matters: How Male-Centric Medicine Endangers Women’s Health and What We Can Do About It</a>. I don’t know how much of my near-death experience was linked to my being female, but I do know that when it comes to our medical system, women have consistently experienced poorer outcomes in every area of health than men.



McGregor writes: “One of the biggest and most flawed assumptions in medicine is this: if it makes sense in a male body, it must make sense in a female one.”



Our methods for evaluating, diagnosing, and treating disease for both men and women are based on previous research performed on male bodies. But women are physiologically different from men on every level—and these differences can have major impacts on everything in medicine, from how drugs are prescribed, to how routine tests are performed, to how pain is assessed and treated, to how systemic disease is diagnosed.



Here’s an example. Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of death in both men and women, but women have statistically poorer outcomes and higher mortality. Why? Because women’s symptoms are simply different from men’s. While men might experience left arm pain and chest heaviness (“typical” heart disease symptoms), women often present with only mild pain and discomfort, possibly combined with fatigue, shortness of breath, and a strong feeling that “something isn’t right.” Since women’s symptoms are not the symptoms that doctors typically associate with heart disease, their heart disease is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.world-heart-federation.org/news/new-study-women-likely-die-heart-attack-due-unequal-treatment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 percent</a>&nbsp;more likely to be initially misdiagnosed.



There are hundreds more examples like this one. It’s clear that there is work to do when it comes to unconscious biases in medicine—but, as women, how can we best advocate for our health and ensure that our concerns are heard and taken seriously?



1. Be prepared.



Your doctor may have gone through years of medical school, but that doesn’t mean they’re all-knowing. Research your conditions, your prescriptions, and how your prescriptions interact with each other. This way, you can have an informed conversation with your physician if something is wrong. Also, keep an up-to-date list of your prescriptions and allergies with you at all times so that any provider who cares for you will have all of the information they need.



2. Ask questions.



Even after you do your research, you may still have questions. Don’t be afraid to ask them—especially gender-specific ones. For example, “Has this medication been tested in women? If, so are there different dosing guidelines?” Or, “Will this prescription/test/procedure affect my birth control/pregnancy/breastfeeding?” It’s important to make sure you’re not only being treated for the correct conditions, but also that you’re being treated properly as a&nbsp;woman&nbsp;with those conditions.



3. Trust yourself.



Just like 14-year-old me trusted her (literal) gut! No one’s voice should take precedence over yours when it comes to your body and your health care. As women, we tend to be more attuned to our own bodies than men. We are more likely to notice symptoms when they first appear, and we usually seek treatment more frequently and earlier than men. If you feel like you’re being misdiagnosed or undertreated, keep pushing until you get answers—your life may depend on it.



4. Make your voice heard.



It’s important to advocate for yourself on an individual level, but you may be inspired to do even more. Financially, you can donate to research and advocacy foundations, or even specific research projects within your local universities and hospitals. Other effective advocacy ideas that don’t cost anything are to join a medical research trial, join a support group, or harness the power of social media to share your story. Any of this could be what makes it possible for others to get the treatment they need.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carriekerpen/people/carriekerpen/">Carrie Kerpen</a><a href="https://www.forbes.com/forbeswomen">, ForbesWomen</a>

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4 Ways Women Can Better Advocate For Their Own Health

Edith Cooper, who spent more than 20 years as an executive at Goldman Sachs, knows what it’s like to stand out in a workplace. Being one of few people of color in a sea of white faces over the course of her career hasn’t been easy. But rather than dwell on this reality, Cooper, who now sits on the boards of Etsy and Slack, has championed her differences. That’s what helped her rise through the ranks at the bank to eventually head its human resources department, an accomplishment she says was a result of her ability to connect with people of all backgrounds.



That quality would continue to work to her advantage: As Goldman Sachs evolved, so did its staff. Diversity was reflected not only in employees’ skin colors and genders, but also in their ages and geographical origins. Cooper was awakened to the fact that if the company was going to thrive, it would need to create an environment wherein its multifaceted staff could feel comfortable embracing their differences and, in turn, learn from them.&nbsp;



“If you can figure out an environment where people can thrive together, it’s powerful,” Cooper says. But it’s a process that takes time, especially if newer, more inexperienced employees aren’t equipped with the proper skills to navigate this balance between professionalism and open expression. 



That is in part what inspired Cooper’s new startup,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.withmedley.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Medley</a>, which she launched with her daughter Jordan Taylor, a former chief of staff at Mic and Harvard Business School Baker Scholar, to provide a community in which young professionals can gain the skills they need to bring their most authentic selves to work without fear. In light of the heightened tension surrounding ongoing racial injustice that’s inevitably seeping into workplace communication, it’s an ideal time to learn this skill.



Taylor has also had her fair share of experiences being the “only one in the room,” but as an emerging leader, rather than an established executive like her mother. Graduating in the top 5% of her class and being one the first 20 Black students to be named a Baker Scholar meant she was constantly figuring out how to relate to peers in predominantly white spaces. She figured it out, but Medley is a platform she wishes had been around when she was finding her voice among people whose backgrounds were much different than hers.



Medley groups young professionals in their 20s and 30s with other like-minded members whose workplace values, concerns and priorities align. The professionals that make up these eight-person groups differ, however, in terms of gender and ethnic background, which Cooper and Taylor hope will translate to increased empathy that members can apply within their respective workplaces.



“This idea of people being able to bring their true selves to work and to be able to talk through what that looks like is at the core of what Medley is offering,” says Cooper.



In addition to full access to workshops, panels and conversations led by experts across industries, members commit to a 90-minute virtual meeting each month, facilitated by a Medley-certified coach and focused on addressing and reflecting on ongoing experiences in their personal and professional lives. Cooper credits Medley’s robust network of coaches to the guidance she gained from Merche Del Valle, former global head of coaching at Goldman Sachs and a certified lifestyle, nutrition and wellness coach.



Merging personal wellness and professional development in group discussions is a priority. “You can’t just look at your career in a vacuum,” says Taylor. “In order to meet your potential, the ability to have a more holistic approach is incredibly important.”



To ensure that people of all socioeconomic backgrounds have the ability to join the community, Medley offers a sliding scale fee ranging from $50 to $250, depending on the financial situation of prospective members. Cooper and Taylor are also in conversations with companies interested in partnering with Medley to give their staff reimbursement for membership.&nbsp;



With the help of investors including Away cofounder Jen Rubio, dtx company founder and CEO Tim Armstrong and MIC cofounder and former CEO Chris Altchek, who contributed more than $1 million to the project, Medley was ready to launch in May 2020 as an in-person membership hub in New York City. Shelter-in-place mandates halted the launch, but also presented an opportunity for Medley to instead be virtual and incorporate international members. The more springing corporate workers that can benefit from the community’s aim to build the next generation of confident, communicative professionals the better, the mother-daughter team notes.



“Medley gives people an opportunity to be a better human in relation to the people they work with and quite frankly in society,” Taylor says.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/briannegarrett/">Brianne Garrett</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/leadership">Leadership</a>

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The Mother-Daughter Duo Behind A New Inclusive Community Teaching Budding Professionals How To Better Engage At Work

Looking at Covid-19 through a gender lens



Our world has undoubtedly been changed forever by the Covid-19 pandemic, as all efforts are focused on slowing down the increase and mitigating the impact of this silent enemy that has spread across the world like wildfire. Not only have there been many lives lost, but there have also been many businesses and millions of jobs impacted, which in turn directly affects millions of families. It doesn’t help that most countries around the world were already in distress with high levels of unemployment and devastating droughts as a result of climate change, which were already making it very difficult for families to put food on the table.  As the world tries to deal with this pandemic, I can’t help but think about what will happen to the efforts that have been made to help empower adolescent girls over the past few years.



Empowering girls, empowering communities



What makes this demographic more important than all the others? This is not just about the fight for women’s equal rights or the fight for equal pay, although those are valid and ongoing necessary discussions. This is about giving the adolescent girl a decent and fair start in her life, so she can have a better shot at being successful. So, with the current global crisis we find ourselves in, will the cause to empower young women remain on the world’s agenda or will this slide down to the bottom of the priority list?&nbsp;



Standard Chartered Bank has been running a young girls’ empowerment programme called Goal, which is our flagship programme under Futuremakers.&nbsp; Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for young people in our communities, especially those who are disadvantaged. The Goal programme specifically aims to equip young girls with the confidence, knowledge and skills they need to fulfil their economic potential. The programme was launched in New Delhi in 2006 with just 70 girls. I count myself fortunate to have been part of the team that was involved in the launch of the pilot programme, along with my colleagues and a very perceptive NGO partner who believed that together we could make an impact on these young girls and their community.



Developing confidence and vital life skills



Sometimes when the challenge seems insurmountable, what you need are individuals and partners who simply believe that you can still make a difference, regardless of the arduous journey ahead of you. In a country of over a billion people, what impact can you really make by reaching just 70 girls? Fourteen years later, Goal is now active in 24 countries, including South Africa (since 2015), and has impacted nearly 600,000 adolescent girls globally between 2006 and 2019 – and that number is growing.&nbsp; This means that over half a million families are also impacted, as these girls carry the message back home. When you empower a girl, you empower a community. &nbsp;



Goal is based on face-to-face interaction with these young women, which presents a challenge during a pandemic. The programme is run by Goal Champions who have graduated from the programme themselves and this is one of the elements that makes Goal sustainable, as it focuses on the ‘train the trainer’ approach. After completing the one-year programme, the girls come out with confidence and skills that they would otherwise have not acquired – our post programme scores have proved that every single time. In 2019, we commissioned a global development think tank called Overseas Development Institute (ODI) to assess Goal’s impact. Over 18,000 girls were surveyed and there were over 300 interviews and focus groups with the young girls, parents, teachers, community leaders and the&nbsp; boys in those communities. The research found strong evidence of Goal’s positive and lasting impact on the girls, as the results showed a 14 percent increase in self-confidence, a 28 percent increase in knowledge about health and an 18 percent increase in knowledge about savings and finance.



The gender gap and GDP



Then Covid-19 happened to all of us, accompanied by varying levels of lockdowns, and along with that a halt to the valuable regular face-to-face sessions that a lot of these young Goal girls look forward to – an opportunity to be in a safe environment, playing sport with their peers, and learning about their rights, the importance of understanding reproductive health, saving money, and many other life skills.



Data is always important when presenting such arguments. According to one of the Goldman Sachs Global Economic papers, GDP growth rates rise if education pushes more women into the labour force. This makes gender equality not just an imperative but a valid economic argument.&nbsp; It seems the ‘poorer’ a country, the higher the literacy differential between females and males.&nbsp;



Apart from the inhumane forced child marriages that are still happening in this modern day and age in some countries, research also tells us that most girls without a secondary education are likely to have their first baby at a younger age, and in turn, there is a higher chance that this child will die before they are five years old. Chances are also higher that these young girls will have many more children than they can afford to raise in a way that they would like to. It becomes an ongoing vicious cycle and we need to do everything in our power to break that cycle – one girl at a time.



Looking toward the future



We need to remember that these adolescent girls are still very much a vulnerable group and we should not divert our attention away from them as we try and manage the ongoing pandemic. The two need not be exclusive.&nbsp; In fact, we have seen how gender-based violence has escalated during the lockdowns in many countries, including here in South Africa, and I shudder to think how much of this has been directed towards young girls by the very people who are meant to take care of and protect them.



In the last few years, there has been an ongoing debate in some quarters that we mustn’t leave the boys behind as we empower the young girls and this a valid discussion to have. As a mother to a teenage son, I totally agree – my intention is to raise a well-rounded young man who will be a responsible member of society and who respects women.



In fact, in some of our markets where Goal has advanced, we do have boys on the programme, but the reality is we need to double our efforts in uplifting adolescent girls to get them just to be on an ‘equal footing’ with the boys. Research has also proved that in countries where education levels are low, the economic performance of that country is equally impacted.  What is the saying – when you empower and educate a girl, you empower a community.  What’s not to love about that?



&#8211; Geraldine Matchaba, Head of Corporate Affairs and Brand &amp; Marketing at Standard Chartered.

thumbnail_Geraldine Matchaba Head of Corporate Affairs and Brand & Marketing at Standard Chartered

Op-Ed: Women Empowerment During The Covid-19 Pandemic

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">&#8220;We have grown past the stage of fairy-tale. As women, we have one common front and that is to succeed. We have to take the bull by the horn and make the change happen by ourselves.<cite>&#8211; Folorunso Alakija, Billionaire Businesswoman</cite></blockquote>

Ujunwa Ojemeni is an impact investing, energy and development expert with experience in the areas of opportunity maturation, financing, and policy.



At the Office of to the Honourable Commissioner for Energy &amp; Mineral Resources Lagos State, she drives policies, investments opportunities and implementation strategies to deliver reliable energy to the citizens of the State. She is also an Advisor with the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN) &#8211; the multilateral, public-private partnership initiated hosted by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) focused on bridging the investment gap between investors and entrepreneurs and project developers by facilitating investment into promising clean energy and climate change projects.



She was previously the Senior Investment Associate at All On, responsible for driving clean energy investments opportunities from origination to closing as well as providing strategic, governance and operational support to All On’s investees. 



Before that, Ujunwa coordinated several gas and power development opportunities of up to $300 Million at Axxela Limited (Oando Gas &amp; Power), and earlier at the Management Consulting unit of KPMG, she focused on start-up advisory and business process improvement. She received her Master’s degree in International Development &#8211; Development Finance from the University of Manchester, and has a First-Class Bachelor’s of Science degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.



In acknowledgement of her contributions to the energy sector, she was selected as one of the 60 young African Clean Energy Leaders for the Open Power Africa 2019 program by Enel Foundation and was a finalist at the IFC Sustainability Exchange Contest for Youth Innovations 2019. She was also recently awarded the 2019 Young Leaders Award in the Energy and Sustainability category, by the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association in Nigeria (MWFAAN). 



Passionate about social responsibility, volunteering and philanthropy, she founded the SME Transformation Project through which she provides business advisory and funding to womenowned SMEs in low-income communities. She helps them navigate through basic business challenges such as marketing and distributing channels, product line expansion, and most importantly, funding, which they have difficulties accessing from traditional financiers.



Ujunwa also volunteers as a mentor with the Cherie Blaire Foundation, where she provides support to women entrepreneurs and helps them grow as they build their businesses in different parts of the world.



To promote the participation in the energy sector, she founded the African Women in Energy Development Initiative (AWEDI Network) focused on promoting the growth of the women in the sector through mentorship programs, career sponsorship (acceleration), networking opportunities, professional development and leadership training for women at all stages of their energy careers and for female students at the secondary and tertiary levels.

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Op-Ed: Promoting The Growth Of Women In The Energy Sector

Cheryl Buss, the UK-based CEO of Absa International, on her passion for Africa and its resilient, entrepreneurial mind-set.



Cheryl Buss lives by the mantra “smooth seas don’t make for good sailors”.



It was a quote she first heard Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s former CEO Arno van der Merwe use and one that has helped her navigate countries where populism, polarization and Brexit are rife.



It is a saying that will no doubt help the CEO of Absa International deal with one of the biggest challenges the world is facing – Covid-19, a deadly virus that is sending shivers down the spines of economies around the globe.



But for now, Buss is using her mantra to gain business in the United Kingdom and the United States.



The UK-based career banker wants to take Africa to Absa’s clients in the UK and the US and bring the bank’s clients to Africa, a continent she is very passionate about.



She is working hard to convince businesses that want to invest in Africa, to bank with Absa on the continent.



&nbsp;Her passion for both the continent and her job is driving her success in this endeavor.



“I’m passionate about the business in which we work and I am passionate about the opportunity for Absa and for Africa. I think that if you are passionate about what you do and you show up positive, that tends to hopefully spread around and is hopefully catchy,” says Buss, dressed in an elegant dark blue dress.



As she explains her passion for Africa to FORBES AFRICA, Buss’s eyes light up. The continent offers experience, diversity, opportunity in agriculture, farming and the provision of food supply, she says.



Excitedly, she adds it has the world’s biggest population of youth that if harnessed correctly will see the continent beaming with new ideas and new thoughts.



Africa’s people are another element that makes her an Afro-optimist.



Explaining, she says: “It struck me going into Zimbabwe a couple of years ago… this was probably three, four years ago, just a load of poverty, you can just see the roads are in bad shape, everywhere you look, you see people with beaming smiles. You think ‘God, what are you smiling at?’. But it is just African people, we are taught to be resilient, we are taught to come back and I think that is part of the excitement through which you see this entrepreneurial development and mind-set.”



But Buss does not just plan to take the conversation about Africa to the UK and the US, where the bank recently received regulatory approval to operate and has started engaging with clients, but also to Asia.



Confidently, she says “you would have seen Charles Russon, who is our CEO of Corporate and Investment Banking, alluding to the fact that we would be, we are considering what the China strategy would be like, that would be rather our next port of call… China is our first consideration that we are working with our strategy team to see and understand what that would look like and then there is the Middle East-Asia consideration as well, so we would look to kind of have the four corners.”



High in emotional intelligence, a trait the charismatic leader believes she picked up by being open to change, resilient to failure and open to learn, she says she wants to build the international business to be in the best place ever.



“For me, I want it to be ‘wow, that business didn’t actually have a blip it carried on’.”



How does she plan to get there?



“It is about that close personal touch, I like to have close personal relationships with my teams, with the people I deal with and the people I mentor and make sure I am offering guidance at the right level and I like to build close relationships with my clients as well…



“Banks are a commodity so the real differentiator is the people you employ in the bank and how they show up to our clients.”



-Monique Vanek

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The Afro-Optimist: This UK-Based CEO On Her Passion For Africa And Its Resilient, Entrepreneurial Mind-Set

At the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit in Durban on March 6, for the first time on the same stage, South Africa’s minister Dr Naledi Pandor and her entrepreneur-daughter Dr Aisha Pandor revealed their secrets to continued success.



It’s not often we get to witness a famous mother and daughter on the same stage sharing their lessons on success and legacy. And this duo was certainly doing so for the first time.



At the 2020 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit in Durban, South Africa, on March 6, Dr Naledi Pandor, the country’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, and Dr Aisha Pandor, CEO and Co-founder of SweepSouth, engaged in a stimulating and thought-provoking panel discussion titled ‘How To Raise A CEO’.



“Thank you very much to FORBES WOMAN AFRICA for the opportunity to be here with Aisha. I don’t often get a chance to see her. So it’s lovely to see you Aisha,” opened the much-loved minister, to laughter from the audience in the large ballroom at the international convention center in Durban.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="517" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-1024x517.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44166" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-1024x517.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-300x151.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-600x303.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-768x388.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306-1536x775.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2778-e1586614377306.jpg 1623w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Gugu Mfuphi, Dr Aisha Pandor, and Dr Naledi Pandor </figcaption></figure>



The panel’s moderator Gugu Mfuphi began with a comic disclaimer that Dr Naledi has four children and that Dr Aisha is certainly “not the favorite”. As the audience lapped up the moment, the minister, with a broad smile, shook her head in disagreement, saying: “They are all my favorite!”



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote>“It was very clear – just nurture them in a wide range of things. That’s really important.”<cite>&#8211; Dr Naledi Pandor</cite></blockquote></figure>



There was more laughter and life lessons in store, as the audience got to see the lighter side of the minister.



“As a mother, what I tried to do is nurture her where she wished to grow, but also, to encourage her to have as much experience in a range of areas as possible. We would encourage academic work. We also encouraged sport, creativity; all my kids had to do speech and drama at school, it was very clear – just nurture them in a wide range of things. I think that’s really important,” said the senior Pandor.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="711" height="883" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2806-cropped.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44176" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2806-cropped.jpg 711w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2806-cropped-300x373.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2806-cropped-600x745.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2806-cropped-242x300.jpg 242w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 711px) 100vw, 711px" /></figure>



While she mapped out her daughter’s career path, she later came to an important realization.



“She was really good in science. I love science but I’m bad at it. So I thought ‘God gave me Aisha, she’s going to achieve you know, because she was good at math and science’. And so she did very well at school, and went into the science faculty, did very well at the undergraduate level, was invited to carry on with an honors degree. She did very well and was asked to proceed to her Masters prior to finishing the honors. So, I was over the moon. It’s my dream, right? She continues from Masters into the PhD track, and completes her PhD with much fanfare and celebration on our part because now I’m thinking ‘here’s our senior research partner’. All these things I’ve been talking about science and technology, my child is going to live the example. Well lo and behold…”



The minister went on to offer more life-changing anecdotes about her daughter.



“One day, Aisha comes with her husband – who happens to be a software engineer – they tell us about this plan they’ve cooked up; that they’re going to start this tech start-up. And so I say to her ‘what about your research career?”. And she goes ‘this is what I want to do”. I say ‘what, but you’ve got a PhD, you could be a professor at the University of Cape Town, what are you talking about?’ And she says, ‘no mom, we’ve designed this program, we’ve started our company’. They began to tell me and her father all about it. Both of us were livid. I must tell you we thought ‘these kids are going to be a problem for us, they’ll be coming to beg for money and everything’. Few years down the line, and here we are! I’m very proud of her. I’ve learned my lesson. Let your children go where they wish to go!”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="681" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-1024x681.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-44169" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Forbes-LWS2020KZN-2807.jpg 1623w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Dr Aisha Pandor</figcaption></figure>



Aisha, along with her husband, learned quickly that being a CEO will require significant sacrifice.



“I lived with my parents for probably four years after starting our business. We eventually ended up selling everything we had, to fund the business,” she said.



“Our parents brought us up to have the right moral compass. Education and the idea of learning and knowledge have been very important. My parents gave us freedom in the decisions we made based on the fact that they knew they had given us that grounding.”  



Watch the full panel discussion below: 



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="#LWS2020KZN: Mother &amp; Daughter - How To Raise A CEO" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kqJiWcLTgGY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>

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How To Raise A CEO: A Mother And Daughter Share Lessons

One of only two female billionaires in Africa, with a net worth of $1 billion, Nigeria’s oil baroness Folorunso Alakija elaborates on the state of African entrepreneurship today. 



The 69-year-old Folorunso Alakija is vice chair of Famfa
Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a
prolific offshore asset. Famfa Oil’s partners include Chevron and Petrobras.
Alakija’s first company was a fashion label. The Nigerian government awarded Alakija’s
company an oil prospecting license in 1993, which was later converted to an oil
mining lease. The Agbami field has been operating since 2008; Famfa Oil says it
will likely operate through 2024. Alakija shares her thoughts to FORBES AFRICA
on what makes tomorrow’s billionaires:



What is your take on the state of African entrepreneurship today? Is enough being done for young startups?



There are a lot of business opportunities in Africa that do
not exist in other parts of the world, yet Africa is seen as a poor continent.
The employment constraints in the formal sector in Africa have made it
impossible for it to meet the demands of the continent’s working population of
which over 60% are the youth. Therefore, it is imperative we harness the
potential of Africa’s youth to engage in entrepreneurship and provide adequate
assistance to enable them to succeed. 



Several governments have been working to provide a conducive
atmosphere which will promote entrepreneurship on the continent. However, there
is still a lot more to be done in ensuring that the potential of these young
entrepreneurs are maximized to the fullest. Some of the challenges young
startups in Africa face are as follows: lack of access to finance/insufficient
capital; lack of infrastructure; bureaucratic bottlenecks and tough business
regulations; inconsistent government policies; dearth of entrepreneurial
knowledge and skills; lack of access to information and competition from
cheaper foreign alternatives.



It is therefore imperative that governments,
non-governmental agencies, and the financial sectors work together to
ameliorate these challenges itemized above. 



The governments of African nations should provide and
strengthen its infrastructure (power, roads and telecom); they should encourage
budding entrepreneurs by ensuring that finance is available to businesses with
the potential for growth and also commit to further improving their business
environments through sustained investment; there must also be a constant push
for existing policies and legislation to be reviewed to promote business
activities. 



These policies must also be enforced, and punitive measures
put in place to deter offenders; government regulations should also be flexible
to constantly fit the dynamics of the business environment; corruption and
unethical behavior must be decisively dealt with and not treated with kid
gloves. We must empower our judicial system to enable them to prosecute erring
offenders with appropriate sanctions meted out. There should be no “sacred
cows” or “untouchables”. The same law must be applied to all, no matter their
state or position in the society; non-governmental organizations can also
provide support for them through training and skills acquisition programs that
will help build their capacity; they could also provide finance to grow their
businesses; more mentorship programs should be encouraged, and incubators of
young enterprises should be supported by public policy aimed at improving the
quality of these youths and their ventures; and also, avenues should be created
where young entrepreneurs will be able to connect, learn and share ideas with
already successful well-established entrepreneurs.



What, according to you, are the attributes needed for tomorrow’s billionaires?



There is no overnight success. You must start by dreaming
big and working towards achieving it. You must be determined to succeed despite
all odds. Do not allow your setbacks or failures to stop you but rather make
them your stepping stone. Develop your strengths to attain excellence and be
tenacious, never give up on your dream or aspiration. Your word must be your
bond. You must make strong ethical values and integrity your watchword. Always
act professionally and this will enable you to build confidence in your
customers and clients.&nbsp;

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