Sola David-Borha receiving the Business Woman of the Year Award, for Africa 2016

Sola David-Borha is the Chief Executive Officer (Africa Regions) of the Standard Bank Group. Prior to this, she was the Chief Executive Officer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. – a full-service financial services group with holdings in Commercial Banking, Investment Banking, Pension and Non-Pension Asset Management and Stockbroking. She also currently serves as the Vice-Chairman of the board of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).

She started out her banking career at the NAL Merchant Bank (now known as Sterling Bank), where she worked in the Credit and Marketing Department from 1984 to 1989, before joining Investment Banking and Trust Company (IBTC), which later merged with two commercial banks to become IBTC Chartered. When the Standard Bank Group acquired IBTC in 2007, she was appointed to serve as Deputy Chief Executive of the Bank and Head of IB Coverage Africa, and she rose to become CEO of Stanbic IBTC Bank in 2011 and CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. in 2012.

Her outstanding achievements in these executive roles earned her the ‘Business Woman of the Year’ award for the West Africa Region, and the ‘Business Woman of the Year for Africa’, both from the All Africa Business Leaders Awards in 2016. Shortly after receiving these awards, she resigned from her position as CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. to assume her current position. She leads the Stanbic Group’s African financial operations, executing duties that range from governance to risk control and expansion.

Sola holds a first degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and an MBA from the Manchester Business School. She also attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School and the Global CEO Program jointly offered by Wharton (US), IESE (Spain) and CEIBS (Shanghai), all of which equipped her with the executive skills required to excel in her roles.

Sola is the Chairman, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Ltd. She also serves on the Board of various firms including Coca-Cola, CRC Credit Bureau Ltd., Fate Foundation, and the  University of Ibadan Business School, among others.

Asked about the challenges of pursuing a successful banking career as a woman, she said; “Every career has its challenges. The important thing is not allowing those challenges to distract you; whether it’s your gender, your race, or your religion, you must remain focused on how you can improve your skills and your knowledge base. Remain professional no matter what circumstances you find yourself, and conduct yourself with integrity. Invariably, the promotions will come.”

Her advice to young women professionals: “You’ve got to conduct yourself in a way that is above board, even if this is to your own cost. You can’t control all the variables, so don’t worry about the things you can’t control, but the variables that you can control, and your own behaviour, stay focused on these. The others will sort themselves out.”

Sola David-Borha is an embodiment of feminine grit and determination, manifested in creativity and hard work that have seen her to the top of her career. She is the Herstory  Woman of the Week.

References

1. Meet Standard Bank’s new African Regions boss, Sola David-Borha https://cfo.co.za/article/interview-standard-bank-african-regions-boss-sola-david-borha accessed 15 October 15, 2019.
2. Sola David Borha, husband and biography. https://www.legit.ng/1149918-sola-david-borha-husband-biography.html. Accessed 15 October, 2019.
3. Business Leaders; Olusola Adejoke David-Borha. https://www.marketscreener.com/business-leaders/Olusola-David-Borha-09KFFB-E/biography/ . Accessed 15 October, 2019.

Ilhan Omar is a Somali-born American lawmaker who currently serves as a member of the United States’ House of Representative for Minnesota’s District 5, having been elected in 2018. In 2016, she served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 60B district, where she became the first naturalized African, and one of the first two Muslim women to occupy the position.

She started her career in 2006 as a Community Nutrition Educator with the University of Minnesota for three years before moving on to the Minnesota Department of Education as the Coordinator for child nutrition campaign. At about the same time, she made a bold dabble into politics, working with Kari Dziedzic as Campaign Manager for his senatorial re-election. In 2015, she fully launched into advocacy, working as the Director of Policy Initiatives of the Women Organizing Women Network, through which she advocated the inclusion of East African women in political leadership.

She went into elective politics in 2016, when she contested and won the Minnesota House of Representatives election under the platform of Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL). Her tenure in the state legislature was defined by the spearheading and enactment of different bills, particularly for advancing the standard of living in the state. Her achievements delivered her political victory when she went a step further to contest a seat in the US House of Representatives in 2018. Since then, she has continued to promote people-friendly laws including the free tuition for indigent college students, access sound health care for all, and cancelation of students’ meal debts incurred by low low-income earning families in the US.

She also advocates the promotion of human rights in the crisis-torn Yemen through her public criticisms of Saudi-Arabia’s intervention in the state. She is a world-class advocate with leadership that demonstrates clear concerns for better welfare for humanity; Ilhan Omar is our woman of the week.

Sources

1. O’Grady, Siobhán (2018). Trump demonized Somali refugees in Minnesota. One of them just won a seat in Congress. The Washington Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20190313005712/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/07/trump-demonized-somali-refugees-minnesota-one-them-just-won-seat-congress/?utm_term=.9bb3be948c54
2. Armin Rosen. (2018). https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/263826/as-keith-ellison-leaves-congress-one-likely-replacement-faces-criticism-for-anti-israel-views
3. Ilhan’s Story (n.d.). https://web.archive.org/web/20161106032533/https://www.ilhanomar.com/bio
4. Ryan Faircloth. (2016). Debate spotlights veteran, newcomers. Minnesota Day. https://www.mndaily.cOm/article/2016/08/debate-spotlights-veteran-newcomers
5. Ola Salem (2018). Saudi Arabia Declares War on America’s Muslim Congresswomen. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/11/saudi-arabia-declares-war-on-americas-muslim-congresswomen/

Schuster started her professional career as an academic, before making a switch into the financial industry. She first ventured into mainstream politics in 2005 when she contested and won a seat at the German Bundestag representing Roth constituency under the umbrella of the Free Democratic Party. No sooner had she assumed office that she was delegated with the responsibility to deputizing the head of the Consumer Protection and Home Affairs’ Committee. She made a clear stand with United Nations policies that promotes the supply of humanitarian aids to some crises-infested states in Africa, including Somalia and Dafur in 2007 and 2008, and Sudan in 2009.

Without any hassle, she secured a return to the house in the 2009 elections, and served in different positions in the same year. She was the spokeswoman for the Committee on Human Right and Humanitarian Aids, as well as the German delegate to the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly, and as member of Committee on Foreign Relations as a member. As human rights advocate, she co-initiated an open letter to the authoritarian regime of Dmitry Medvedev to forestall his abuses of human rights in Russia, criticized illegitimate arrest of political oppositions in Europe, represented the Council of Europe to observe the 2011 Tunisian elections; and raised awareness in Africa on human’s inalienable rights. She also served as General Rapporteur on the abolition of death penalty, and was a vibrant campaigner for United Nations supports for peace-keeping mission in South Sudan in 2012, and Mali in 2013.

Schuster has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Regensburg. She belongs to the Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Interparliamentary Group, an international network of politicians committed to the promotion of human rights. She is well known for her contributions to the promotion of human rights, international conflict resolutions, and peace and security in Africa. Marina Schuster is our woman of the week.

Sources

1. Marina Schuster. Wayback Machine Council of Europe.
2. Aid, political and economic ties focus of German minister’s Africa visit. Ethiopian Review.
3. Text of letter to President Medveved. Financial Times
4. Abgeordnete 16. Wahlperiode: Schuster Marin. Deutscher Bundestag.

Lilian made formal her interest in a cooking career when she moved to the United Kingdom in 1978 to burnish her culinary skills through self-training. By the sheer force of passion, she was able to arrange her insightful thoughts on recipes, and communicate how culture and geography could combine to influence food habits. After years of a successful career in London, she went on to establish the Asian Women of Achievements Awards in 1999 to celebrate the Asian females who have blazed the trails in their respective careers. Subsequently she founded Spice Magic Limited in London to provide quality services in cookery and catering, taking the name from her first published cookbook in 2001, ‘Spice Magic: An Indian Culinary Adventure’.

In 2006, she initiated another award, ‘Women of the Future Awards’ to encourage young women in business in the UK and build a formidable mentorship platform that would transform the food industry. The following year, she established the ‘Women of the Future Network’ to bring together women, both experienced and inexperienced, for business connections. ‘The Future Awards’ in South East Asia after a decade. Lilani has, through her several award presentations, stimulated UK and international business ecosystem for women’s participation, and assisted restaurants to improve profitability.

She is an alumnus of Calcutta University where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Education and English in 1974 and holds a Graduate Diploma in Social Communication Media and Management Studies from the University of Bombay, India, and the Council of National Academic Awards, UK.

Lilani stands out from the crowd due to her strong advocacy in women empowerment, mentorship to young females, and her business advice that have transformed growth in the food industry. Pinky Lilani is our woman of the week.

Sources

Spice Magic, Discovery through Food. www.spicemagic.com

Woman’s Hour. Pinky Lilani. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/g1f5Hn25f6wrdRQyLNR4tP/pinky-lilani-obe/

Pinky Lilany CBE DL. https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/about-us/people/pinky-lilani-cbe-dl/

The Edge. Pinky Lilali. https://www.theedge-uk.com/view/pinky-lilani/

Womanthology. Pinky Lilani. http://www.womanthology.co.uk/celebrating-15th-asian-women-achievement-awards-nominations-awards-co-founder-pinky-lilani-obe/

Frazer’s foray into politics began in 2001, when she was appointed by the George Bush Administration to serve as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs at the National Security Council. This was after her six years as a  lecturer and Assistant Professor at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, U.S. As Special Assistant, Frazer played critical roles in providing solutions to the diverse problems in Southern Africa. She developed strategies that guided U.S in combating poverty and hunger in Zimbabwe, managing conflicts in the war-torn Liberia, and fighting the increasing trend of HIV/AIDs in the region for 3 years.

These contributions earned her a spot in 2004 as Ambassador of U.S to South Africa, where she scaled the country’s operations in South Africa. She only served a year in this office, but her achievements were remarkable. Frazer struck a bilateral agreement with the government of South African for the African Contingency Operations Training Assistant program (ACOTA), an initiative that facilitated peace in the region. Her ability to steer Bush’s leadership positively, culminated in her selection as the United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs in 2005. Passionately, Frazer delivered on the job, designing the roadmap to boost Africa’s security architecture. Her policies helped to manage the then existing crises in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Congo DR. Through her conflict-mediation skills, she was instrumental to resolving the post-electoral violence that engulfed Kenya in 2007.

A Distinguished Public Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College and Department of Social and Decision Sciences, whose leadership in African peace and security, and renowned policies have fostered friendly relations among states, Jendayi Frazer is our woman of the week.

Sources

BlackPast. Jendayi E. Frazer. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/jendayi-e-frazer-1961/

Berggruen Institute. Jendayi Frazer, Biography. https://www.berggruen.org/people/jendayi-frazer/

The White House. President George W. Bush: Ask the White House. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/frazer-bio.html/

All GOV: Everything Our Government Really Does. http://www.allgov.com/officials/frazer-jendayi?officialid=28461

Samoura’s diplomatic acumen was first brought to fore in 1995 when she joined the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) as the Country Director in Djibouti and Cameroon, and later transferred to the organization’s headquarters in Rome, Italy. In this role, she had stellar achievements, developing formidable mechanisms in the management of emergencies in crises infested areas such as Sierra-Leone, Liberia, Kosovo, Nicaragua and East Timor.

The remarkable impacts she made won her recognition from the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who based on the recommendation of John Holmes, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, appointed her as the Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Eastern Chad in 2007. Based in Abéché, a Chadian town that borders the conflict-ridden Darfur, Samoura was proactive in her job providing guidance to about seven United Nations agencies and 40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with an international outlook. Through her coordination, some of the 180,000 displaced Chadians were sheltered and had their hopes restored for new lives. This was the last position she served before her recent appointment to the management of FIFA.

In 2018, she was listed by BBC as one of the ‘100 most influential and inspirational women in the 21^st Century.  For her elegant contributions towards humanitarian assistance in Africa and the international level and her leadership attributes in the world of men, Fatma Samoura is our woman of the week.

Sources:

BBC (2018). BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-46225037/. Accessed on 9 September 2019.

Forbes (2018). https://www.forbes.com/pictures/5aabea644bbe6f0fa82880d6/no-1-fatma-samba-diouf-sa/#4d533d9d3c26 Accessed on 9 September 2019.

AIPS. Testing times ahead at FIFA as Samoura makes an official start. African Internationale de la Presse Sportive. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.html?page=artdetail&oldart=18972 Accessed on 9 September 2019.

Amina Mohamed is a Kenyan lawyer, diplomat and politician. Former Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Education, Mohamed has been in public service since 1985. She is the current Cabinet Secretary for Sports in Kenya, having formerly served as the Cabinet Secretary (Minister) for Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the first woman to hold this position in Kenya. Her work as the Minister for Foreign Affairs which raised Kenya’s international profile spiked Foreign Direct Investment in the country by 400%.

Mohamed achieved many other firsts in her illustrious career. She was the first African to chair the World Trade Organization’s General Council’s global trade round at the 10th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference held in Nairobi. She was also the first woman to chair the governing General Council of the World Trade Organization, the Dispute Settlement Body, the International Organization for Migration, and the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime.

Mohamed graduated with an LLM in International Law from Kiev State University, Ukraine. She also has a postgraduate diploma (PGDip) in International Relations from the University of Oxford. She was the Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme at Nairobi. She was also the Permanent Secretary of the Kenyan Ministry of Justice, National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs and former Ambassador of Kenya to the United Nations at Geneva.

We celebrate Amina Mohamed today as our Woman of the Week for her audacity in public service at both local and international levels, and for doing so quite admirably.

Sources:

“Ambassador Amina Mohamed.” HuffPost, Mon. 08 July 2019, https://www.huffpost.com/author/ambassador-amina-mohamed

“Ambassador (Dr.) Amina Mohamed.” International Growth Centre, Mon. 08 July 2019, https://www.theigc.org/person/ambassador-dr-amina-mohamed/

“Amina Mohamed.”Wikipedia, Mon. 08 July 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amina_Mohamed

Angie Brooks was a Liberian diplomat and jurist who served as the president of the 24th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the first African female president of that body.

Brooks started as a lawyer and worked as a counselor-at-law to the Supreme Court in Liberia after returning from her educational pursuits abroad in 1953. She later worked in the Justice Department and became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court. She influenced the establishment of a law department at the Liberia University as part of her efforts to encourage women to study law and taught part-time as a Professor of Law at the same university from 1954-1958. From August 1953 to March 1958, she served as Assistant Attorney-General of Liberia and went on to become Assistant Secretary of State.

In 1954, she became Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and was the first woman and African to serve as president of the UN Trusteeship Council. Identified with a leadership style that was seen as a combination of charm and shrewd diplomacy, she was in 1969 selected as the President of the 24th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

For her pioneering roles in a global community dominated by men; and for her exemplary representation of the ability of the African woman to mix it up with the rest of the best of women across the world, Angie Brooks is our Woman of the Week.

Sources:

Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Brooks, Angie”, Fri. 21 June 2019, https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/brooks-angie-1928

Wikipedia. “Angie Brooks”, Fri. 21 June 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angie_Brooks