By Kedibone, Melissa ,Yara, Kubepo | ShE Team
Introduction
Women's leadership is a critical issue in Africa, where systemic challenges such as early socialisation, gender stereotyping, inadequate educational attainment, and discriminatory policies and processes hinder women's progression in leadership roles (Thelwell, 2020). Young women face discrimination based on both their gender and their age. Critical funding and resource gaps for education, skill development, and mentorship, particularly, limit young women's capacity to reach their full leadership potential (Strengthening Young Women’s Leadership, n.d.).
Investing in women's leadership necessitates a lifecycle approach to building and supporting girls', adolescent girls, young women's, and women's leadership. Empowering young women to become leaders not only transforms their own future but also has a ripple effect on the future of their communities (Strengthening Young Women's Leadership, n.d.).
Despite women making countless contributions to Africa’s economic growth, the progress of gender equality set by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lags behind other regions' progress toward gender equality. African women and adolescent girls still face barriers related to their political, economic, and social standing and human rights.
The ShE is Empowered program recognizes the critical importance of women's leadership in Africa and aims to address the challenges and barriers that young women face. The program aims to empower young African women to become effective and innovative leaders in their communities by providing skills, knowledge, mentorship, and a supportive network. Through our program, young women are given the tools they need to overcome systemic challenges and make a positive social impact, paving the way for a more equitable and inclusive future for all in Africa.
About ShE is Empowered Program
The ShE program is an 18-month, non-residential, online development program transforming 20 young women and girls from parts of sub-Saharan Africa into young changemakers who will empower and impact their communities for the better. The program focuses on leadership, soft skills development, social entrepreneurship, advocacy, African feminism, and mentorship.
The program utilises online training sessions and hands-on Community Engagement Projects (CEP) to equip participants with a deep understanding of key social development concepts, such as African Feminism and Global Citizenship, and how to apply them in the context of their African communities. Through these training sessions, participants gain increased knowledge and awareness, enabling them to identify social challenges and develop relevant solutions.
The program goes beyond just skill-building, recognizing the importance of career and personal development guidance as well as connections with industry professionals. The mentorship component of the program creates an enabling environment that enhances community-led development at project locations. Participants receive guidance and mentorship from industry professionals to ensure they have the necessary skills and support to become effective leaders.
In addition, the program establishes a network platform for present and past ShE leaders, creating opportunities for collaboration, networking, and knowledge-sharing among African youth. Leveraging social media, the network keeps the young leaders connected despite geographical distances, allowing them to share experiences, best practices, and insights, enhancing their ability to innovate and create positive social impact.
At the end of the program, participants emerge with a strong network of young African female leaders, mentors, a certificate of participation, and newly acquired skills. They are equipped with the ability to implement Community Engagement Projects (CEP) in their communities, creating a ripple effect of positive transformation.
Objectives
Upskilling and developing leadership among young girls and teenage women is central to the organisation's aim. The organisation takes pride in stepping in to attempt to consistently bridge the skills gap because a significant difference is being made in the lives of young African women. The following are the ShE is Empowered objectives:
First Quarter Updates
During the first quarter of 2023, from January to March, the ShE program was dedicated to preparing for the new cohort. This included application reviews, interviews of potential candidates, and the selection process for the final selected candidates. We began with 1502 applications from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Tunisia, Botswana, Egypt, and Sierra Leone, 98 interviews, and 20 successful candidates. The following countries are represented in the 2023 cohort: Malawi (5), Ghana (4), Botswana (1), Kenya (2), South Africa (1), Tunisia (1), Tanzania (1), Sierra Leone (2), and Zimbabwe (3).
Once the new 2023 cohort was selected, the onboarding process started. This is a time dedicated to onboarding the new Leaders with information about Africa Matters and the program, and a process committed to giving important documents needed for AMI’s record keeping.
The first session was held on the 27 of March 2023 and was an astoundingfirst introduction to the ShE program and the ShE Team. The session was dedicated to informing the participants about the program timeline, introducing the ShE team, outlining the module descriptions, and introducing the mentorship component in more detail. Here is a link to the 2023 cohort that we welcomed to the program.
Currently, we have held 2 sessions so far. The Welcome session and the Module 1 session, which was titled “Personal Development.”
Program Components
The ShE program is staffed by a program lead, Kedibone Shuping (South Africa), and three program assistants, Melissa Sithole (South Africa), Kubepo Saul (Botswana), and Yara Hamed (Egypt). The She Is Empowered (ShE) program has five (5) key components that empower 20 African girls and young women with the skills needed to impact their communities. The five (5) components are a virtual capacity-building component, a mentorship component, a buddy system, the execution of community engagement projects, and the residential summit.
The program consists of 17 modules curated to holistically combat stereotypical and restricting ideas around women in leadership, upskill young girls and women, and provide them with the practical elements to utilise both the skills and knowledge learned. Some of these modules have recently been developed in order to better capture some of the missing pieces required to evolve aspects of project management and skill development. ShE hosts module sessions twice a month, facilitated by industry professionals and Africa Matters Initiative team members that are knowledgeable about the topics.
These modules are:
The mentorship component provides ShE Leaders with an opportunity to engage with experienced and accomplished professionals to assist in their personal and professional development. We facilitate the creation of successful relationships between ShE Leaders and Mentors outside of the AMI community. These mentors are to guide and support our ShE Leaders in managing their own learning to maximise their full potential, develop their skills, and improve their performance throughout their program.
ShE Leaders are bestowed with a unique prospect to connect with seasoned professionals and gain insight into their personal and professional growth through the mentorship component. Our primary objective is to foster successful relationships between ShE Leaders and Mentors beyond the AMI community. These mentors serve as a guiding force and lend support to our ShE Leaders in managing their own learning, thereby unlocking their complete potential, refining their skills, and enhancing their performance throughout the program.
The buddy system is a method of knowledge sharing that is used to onboard new ShE Leaders. Each new ShE Leader is assigned a previous ShE leader alumni who guides them through their first few weeks or months as a leader to help them navigate their new surroundings and answer any questions they may have.
Implementing a buddy system is one of the best ways to improve our new ShE Leaders' onboarding experience. A buddy program will assist ShE Leaders in fitting in and accelerating their time to productivity. It allows new ShE Leaders to easily share tips, knowledge, and techniques learned from previous leadership experiences. The exchange of ideas benefits the organisation by encouraging innovative thinking and allowing ShE Leaders to provide confidential feedback.
The Community Engagement Projects (CEP) are an essential component of the program, ensuring that the knowledge ShE Leaders gain is disseminated into the community for greater empowerment. Each project run by a ShE Leader in their community impacts a minimum of 50 people. Thus, the wider impact of the program will be felt by over 1,000 community members across Africa. The CEPs serve as an opportunity to harness women’s knowledge, skills, and talents at the community level to reclaim the continent’s future, by being involved in the problem-solving process in their communities and enhancing their full leadership abilities. The Africa Matters team coaches and guides the ShE Leaders to plan, scale, implement, and advise on monitoring and evaluating their projects.
The residential provides an opportunity for women who have completed virtual modules and project implementations to network practically and share possible solutions to closing the gender gap and the concerns of their projects. Following the Residential Summit, participants are encouraged to return to their communities as thought leaders and rethink how their projects will impact their communities in sustainable and intersectional ways. They should be open to discussing ways to actively oppose oppressive systems while developing targeted interventions that lead to cascading change.
During the first quarter of the 2023 ShE Empowered Programs implementation, the M&E portfolio of AMI worked collaboratively with the program team to ensure that all activities were aligned with the logical framework for the program design. This included ensuring that project teams were keen on having the set indicators for each proposed activity, in order to effectively measure progress.
A baseline survey was completed for the 2023 cohort, documenting the initial conditions of the newly enrolled ShE leaders. This assessment provided the program team with insights on how to set targets for this cohort, serving as a benchmark for monitoring progress and evaluating the impact of the program.
Furthermore, the program has so far evaluated the outcomes of the first module, designing a short survey instrument based on the overall module expectations. This helped in measuring the effectiveness of Module 1 and identifying areas for improvement.
In the upcoming quarter, the M&E team plans to engage with ShE leaders to gather their opinions and suggestions on the new modules being introduced. This feedback will be incorporated into the program’s modules design to ensure that it remains relevant and impactful.
As a program, we believe that robust M&E activities are essential for tracking progress, measuring impact, and continuously improving our interventions. We are committed to ensuring that the ShE Empowered Programs are evidence-based and aligned with our objectives of empowering young African women leaders for positive change in their communities
Impact
Over the past two years, the ShE Program has successfully produced 27 Leaders who have acquired the knowledge and skills to initiate their own impact projects in their communities. Through the Community Engagement Project (CEP), ShE leaders from the 2022 cohort, for instance, made a significant positive impact on the lives of 874 people in six African countries, namely Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Sierra Leone. Among the beneficiaries, there were 147 women, 57 men, and 670 children.Most of the leaders prioritised the advancement of the following Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Goal 4 - Quality Education, Goal 5 - Gender Equality, Goal 3 - Good Health and Well-being, and Goal 1 - No Poverty.
ShE Leaders have also taken the lead in various impactful project initiatives, ranging from menstrual hygiene education in Nigeria and Uganda, agribusiness training for youth in Zimbabwe, career development workshops, legal services for refugees, leadership programs, to mental health awareness workshops.
Importantly, the commitment of the ShE Leaders goes beyond the initial implementation phase, as many of them have continued their initiatives by collaborating with two registered non-profit organisations to further support and advance their projects. This reflects the sustainability and long-term impact of the ShE Program in empowering young African women leaders to make meaningful contributions to their communities and address critical social issues. The ShE Program continues to foster positive change in African communities through the empowerment of young women leaders, who are creating a lasting impact and driving meaningful change in their respective communities.
Activities for the next Quarter
Closing Remarks
One of the organization's aims is to put young girls and women at the center since it is vital for the development of young leaders because bridging the skills gap will improve capacity development. Upskilling and allowing girls and young African women to become effective and innovative leaders in their communities is expected to have a transformative impact on their lives. One of the program's goals is to create a network of young African female changemakers who, by working together, may have a regional influence. "I want to see more women seeing leadership, innovation, and being creators as a space that is welcoming to them," said Afua Osei, the founder of She Leads. In line with Afua's words, the program aims to build on the young leaders' previous experiences and involve them in innovative and leadership activities.
We are incredibly grateful to you all for the support and resources you have provided us in both 2021, 2022, and now in 2023. Thanks to GlobalGiving, we have gained more visibility for our program to spread our impact further, introducing new partnerships for the year ahead.
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at she@africamattersinitiative.com
References
Thelwell, K. (2020). The Potential of Women’s Leadership in Africa. The Borgen Project.
UN Women (n.d.) Strengthening young women’s leadership. .https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/youth/strengthening-young-women-leadership:Accessed: 31/03/2023
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