Lifestyle/Culture
Forbes 50 Over 50: EMEA 2022 (focus on Africa) By Maggie McGrath with reporting by Nicola Slawson, Samantha Todd, Justin Conklin and Giacomo Tognini
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Mo Abudu 247ureports.com Judy Dlamini YouTube
Women around the world are proving that 50 and beyond is the new golden age. Here are the founders, business and political leaders, scientists and vanguards leading the way throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Mo Abudu 57 | Founder-CEO, EbonyLife Media | Nigeria A one-time model who saw an opportunity to expand the shows and stories broadcast on the African continent, Abudu founded EbonyLife in 2013 as a pan-Africa television network. As the company has grown, so too have its opportunities. In 2020, Abudu struck a landmark multi-title film and TV deal with Netflix—the first of its kind for an African media company. She also has projects in the works with Sony and AMC. Her goal is to be the most influential storyteller in Africa—and its most relatable. “I’m a normal woman living in Africa. I’m in my 50s, my heart gets broken, my heart gets mended, I have aspirations,” she said in 2020. “I deserve my story to be told, even if it’s just something day-to-day. It doesn’t have to be about 94
January-February 2022
the slave trade.
Judy Dlamini 62 | Founder-Executive Chair, Mbekani Group | South Africa Dlamini began her career as a medical doctor before transitioning into business and launching her company Mbekani Group, a conglomerate with companies ranging from surgical equipment to luxury fashion, in 1996. Her 2017 book, Equal but Different, investigated the intersection of race, gender and social class in female leaders’ careers. She serves as chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand and is also on the board of the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund.
Rebecca Enonchong 54 | Founder-CEO, AppsTech | Cameroon The Cameroonian technology entrepreneur leads AppsTech, a global provider of enterprise application solutions, which she founded in 1999. In 2015, Enonchong cofounded I/O Spaces, an inclusive coworking space. She is known for DAWN
www.africabusinessassociation.org
