The Women Shaping Africa’s Place in the World
From the corridors of global power to the laboratories, boardrooms and institutions transforming society, these African women are expanding the possibilities of leadership- and changing who gets to shape the future.
When Vanessa Kingori became the first Black publisher in Condé Nast Britain’s history, she did more than reach the top of one of the world’s most influential media organisations. She entered a space in which women of African heritage had rarely been represented at the highest levels of decision-making.
Thousands of miles away, in Mauritius, Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was pursuing a different kind of breakthrough. A scientist whose research explored the medicinal properties of plants and the value of biodiversity, she would become the first woman to serve as President of her country.
Their careers unfolded in different worlds. Yet both speak to a larger shift: African women are increasingly shaping the institutions, industries and ideas that influence the world.
They are leading governments and international organisations, building businesses, advancing scientific knowledge, directing capital, transforming technology and challenging long-standing assumptions about authority and expertise.
Their influence cannot be measured by titles alone. It is found in the institutions they lead, the opportunities they create and the doors they leave open for those who follow.
For more than 16 years, African Achievers has recognised individuals whose work has contributed to Africa’s progress. Among its honourees is a remarkable group of women whose achievements offer a picture of African leadership that is as diverse as the continent itself.
Their stories are not one story. Together, however, they reveal something important about the changing nature of African influence.
The power to redefine leadership
For much of modern history, the most influential positions in global media, politics and business have been occupied by a relatively narrow group of people. The women changing that landscape are doing more than becoming exceptions. They are widening the definition of who belongs in positions of influence.
Kingori’s career illustrates this shift. Before taking on a senior leadership role at Google, she served as Publishing Director of British Vogue, becoming the first woman to hold the position in more than a century and the first Black publisher at Condé Nast Britain.
Her rise in an industry that helps shape global culture and public perception carries significance beyond publishing. Representation in media leadership affects which stories are told, whose perspectives are valued and how the world sees itself.
In 2026, African Achievers recognised Kingori among its honourees, placing her professional achievements within a broader conversation about African excellence and global leadership.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim’s path to influence was equally unconventional. A professor of organic chemistry and internationally recognised biodiversity scientist, she became Mauritius’s first female president in 2015.
Her scientific career preceded her political one. She contributed to research on medicinal plants and biodiversity, co-authored the African Herbal Pharmacopoeia and received international recognition for her work in science.
Her presidency, which lasted from 2015 to 2018, brought a scientist into the highest office of a nation. It also challenged the assumption that scientific expertise and political leadership belong to separate worlds.
Gurib-Fakim was recognised at the 12th African Achievers Awards in 2022. Her story is a reminder that African leadership is not confined to political office or business success. It also emerges from the production of knowledge and the ability to bring that knowledge into public life.
Women at the centre of global institutions
The influence of African women is also increasingly visible in institutions that operate beyond national borders.
Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey’s appointment as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth represents one of the most significant examples. A former Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs, she brought years of diplomatic and political experience to an organisation whose membership spans Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Her position places her at the centre of conversations about international cooperation, governance, trade and development. It is also a reminder that African women are not simply participants in global affairs; they are increasingly helping to lead them.
In Ghana, Sarah Fafa Kpodo has built her career within the country’s justice system as Chief State Attorney at the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice. Her work represents the contribution of women to the legal institutions on which public accountability and the rule of law depend.
Elsie Appau-Klu, a Technical Advisor to the Ghana Revenue Authority, represents another important dimension of institutional leadership: the technical expertise required to strengthen public finance and government administration.
These roles may not always command the public attention given to political office, but they are central to how societies function. Institutions are shaped not only by those who occupy the most visible positions, but also by the professionals whose decisions, expertise and judgement sustain them.
The women building the economy
Africa’s economic future will depend significantly on its ability to build competitive enterprises, attract investment, develop infrastructure and expand access to financial services. Women are increasingly contributing to each of these areas.
Consider the work of Zurina Saban, General Counsel of Africa50, an infrastructure investment platform established to help address the continent’s infrastructure financing gap.
Infrastructure is often discussed in terms of roads, bridges, energy and connectivity. Less visible is the legal and institutional architecture required to finance and deliver these projects. Saban operates within that architecture, bringing legal expertise to an area central to Africa’s long-term development.
In finance, Angela Jide Jones, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sewa Capital, represents women’s growing presence in investment advisory and financial leadership.
Dr Aisha Sulaiman Achimugu, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FELAK Concept Group, represents the contribution of women to enterprise and industrial development in Nigeria.
Their work reflects a broader economic reality: Africa needs more women not only participating in the economy, but also directing capital, building companies and influencing the decisions that determine where investment goes.
Technology offers another illustration.
Candace V. Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of MYAVANA, has applied artificial intelligence and data science to the beauty industry, developing technology-driven solutions for personalised hair care. Her work demonstrates how innovation can emerge from understanding consumer needs that mainstream technology has historically overlooked.
Tracey Abiola, founder of OAPay, is working in financial technology, with a focus on remittance solutions and financial access. In a continent where cross-border payments remain important to families, entrepreneurs and businesses, innovations in this area can help make economic participation more accessible.
These women were among those recognised by African Achievers in 2025. Their work points to an important distinction: the next chapter of African economic growth will not be written by a single industry or a handful of prominent entrepreneurs. It will depend on a broad ecosystem of people building solutions, institutions and businesses across the continent.
Leadership beyond the boardroom
Not all influence is exercised through business or government. Some of the most consequential leadership happens in communities, in public service and in the institutions that shape everyday life.
Joyce Banda knows what it means to lead at the highest level of national politics. In 2012, she became Malawi’s first female president and Africa’s second female head of state. Before her presidency, she had established a record of advocacy focused on women’s empowerment, education and economic opportunity.
Her political career brought her into the centre of national decision-making, but her wider legacy is also connected to the work of expanding opportunities for women and girls.
In Nigeria, Her Excellency Amb. Prof. Olufolake Abdulrazaq has used her public platform as First Lady of Kwara State and Chair of the Nigerian Governors’ Spouses Forum to advance issues including women’s health, education and family empowerment.
In Sierra Leone, Isha Johansen has made her mark in a sector where women have historically faced significant barriers to leadership. As a former President of the Sierra Leone Football Association, she became a prominent figure in African football administration and advocacy for women’s participation in sport.
Her recognition by African Achievers in 2025 highlights the importance of leadership in sectors that influence culture, identity and opportunity.
Dr Vumile Msweli, Chief Executive Officer of Hesed Consulting, has focused on career development and strategic leadership, contributing to the development of African talent. Her work speaks to a challenge facing organisations across the continent: how to identify, develop and retain the people capable of leading them.
Apostle Ernestina Diogo Matias, spiritual leader of the Pentecostal Church of Faith, represents the influence of women in faith-based and community leadership.
These contributions may look different, but they share a common concern: the conditions that allow people and communities to thrive.
A legacy measured by what comes next
For Dr Justina Mutale, a Zambian-born philanthropist, international development expert and gender advocate, the question of women’s leadership has long extended beyond individual achievement.
Her work has focused on advancing gender equality, promoting African women’s participation in leadership and expanding opportunities for women and girls. Her advocacy reflects a belief that progress requires more than celebrating the women who have already reached positions of influence. It requires creating pathways for many more to follow.
Aisha Maina, Managing Director of Aquarian Consult, and Electina Wasike Wanyoike, a Senior Accountant in the Government of Kenya, represent further examples of women contributing to professional and institutional development across the continent.
Their stories are part of a much larger record of African women whose work is changing the way organisations operate, how resources are managed and how opportunities are created.
The significance of these achievements lies not only in what each woman has accomplished, but in what her example makes possible.
A young woman considering a career in science can look to Gurib-Fakim. Someone entering global media can see in Kingori evidence that senior leadership is within reach. Women interested in public service, law, finance, entrepreneurship or sport can find examples of African women who have built careers in these fields and influenced the institutions around them.
Representation does not solve every barrier. But it changes the boundaries of what people believe is possible.
The story is still being written
Africa’s story is often told through its challenges: economic inequality, institutional weaknesses, political instability and the pressures of development. These realities deserve serious attention. But they are not the entirety of the African experience.
There is another story, unfolding across countries and industries, of women building companies, leading governments, producing knowledge, strengthening institutions and influencing global conversations.
It is a story that deserves to be documented with the same seriousness given to the achievements of the world’s most influential leaders.
For African Achievers, recognising these women is part of a larger responsibility. Recognition brings achievement into view.
Storytelling gives it context. And connecting people and institutions creates opportunities for that achievement to inspire further progress.
The women shaping Africa’s place in the world are not waiting for history to make room for them. Through their work, they are helping to shape it.
And the next generation will inherit more than their achievements. It will inherit the possibilities they have made harder to deny.
African Achievers — Advancing African Leadership. Recognising African Excellence.