African Women Leading Innovation Share Insights for Creating Change in Africa
‘Women in Innovation’ Panelists - Photo Courtesy of IFPMA
Empowered women power up entire societies! To celebrate women’s month, AWEC was honoured to join a panel of phenomenal African women who have led organizations and initiatives that are transforming lives and communities in their countries.
On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day 2021, The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), The Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC), and The Innovation Council, organised a panel discussion titled ‘Women in Innovation: Providing Leadership, Creating Solutions and Driving Change.’
The panelists were women who went beyond dreaming and had the courage to act on their convictions. These changemakers and leaders in diverse institutions and industries shared priceless nuggets of wisdom on how African women can foster innovation.
Insights On Driving Change
“When we want change, we negotiate for it,” said Mrs. Edna Adan Ismail, founder of the Edna Adan Hospital and Edna Adan University in Somaliland. The 84 year-old phenom Edna Adan began with a dream of improving maternal health in Somaliland after she retired and noticed the gap. This led her to build a world-class hospital and university to train professional and competent healthcare professionals who also care about human dignity.
“International Women’s Day is not a day on the calendar, It’s how we contribute to society. It’s the role models we become, the examples we give and the contributions we make to save human life.”
Mrs. Adan implored women to make the commemoration day a lifestyle by building lives and careers that contribute to society and save human life. With women making up more than 70% of the students at Edna Adan University, this impressive progress in empowering women was a result of the nature of courses offered. Midwifery and maternal health-related professions are taught exclusively to women and consequently led to an increase in the number of female health professionals in Somaliland.
Insights On Providing Leadership
“I encourage young women to create more of the world that they want to live in. When you have an idea, go for it, and bring others along with you,” said Dr. Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa.
Dr. Moeti from South Africa is the first woman to hold the post. She recalled that earlier on in her career she had to tackle a huge challenge similar to what is going on with the current COVID vaccine. She helped with the intervention of HIV in Botswana, which at the time had the highest burden of HIV globally. Her role was to facilitate the distribution of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs), as well as convince decision-makers that nurses could be trusted to prescribe the medication in areas where there were no doctors.
In her role at WHO, Dr. Moeti actively advocates for the early adoption of research and innovation into practice and delivery. She said, “Mainstreaming the participation of women is key to ensuring that innovations are not gender blind or biased to further compound existing inequalities.”
A young changemaker on the panel from Uganda also shared the importance of mindset and hope in driving change and innovation. Sheila Alumo is the Managing Director, Eastern Agricultural Development Co. Ltd. in Uganda and she works at shifting the mindset of the community to view farming as a sustainable income creation venture through her model, ‘Farming as a Business (FAAB)’.
“Our backgrounds don’t define us but our resilience, focus and thought process define us,” said Sheila Alumo. A timely reminder and motivation to African entrepreneurs and professionals working to bring change and hope in their communities.
Insights On Creating Solutions
“Innovation sometimes means doing old things in a new way,” added Desiree Joule-Adam, Deputy Director of Communications & Development of the African Women’s Entrepreneurship Cooperative (AWEC).
Representing AWEC and her company Start-Up Africa, Desiree Joule-Adam reminded African women entrepreneurs to seize every opportunity that is available to them. Being both a beneficiary and staff member of AWEC, Desiree shared that the program helps African women entrepreneurs build resilient businesses through:
Practical and applicable content that can lead to immediate progress in their businesses
Access to a network of peers from across Africa who encourage and inspire during the entrepreneurial journey
Coaching from world-class mentors and session leaders on timeless business principles
Other panelists creating solutions in Africa include:
Nicole Kayode, CEO & Founder of Medixus, a mobile and web-based application connecting healthcare workers with healthcare workers in real-time to collaborate on patient cases. Medixus acts as a one-stop-shop for data aggregation, patient handover and case collaboration among healthcare professionals.
Theresa Mkandawire, a Registered Civil Engineer from Malawi, and part of a coalition of professionals at Newborn essential solutions and technologies (NEST), a program to reduce preventable newborn deaths in Malawi.
Ruhi Suttarwala, Founder & CEO Emmerce Ltd, who developed a profitable online shop for various beauty products on Jumia and other major marketplaces.
After gleaning incredible insights from these phenomenal women, the biggest takeaway is starting where you are with what you have. Mrs. Edna Adan said it best: “You’re an individual. Use your potential and your resources, and build your dream within that.”
Leverage your experiences, connections and abilities to create the Africa that you want to live in. While you dream big, remember that life has challenges but it’s crucial to learn to focus on what you can do. Dream big but execute the part of the dream that you can start and finish. The rest will follow.