Enterprise 

Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman and philantropist. Folorunsho is the Executive 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. She is an acclaimed public speaker and the first female to be appointed as Chancellor of a public University in Africa. She is a prolific writer and has authored several inspirational books, including her autobiography.

Ibukun Awosika is a Nigerian business woman, motivational speaker and an author. She currently serves as Chairman of First bank of Nigeria. She is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chair Centre Group. The companies within the group include: The Chair Centre Limited, Sokoa Chair Centre Limited, Furniture Manufacturers Mart, TCC Security Systems and Cubes and Boxes Limited. These companies are involved in manufacturing, retail and bank-way security systems services. As a fellow of the African Leadership Initiative, Aspen Global Leadership Network, Institute of Directors and Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, Ibukun, through her projects aspires to use her opportunities in life to further the greatness of her dear country by raising entrepreneurs to create jobs for the large unemployed youthful population.

Hadeel Ibrahim is a Sudanese philanthropist and the founding Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim foundation, which was established in 2006 to support great African leadership. She is also a member of the Boards of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, Carter Center UK, Refugees International and the Institute of African Leadership for Sustainable Development in Tanzania.

Monica Musonda is a Zambian lawyer and entrepreneur. She is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the food processing company Java Foods. Monica’s vision is to revolutionize the eating habits of the youth market by offering them affordable and nutritious food options made from local products. Monica is a dual-qualified English solicitor and Zambian advocate with over 15 years of experience in legal practice and corporate management, including being corporate counsel at the International Finance Corporation and for Aliko Dangote of Dangote Industries Limited.

Arunma Oteh is a Nigerian academic scholar who served at the World Bank as Vice President and Treasurer from September 30th, 2015 to November 30th 2018. As Treasurer, she led a team that manages assets totalling USD200 billion for the World Bank Group, 60 central banks, sovereign wealth funds and other official institutions. She and her team also maintained the World Bank’s global reputation as a prudent and innovative borrower in over 50 currencies by executing well–prepared transactions and carefully coordinating credit rating and capital market relationships for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). She was also responsible for an extensive financial advisory business for World Bank clients and cash flows of over $7 trillion.

Sibongile Sambo is a South African airline executive and a highly educated entrepreneur. Sibongile is the founder and Managing Director of SRS Aviation, the first 100 percent black female-owned aviation company which offers clients professional and personalised flight options to destinations around the world. She previously gained experience working for Telkom, City Power and De Beers.

Bola Shagaya is a Nigerian business tycoon with a diverse portfolio of interests. Bola is the founder and CEO of Bolmus Group International, a conglomerate which spans oil, real estate, banking, photography and communications. She is the managing director of Practoil Limited –  one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria – and she is the founder of Voyage Oil and Gas Limited which she founded in 2011. Voyage started operations officially in 2012 as a Crude Oil trading and export company. The company has been on the NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation) Crude Oil Term contract since inception till date, with an average allocation of 30,000 barrels per day.  

Entertainment 

Mo Abudu is a Nigerian media mogul often referred to as the African Oprah Winfrey. The former talk show host is now the CEO of EbonyLife Media, which includes a production arm, a film and TV studio, a creative academy, and even an upmarket “lifestyle and entertainment resort”. Abudu is overseeing several international collaborations with Netflix, Sony and AMC. 

Linda Ikeji is a Nigerian blogger, writer and entrepreneur. She is considered the pioneer in challenging traditional media platforms in Nigeria by offering news and views unfiltered and online. Linda Ikeji TV – an offshoot of the blog –  airs a variety of programmes ranging from talk shows, reality shows, TV series to Movies. The Network produces its own programmes and acquires TV content. 

Angélique Kidjo is a Four-time Grammy award winner, actress and activist from Benin. As a performer, her striking voice, stage presence and fluency in multiple cultures and languages have won respect from her peers and expanded her following across national borders. Angelique also travels the world advocating on behalf of children in her capacity as a UNICEF and OXFAM goodwill Ambassador.

Bonang Matheba is a multi-award winning South African television star and one of the continents most sought after entertainment personalities. Her dedicated supporters will be familiar with her strong advocacy for gender equality. She created the Bonang Matheba Bursary Fund, which focuses on paying for girls’ tertiary education, and is a strong voice for women’s rights on her social media platforms. 

Nomzamo Mbatha is a South African actress, television personality, businesswoman and human rights activist. Nomzamo was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR in january 2019. Recently, Nomzamo played a strong role in supporting UNHCR’s LuQuLuQu COVID-19 emergency response campaigns which included fundraising and public engagement and awareness initiatives in an effort to help protect forcibly displaced families against the spread of the coronavirus in the refugee camps. 

Genevieve Nnaji is a Nigerian actress, producer and director. She has starred in more than 80 films over the last two decades and her rise to prominence coincided with the exponential growth of Nollywood. In 2019 Genevieve made history with her directorial debut, Lionheart. The film, which follows a woman who has to step up to help run her father’s company, became Netflix’s first original film from Nigeria after the streaming giant purchased the worldwide rights. 

Lupita Nyong’o is a Kenyan academy award winning film star and a New York Times Best-Selling author. Her children’s fiction picture book Sulwe will be adapted to an animated musical film on netflix. It follows the story of a young girl who wishes for her dark skin to be lighter. The story is ultimately about colorism and learning to love oneself, no matter one’s skin tone.

Sinach is a multi-award winning Nigerian singer, songwriter and senior worship leader. She is known globally for several gospel hit songs which include WayMaker, I Know Who I Am, Great Are You Lord and Awesome God. She is the first singer-songwriter to top the Billboard Christian Songwriter chart for 12 weeks in a row.

Tiwa Savage is a Nigerian pop star who also lends her voice to domestic issues including the elimination of police brutality and the tackling of rape culture. The singer-songwriter is “one of the most-followed African artists in the world and has many accolades to her name. Her latest album, “Celia“, has gained over 200 million streams globally and Time magazine has named it one of the top 10 best albums of 2020.”

Governance

Abike Dabiri-Erewa is a Nigerian politician currently serving as the country’s first Chairman of the Nigerian in Diaspora Commission. The former broadcast journalist is one of the most highly regarded female leaders in Nigeria. During her tenure as a member of the Nigeria Federal House of Representatives Abike championed and sponsored the Freedom of Information Bill (FOI bill) and the Violence Against persons Bill, which have both been signed into law. She remains a symbol of hope and inspiration to many. 

Vera Esperança dos Santos Daves De Sousa is an Angolan politician who has been the country’s Minister of Finance since 2019. She is the first female to be appointed to the role. . Until the date of her appointment she was Secretary of State for Finance and Treasury. Her curriculum includes the Course on Banking Techniques and Practices by the Institute for Banking Training in Portugal, and Derivatives and Bond Markets Course (ICAP). She has worked as finance technician at Sonangol ESSA, Director of the Products and Research Office in Banco Privado Atlântico, Lecturer of Financial Markets at the Executive MBA promoted by the Catholic Business School Alliance, Lecturer of Public Finance and Economic Integration at UCAN – Business School.

Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang is a Gambian politician and activist who has served as Vice-President of the Gambia and Minister of Women’s Affairs.  Following the coup of 1994 that brought Yahya Jammeh to power, Fatoumata Jallow-Tambajang served as secretary of state for health and social welfare but later became a political activist, campaigning for social justice and human rights. During this time, she worked with a number of women’s organizations and the United Nations Development Programme.

Lindiwe Mazibuko is a South African academic and former Parliamentary Leader for the opposition Democratic Alliance. A graduate of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States, Lindiwe was an elected representative in South Africa’s National Assembly until May 2014, when she resigned from active politics in order to return to higher education. Mazibuko is also the co-founder and Executive Director of Apolitical Foundation, a non-partisan movement to diversify public sector leadership around the world.

Alengot Oromait is a Ugandan politician who was elected into office at the age of 19. At the time she was the youngest member of parliament in the country and on the African continent

Diane Shima Rwigara is a Rwandan businesswoman and accountant who stood as an independent candidate in the 2017 Rwandan presidential election. Diane is a women’s rights activist who has repeatedly spoken out against the country’s bad governance under President Paul Kagame and about injustice and oppression. On 3 May 2017, Rwigara announced her intention to run in the presidential election. Diane’s advocacy campaign vows to work towards eradicating poverty, establishing universal health insurance and championing free speech.

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th President from 2006 to 2018. Ellen was the first elected female head of state in Africa. During 12 years of exile in Kenya and the United States, during which time Liberia collapsed into civil war, she became an influential economist for the World Bank, Citibank, and other international financial institutions. From 1992 to 1997 she was the director of the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme. Ellen is a Nobel Peace Laureate; a leading promoter of peace, justice and democratic rule; a voice for freedom and a champion for health for all.

Dr Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu is a Paediatric Consultant, a loud voice in the fight against cancer and a child’s rights advocate. She is the First Lady of Kebbi state, a platform that has turned her into a role model in the state and beyond. Her advocacy for women, children and the youth in Kebbi state and Northern Nigeria, cuts across health, education and skills acquisition. Dr. Zainab Bagudu obtained her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine) from the prestigious Ahmadu Bello University Zaria followed by a specialist training in Paediatrics and Neonatology in the United Kingdom. Amongst other academic qualifications, she has a Masters in Paediatrics, a Diploma in Tropical Child Health and membership of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Sahle-Work Zewde is the current President of Ethiopia and the first woman to hold the office. Born in the capital Addis Ababa, Sahle-Work attended university in France. After graduating, she served as Ethiopia’s ambassador to France, Djibouti, Senegal and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional trade bloc in East Africa. Prior to her appointment as president, she was the UN’s top official at the AU. She is fluent in English and French as well as Amharic, Ethiopia’s official working language.

Humanitarians

Ilwad Elman is a Somali social activist. In her capacity as Director of Programs & Development at the Elman Peace Centre, Ilwad works for the reintegration of former Al Shabaab fighters by providing them vocational training and educational opportunities. She is particularly interested in strengthening women’s roles in preventing violent extremism. In 2018, Ilwad was appointed by UN Secretary General António Guterres as one of his Advisors to the UN Peacebuilding Fund.

Vanessa Nakate is a Ugandan climate justice activist. She was the first Fridays for Future climate activist in the country and Vanessa is the founder of the Rise Up Climate Movement—a movement to amplify the voices of activists from Africa. Her work includes raising awareness of climate change causes and impacts. She spearheaded the campaign, Save Congo Rainforest, which has spread to other countries in Africa and Europe.

Hajer Sharief is a human rights advocate from Libya. Hajer promotes the participation of women and youth in peacebuilding efforts in the country. She was selected by the UN Secretary-General to serve as a member of the Advisory Group of Experts for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security mandated by UNSCR 2250. Hajer is also one of the twelve UN Women Champions on Women, Peace, Security and Human Rights.

Law

Nemat Abdullah Khair is a Sudanese judge of the Sudanese Supreme Court who became Chief Justice of Sudan (head of the Sudanese judiciary) on 10 October 2019. Khair became a member of the Sudanese judiciary in the early 1980s. She worked in the Court of Appeal, the Court of First Instance, and became a judge of the Supreme Court. Khair founded the Sudanese Judges Club as an organisation independent from the government.

Dupe Atoki is a Nigeria judge of the ECOWAS Court of Justice. Dupe has been in private legal practice since 1978 and has served her country in various capacities including being a senior lecturer in Business and administrative law at the State Polytechnic Kaduna; member of the Nigerian Human Right Commission; member of the Federal Government presidential committee on the review of laws discriminatory of Women and Committee on the reform of investment law.

Tujilane Chizumila is a Malawian lawyer and jurist who was appointed to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for a six-year term in 2017. Tujilane holds a master’s degree in international law and has held various positions in courts and administration. Among other things, she was a judge at the Supreme Court of Malawi, prosecutor and legal aid lawyer at the Ministry of Justice , and the country’s first ombudswoman.

Fatou Bedsouda is a Gambian lawyer and international criminal law prosecutor. She has been the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor since June 2012. Fatou had previously held the position of ICC Deputy Prosecutor (Prosecutions), having been elected with an overwhelming majority by the Assembly of States Parties on 8 August 2004 and serving as such until May 2012. Prior to her work at the International Criminal Court, Ms Bensouda worked as Legal Adviser and Trial Attorney at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, rising to the position of Senior Legal Advisor and Head of The Legal Advisory Unit.

Sandi Okoro is a Nigerian-British lawyer, appointed in 2016 as senior vice-president and general counsel at the World Bank Group. Prior to joining the World Bank, Sandie was General Counsel for HSBC Global Asset Management, Deputy General Counsel of HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management, and Global General Counsel at Barings. In addition to her official duties, Sandie is an ardent defender and champion for women’s empowerment, gender equality, and justice for all. She uses her voice and expertise to spark personal and community-based development and push the envelope in tackling gender-based inequalities, particularly among minority groups and women.

Literary

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a Nigerian writer whose works range from novels to short stories to nonfiction. She studied medicine and pharmacy at the University of Nigeria then moved to the US to study communications and political science at Eastern Connecticut State University. She gained an MA in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. We Should All Be Feminists, a long essay adapted from a 2012 TEDx Talk, was published in 2014, followed by Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions in 2017, which won the 2017 Grand Prix de l’Héroïne Madame Figaro (nonfiction). Chimamanda divides her time between Nigeria, where she regularly teaches writing workshops, and the United States.

Aminatta Forna is a Scottish and Sierra Leonean writer. She is the award-winning author of the novels Happiness, The Hired Man, The Memory of Love and Ancestor Stones, and a memoir The Devil that Danced on the Water, and the forthcoming essay collection, The Window Seat: Notes from a Life in Motion. In 2003 Aminatta established the Rogbonko Project to build a school in a village in Sierra Leone. The charity has also run a number of projects in the spheres of adult education, sanitation and maternal health.

Afua Hirsch is a Norwegian-born Ghanaian- British writer, broadcaster and former barrister. In addition to her book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging – winner of the Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Prize – Afua is the author of Equal To Everything, about the UK Supreme Court, and was a judge on last year’s Booker Prize. She is currently the Wallis Annenberg Chair of Journalism at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  Afua is the founder of Born in Me Productions, which creates scripted and non-scripted movies, TV and podcasts.

Chibundu Onuzo is a Nigerian novelist. After graduating from Kingʼs College London with a bachelor’s degree, she received a master’s degree in political science from University College London. In 2018, Chibundu was awarded a PhD in History from King’s College London. Her first novel, The Spider King’s Daughter, won a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Commonwealth Book Prize. Chibundu’s third novel is to be released later this year. 

Zukiswa Wanner is a South African journalist, novelist and editor.  She was shortlisted for the K Sello Duiker Award in 2007 for her first novel, The Madams. Zukiswa is the founder of the Read SA campaign – a campaign encouraging South Africa to read.

Social Development

Oby Ezekwesili is a Nigerian  Public Analyst/Senior Economic Advisor and Nigerian chartered accountant. She was a candidate for the office of the President of Nigeria in the 2019 election. Oby was Vice-President of the World Bank’s Africa division and is former Nigerian Minister of Education, Minister of Solid Minerals, Head of the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit and former Chairperson of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI). She is also co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Africa Regional Strategy Board and a co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls movement.

Ameenah Gurib-Fakim is a Mauritian politician and biodiversity scientist who served as the 6th President of Mauritius from 2015 to 2018. Born in 1959, Ameenah finished her higher school education at Loreto convent Quatro Bornes before studying chemistry at the University of Surrey. She completed her PhD in organic chemistry at Exeter University before returning to Mauritius in 1987. In Mauritius, Gurib-Fakim taught organic chemistry at the University of Mauritius, where she also served as Dean of the Faculty of Science and Pro-Vice Chancellor.

Amina J. Mohammed is a Nigerian diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Prior to her appointment, she served as Minister of Environment of the Federal Republic of Nigeria where she steered the country’s efforts on climate action and efforts to protect the natural environment. Amina first joined the United Nations in 2012 as Special Adviser to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon with the responsibility for post-2015 development planning. She led the process that resulted in global agreement around the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the creation of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is a Nigerian-American economist and international development expert who has served since March 1, 2021 as Director-General of the World Trade Organization. From 2003 to 2006, she was the Finance Minister of Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, and then became the country’s Foreign Affairs Minister, the first woman to hold either position. From 2011 to 2015, she was again named Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy of Nigeria. She worked to free her country from 30 billion dollars of debt owed to the Paris Club, modernized the financial management systems by introducing transparency and publishing government accounts and used technology to help block leakage of revenues and fight corruption.

Toyin Saraki is a Nigerian  global health advocate, healthcare philanthropist and the Founder-President of Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA). Through WBFA, and working with a broad range of partners that include the UN, the Nigeria Federal Ministry of Health, and the organized private sector, Toyin has demonstrated leadership, over two decades, on the advancement of women’s and children’s health through community health workers and midwives.

Sports

Lydia Nsekera was the Burundi Football Federation (FFB) President from 2004 until 2013 and has been on the International Olympic Committee since 2009. Before that, she was Vice-President of Burundi’s Women’s Football Committee and helped launch the country’s first national women’s league. After a stint at the helm of FFB’s Competitions Committee, she became the first woman to hold a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee.

Fatma Samoura is a Senegalese former diplomat and senior executive. She was appointed as the first female Secretary General of FIFA by President Gianni Infantino. After starting her United Nations career in Rome as a senior logistics officer with the World Food Programme in 1995, Fatma served as country representative or Deputy Humanitarian coordinator in seven countries: Republic of Djibouti, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Niger, Madagascar and Nigeria. In a humanitarian career with the United Nations that spanned 21-years, Fatma managed to initiate and lead several development and humanitarian programmes across the globe. Countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe have all benefited from her skills in Programme and Operations Management.

Caster Semenya is a South African middle-distance runner and 2016 Olympic gold medallist. Caster is also a three-time 800m world champion and a double Commonwealth Games middle distance gold medallist. When she won the Doha Diamond League 800m in May 2019, it was her 30th consecutive victory over the distance.

Tech

Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa is a South African business executive currently working as the chief executive officer of Naspers South Africa. She previously ran a private equity business, Sigma Capital, which she founded in 2016 after spending 12 years with the Shanduka Group. At Shanduka, she first managed Shanduka Energy before becoming CEO of the group of companies. Prior to Shanduka she worked at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as Head of Project Finance.

Rebecca Enonchong is a Cameroonian born technology entrepreneur and also the founder and CEO of AppsTech. Rebecca is also co founder and CEO of I/O Spaces, an inclusive coworking space in the Washington DC metro area. She sits as Board Chair of Afrilabs, a panafrican network of over 50 innovation centers and as Board Chair of ActivSpaces, an incubator in Cameroon.

Irene Charnley is a South African business woman and  former Deputy Chairman/Co-Founder at Smile Telecoms Holdings Ltd. Irene is a widely respected telecoms visionary who was instrumental in transforming MTN into one of the most respected telecommunications operators in the EMEA region.