Forbes 50 Over 50: EMEA 2022

Forbes 50 Over 50: EMEA 2022 (focus on Africa)

By Maggie McGrath with reporting by Nicola Slawson, Samantha Todd, Justin Conklin and Giacomo Tognini

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 fi lm and TV deal with Netfl ix—the fi rst 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 infl uential 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 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 Diff erent, 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

ecca Enonchong kampiiproductions.com

Angelique Kidjo

www.ebay.com

her work promoting technology in Africa and has chaired the African Center for Technology, Innovation and Ventures Spaces since 2010. She was named a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. In 2021, Enonchong was confi rmed as vice chair of the board of the WHO Foundation.

Angelique Kidjo

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti investigative-malawi.org

61| Singer-Activist | Benin

Kidjo is an acclaimed singer, songwriter and activist who has seen some of her greatest successes after turning 50. The long list includes winning three of her four Grammy awards and performing at the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in 2011, the U.N. General Assembly in 2015, and the Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony in 2021. When she is not creating music, Kidjo is an avowed activist for women and children in Africa. She founded Batonga, a charitable foundation aimed at supporting women’s entrepreneurship eff orts and girls’ education, in 2006. In 2020, Batonga operated 173 leadership clubs (socially distanced) for girls ages 10-18, and established 50 small business circles for young female entrepreneurs that, in turn, saw the launch of 50 new businesses.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti

57 | Regional Director For Africa, World

Health Organization | Botswana

In 2015, at age 50, Moeti made history as the fi rst woman to be appointed as WHO Regional Director for Africa. Moeti was reelected for a second, fi ve-year term that began in 2020, and she promised to work on accelerating regional eff orts towards achieving universal health coverage. The Botswana-native joined WHO’s Africa Regional Offi ce in 1999 and has held a variety of roles, including deputy regional director.

Louisa Mojela internationalcementexecutive.com

50 over 50 Africa from page 95

Louisa Mojela

65 | Cofounder, Wiphold | South Africa

Mojela is one of the architects of Wiphold, South Africa’s fi rst women-owned and women-focused investment platform. Mojela and her cofounders started the fund in 1994 with 500,000 rand in seed money; today, the portfolio is valued at more than 2 billion rand. In 2021, Mojela received an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University for empowering women in Africa. Mojela also recently diversifi ed her business interests: in 2018, she founded Bophelo BioScience & Wellness, a medical cannabis startup in Lesotho.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

66 | Director-general, World Trade

Organization | Nigeria

Okonjo-Iweala, a global economic expert, is the fi rst woman and fi rst African Director-General of the WTO, a trade regulation body. Previously, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala twice served as Nigeria's Finance Minister and briefl y acted as Foreign Minister–the fi rst woman to hold both positions. She has also been the Board Chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, since 2016. She is also the founder of Nigeria's fi rst-ever indigenous opinion-research organization, NOI-Polls.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala politicoghana.com

Jennifer Riria womensworldbanking.org

Jennifer Riria

71 | Founding member, Kenya Women's

Finance Trust | Kenya

Riria is the founding member of KWFT Microfi nance Bank and has served on the board since 1991. She is also group CEO of Echo Network Africa, formerly Kenya Women Holding, which is a woman-led and women-serving development institution. Riria has led KWFT for more than three decades, and turned it from an unprofi table NGO to Kenya’s largest microfi nance bank. KWFT has served more than 3 million women and disbursed more than $3 billion.

Fatma Samoura

59 | Secretary General, FIFA | Senegal

Samoura is a trailblazer in the sports world: In June 2016, at the age of 53, she became the fi rst African and woman to hold the position of FIFA secretary general. Since her appointment, the

Fatma Samoura yawatani.com

number of women employed by the organization has increased, including in senior management positions. In 2021, she joined the board of directors of The Global FoodBanking Network, an international nonprofi t organization working towards a hunger-free future in more than 40 countries.

Samia Suluhu Hassan

61 | President, Tanzania | Tanzania

Suluhu Hassan is the sixth and current president of Tanzania, and the fi rst woman to hold the position. She took over when former President John Magufuli died in March 2021. Suluhu Hassan, the former VP, began her political career in 2000, when she was elected as a special seat member to the Zanzibar House of Representatives and was appointed as a government minister by President Amani Karume. She was the only high-ranking woman minister in the cabinet. www.forbes.com/sites/ maggiemcgrath/2022/01/18/50-over-50-emea-2022 Image credit: Yahoo, www.discountmags.com/ Forbes

H. E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President, United

Republic of Tanzania mojidelano.com