Rising Africa:

Monica Musonda

Image courtesy: thebestofzambia.com

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.

Lindiwe Mazibuko

Image courtesy: buzzsouthafrica.com

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.

Isabel Dos Santos

Image courtesy: www.bet.com

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.

Rapelang Rabana

Image courtesy: livemag.co.za

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.

Claire Akamanzi

Image courtesy: www.biznisafrica.co.za

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.

Valentina da Luz Guebuza

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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.

Hadeel Ibrahim

Image courtesy: www.moibrahimfoundation.org

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).

Alengot Oromait

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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.

Banke Kuku

Image courtesy: www.bellanaija.com

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.

Winifred Selby

Image courtesy: www.ameyawdebrah.com

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.

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.

THANK YOU

Website: mentor.mara.com

App: iTunes, Blackberry, Android, and Nokia.

Customer Support: support@mentor.mara.com

Mara Foundation is supported by anumber of partners, including: