As part of Women's Month, we are celebrating eight women who are doing transformational work using their platforms while elevating women empowerment and leading by example that there is no limit to choose and becoming your authentic self.
1. CANDACE BISSECK
A speaker, fulltime empathy-based coach and an advocate of digital entrepreneurship as a lever for economic empowerment for youth and women. She is passionate about digital innovation and technology to empower people especially women to improve their lives, career, and businesses via innovation evident through transformational facilitator role at Stanford Seed to help African SME’s to scale up and her role at Jumia-Cameroon. A former UNCTAD program management office where she helped to raise the profiles of women leaders in e-commerce and the digital economy.
You can see more of her work here: www.candacenkoth.com
2. CHRISTINA TEGBE
She is the founder and is a creative visionary behind award-winning 54 Thrones; an African plant-based beauty brand inspired by the richness, diversity, and culture of the African continent and its people. Seen in Vogue, Oprah Magazine, Essence, Elle, Byrdie and Pop Sugar. Through her work, trade, and business in Africa, she fights for social and economic development in African communities alongside the eradication of poverty and gender inequality. She Featured on the panel of the 2019 Global Shea Alliance speaking about the power of advancing gender equality in producing communities by providing sustainable income opportunities for her partners.
You can see more of her work here: https://54thrones.com/
3. VALENTINE NJOROGE
Co-Founder & CEO Africa's Pocket that creates digital tools and resources for consumers to understand money management and financial literacy to attain their goals. Africa’s pockets won the People's Choice Award & 3rd prize at the HBS Africa Business Club New Venture Competition. She is also a co-founder of Mradifund that builds a marketplace for seed investments, she aspires to contribute to a better world by building business ventures that can provide employment, sustainable solutions and thrive in tomorrow’s global economy. We had the pleasure of having her speak at The Sisters Market: an only women-owned vendor market on International Women’s Day weekend that took place March 2020 where she stressed the importance of financial and economic empowerment to achieve sustainable development goals.
See more of her work here: https://africaspocket.com/
4. CAROLINE WANGA
Co-founder Wanga woman LLC and a champion of an inclusive society, community curator and Chief growth officer at Essence Ventures, an independent Black-owned consumer technology company focused on merging content, community and commerce to meet the evolving cultural and lifestyle needs of people of colour. She also worked at Target-USA as the Chief Culture, Diversity & Inclusion Officer and Vice President of Human Resources. She inspires women through her public speaking, urging women to embrace who they are as it is a non-negotiable. She calls for the inclusion of all and equal opportunities.
Watch an inspirational video of her below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAIiqOG4KBU
5. CLEOPATRA KAMBUGU
An activist, writer, advocate for LGBTQ in east Africa, transgender film personality and director of Programmes - UHAI-The East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative. @Xulaye believes in empowerment, acceptance and inclusion of those considered outsiders and protection from all forms of discrimination. She grew up navigating her life as a transgender, through her journey she encourages women to be empowered by allowing themselves to be defined only in their completeness regardless of sexual orientations and gender identities. Her words of wisdom “ Your acceptance from without starts from within”. Cleopatra was featured in 'Pearl of Africa', a movie shown at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva. She is outspoken about the challenges she faces in her struggle to have transgender rights recognised in her country Uganda.
You can see more of her work here: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5128790/
6. TERRYANNE CHEBET
Season media and communications professional turned entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of Keyara Botanicals, one of Kenya’s leading home-grown skincare brands, a digital content creator & influencer with a combined following of over 1.4M followers on her digital assets. In 2020, she founded Africa's Leading Ladies, a platform with a membership of over 380,000 women from Africa which gives access to learning, mentorship pairing within group members as well as access to networks that enable African women to achieve their highest potential. She is also the host of Biashara Talk and Dream Homes Kenya on her YouTube Channel which focuses on Entrepreneurship and Real Estate and investments. She has dexterous knowledge and awareness of industry trends and possesses strategic links with key personalities across the African continent, and an in-depth grasp of communication dynamics and is regularly called upon to moderate high-level economic panel discussions and debates across the world.
See more of her work here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX5MVbi-prrFZE1E-jYoYqA
7. JACQUILINE LIDONDE
Founder and executive director Volucture an organization that leverages technology to connect local nonprofit organizations in Kenya to local and global virtual volunteers through an online platform. She has a deep passion for the development sector and African philanthropy having worked in the non-profit sector for years. She believes that when we build capacity for local nonprofit organizations we equip them to serve their beneficiaries better and enable them to make great strides in solving societal problems. According to Jacquiline strategic partnerships and collaboration is the only way that we can solve many of the societal issues. She is a big supporter of the work we do #Heels4Pads and connects volunteers with organisations to advance their work and meet their objectives
You can see more of her work here. https://www.voluculture.org/
8. WANGARI MUCHIRI
A passionate advocate and sustainability ambassador with renewable energy and green building experience. She also sits as a board member, head of the Technical Committee at The Kenya Green Building Society (KGBS) where her mission is to achieve the highest quality of service possible while ensuring profit, sustainability and innovation. Her work is aligned with the achievement of women empowerment in energy having won different accolades including Africa Power & Energy Elites 2021, Revolutionaries: The Steve Sawyer Memorial Award" Winner - Africa 2020, Obama Foundation Leader - Africa 2019, Women In Wind Global Leadership Programme 2019, Top Women Under 30 Breaking Barriers In Stem 2019 - Mawazo Institute & Africa Science Week and Jll Asia- Pacific Young Leaders Program 2015
We at Sister Speaks Global #Choosetochallenge a society that dictates what women and girls become, instead of promoting her voice and agency to become who and what she wants.