These women have done what it takes to be at top. Do you see yourself next in the list?

1. Rising Africa:

4. Monica Musonda
Image courtesy: thebestofzambia.com

5. Monica Musonda
• She is the founder of Java Foods, a Zambia-based food processing
company that manufactures the eeZee brand of Instant Noodles.
• Musonda previously worked with Africa’s richest man, Aliko
Dangote, as the director of legal and corporate affairs at Dangote
Group, where she led a project to build a cement plant in Zambia.
• She currently serves on the Boards of Dangote Industries Zambia
Limited and the Central Bank of Zambia.
• Musonda is also the Chairperson of Kwacha Pension Trust Fund,
Zambia’s largest single employer pension fund.
• She is an Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow and was
named a 2013 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

6. Lindiwe Mazibuko
Image courtesy: buzzsouthafrica.com

7. Lindiwe Mazibuko
• At age 33, she is a Parliamentary Leader for the Democratic
Alliance (MP for North Durban) and Leader of the Opposition in
the National Assembly in South Africa.
• As the country’s fourth youngest parliamentarian, Mazibuko is
already being touted as a future leader of the Democratic Alliance.
• Mazibuko was named South Africa’s Most Influential Woman in
2012 and a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in
2013.
• Mara encourages women from all walks of life to come and express
themselves, in the hope to instill confidence in so many that are
still pieces of carbon who simply haven’t had the right amount of
pressure and heat to turn into that magnificent diamond yet.

8. Isabel Dos Santos
Image courtesy: www.bet.com

9. Isabel Dos Santos
• She is the daughter of Angola’s President, Jose Eduardo Dos
Santos is Africa’s richest woman.
• She is also one of the continent’s most powerful businesswomen.
Through her various holding companies, she controls a 25% stake
in Angolan mobile telecom operator Unitel, a 25% stake in
Angola’s Banco BIC, 25% of ZON Optimus, a listed Portuguese
cable TV company, and just under 20% of Banco BPI, one of
Portugal’s largest publicly traded banks.
• She is also partnering with Sonae, Portugal’s largest retailer, to
launch 5 new food hypermarkets in Angola in 2014.

10. Rapelang Rabana
Image courtesy: livemag.co.za

11. Rapelang Rabana
• One of Africa’s most recognizable young entrepreneurs. Rabana,
29, is the CEO and founder of Cape Town based Yeigo
Communications, which develops software for telecoms-related
services including Voice over IP, Instant messaging, SMS
messaging and push email services.
• In 2008, Telfree, a Swiss mobile telecommunications firm,
acquired a 51% stake in Yeigo.
• In December 2012 she founded Rekindle Learning, a company that
provides adaptive mobile learning solutions.

12. Claire Akamanzi
Image courtesy: www.biznisafrica.co.za

13. Claire Akamanzi
• At 34, she is the Chief Operating Officer of the Rwandan
Development Board (RDB), a government institution tasked with
accelerating economic growth and development in Rwanda by
enabling private sector growth.
• Akamanzi has had a successful career in public service, serving as
Rwanda’s commercial diplomat in London and as a trade
negotiator in Geneva for the Rwandan government at the World
Trade Organization.

14. Valentina da Luz Guebuza
Image courtesy: delagoabayword.wordpress.com

15. Valentina da Luz Guebuza
• The 33 year-old daughter of Mozambique’s President
Armando Guebuza heads Focus 21 Management &
Development, a large family-owned investment holding
company with interests in banking, telecommunications,
fisheries, transport, mining and property.

16. Hadeel Ibrahim
Image courtesy: www.moibrahimfoundation.org

17. Hadeel Ibrahim
• She is the founding Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim
Foundation, which was established in 2006 to support
leadership and good governance in Africa.
• She also serves on the Boards of the Mary Robinson
Foundation for Climate Justice and the African Governance
Institute (AGI).

18. Alengot Oromait
Image courtesy: www.pinterest.com

19. Alengot Oromait
• At 20, she is the youngest parliamentarian in Africa.
• In 2012 she was elected Member of Parliament for Usuk County,
Katakwi District in Uganda.
• She is a member of Uganda’s ruling National Resistance
Movement party. Her father, Michael Oromait, served as the MP
for the same Parliamentary seat before his death in July 2012.

20. Banke Kuku
Image courtesy: www.bellanaija.com

21. Banke Kuku
• She is a 19 year old Ghanaian national, the founder of Afrocentric
Bamboo Limited.
• At present she employs around 30 girls and has also received
numerous awards.
• Winifred, founded Ghana Bamboo Bikes in 2009 with an aim to
fight for carbon free and green planet.
• The current turnover of the company is about $10,000 per month.

22. Winifred Selby
Image courtesy: www.ameyawdebrah.com

23. Winifred Selby
• She is a Nigerian textile designer.
• She founded her self-named company in 2009 which fuses
traditional African and western culture to create a unique lustrous
fabric for fashion industry.
• Her company has created intrepid fabric designs for many
renowned fashion houses including Duro Olowu, Jewel by Lisa
and has been worn by the Michelle Obama, Kelis and Catt Sadler.

24. Mara Foundation’s Ambition
We enable, inspire and empower ambitious entrepreneurs in Africa. With the support of our Mara Mentors we will:
Inspire millions of young people in Africa to become
entrepreneurs.
Teach entrepreneurs new skills.
Enable entrepreneurs to turn business ideas into a
reality.
Guide business owners to grow businesses and hire
(more) employees.
Empower entrepreneurs by providing a platform to
showcase their business and build their network.

26. THANK YOU
Website: mentor.mara.com
App: iTunes, Blackberry, Android, and Nokia.
Customer Support: support@mentor.mara.com
Mara Foundation is supported by a
number of partners, including: