The fourth President of Malawi and second female democratically-elected President in Africa, Dr Joyce Banda, was hosted by ElectHER and Platform Capital to an evening on Thursday, July 21, 2022.
This was at a programme with the theme ‘The Future Is Feminine: How Can African Women Position Themselves as Change Agents in Life, Business and Politics.’
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ElectHER, Ibijoke Faborode, noted that countries that had seen the election and representation of women at the highest political offices, had done so at the lowest point of their economies.
According to the CEO and host, this signifies the undeniable importance of women to peace, security and socio-economic development.
On her part, the Chief Host and Chairman, Platform Capital Group, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, also noted, “Our women have woken up and become entrepreneurs in the proper world. By increasing capital access from three per cent to 10 per cent to female initiatives and businesses, we can create improved development outcomes in Africa.”
Meanwhile, Banda clarified the distinction between “The Future is Feminine” and “The Future is Female.” In her speech, she remarked “the Future is Feminine: this does not mean that the future belongs to women only: rather it’s all about propagating values of equality, justice and fairness for both sexes in every sense and dimension.
“It is about eliminating all practices and systems that disadvantage women. It is not an infringement or disturbance to the world order but rather it is about correcting what is fundamentally wrong with the current world order,” says the ex-President.
She emphasised that it is about creating or having a new world order that is built on the principles of equality, fairness and inclusiveness and, accordingly and effectively, putting an end to the world order that is built and based on gender prejudices, predispositions and constructions.
Banda, however, referred to three critical changes to create a feminine future: a shift in mindset to ensure that women at all levels understood that eradicating poverty that affected them was in their own hands; political will at all levels of government across Africa to pass laws that encouraged equal treatment for both men and women; and women economic empowerment and participation in leadership.
The CEO of RED For Africa, Adebola Williams; CEO of NEPAL Oil and Gas, Barr Ngozi Ekeoma; CEO of Sustainability Truthing, Prishina Satypal; and the CEO of Helen Food, Helen Emore, engaged in a high-level panel discussion.
The session was moderated by Akindele and Faborode to further highlight the importance of increased women participation in government and business.
The event also had in attendance members of the recently inaugurated AGENDER35 Advisory Council: Adaora Onyechere, Japeth Omojuwa, Blessing Adesiyan, Ope Oriniowo, Adewumi Emoruwa and Azeezat Yishaw; representatives of Diplomatics Missions – Teshome Nkrumah- Deputy High Commission, Canadian mission in Nigeria and Jannie T Lewis, Official Spokesperson of the US Consulate.
Other high-network individuals in the event included John Obayuwana, Founder/Managing Director, Polo Luxury Group; Betty Irabor, Founder/publisher Genevieve magazine, Ponmile Osibo, Partner, Platform Capital; Hansatu Adegbite, Executive Director, WIMBIZ; Stephanie Busari, Editor, CNN Africa; Joyce Daniel, Esan Local Government Chairmanship Candidate Edo State among others.
In her closing remark, Faborode led all guests to make a renewed public commitment to improving women’s participation in government, ensuring equality and representation of women in different walks of life, especially as Nigeria prepared for her next general election in February 2023.
ElectHER is a party-agnostic non-governmental organisation committed to increasing representation of women in public life and politics, through Behavioral Change Communications, Community Building, Capacity Development, Tech Innovation and increased access to Social, Human, and Financial Capital.
