This year has surely been the year of the woman, and though there is much more progress to be seen in terms of economic and career advancement equality, it’s undeniable that women have been making power plays that have impacted the world at large.
The following women are global leaders who hold pivotal positions of power, are influential to innovation, and will have a pivotal role in forging changes in 2016, from the U.S. to Africa to the Caribbean and beyond. Whether rising stars or seasoned professionals, all will be watched in their roles in driving the success of their countries’ industries and the world at large.
NIGERIA: Afua Osei and Yasmin Belo-Osagie
Founders of SheLeadsAfrica.org, this tenacious duo has built an international business that gives female entrepreneurs from Africa and the Diaspora a resource to thrive and survive. The startup provides support including information on startup funds, events, and pitch competitions, awarding innovative women tens of thousands of dollars. Osei, 26, of Ghanaian descent, and Belo-Osagie, 28, of Ghanaian and Nigerian descent, are both scholars, having earned advanced studies degrees from the University of Chicago and Princeton.
The two launched an entrepreneurship showcase competition which drew close to 400 applications from 27 countries and diverse industries, with the first being held in September 2014 where the $10,000 winner was Cherae Robinson, the young African American powerhouse behind Rare Customs, the world’s only mobile app dedicated to booking and buying experiences in Africa by tourists.
She Leads Africa heads to Accra, Ghana this month to provide more than 15 sessions of training and mentorship for African women on leadership, negotiation, business development, and more.
ITALY: Ertharin Cousin
Cousin is the leader of the world’s largest humanitarian organization, serving as 12th Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. She helms management of more than 13,400 staff serving more than 90 million beneficiaries in 80 countries across the world.
The role of this international body will be more important than ever in 2016 and beyond, as recent acts of terrorism, civil conflicts, and natural disasters in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and India have left families and children more vulnerable to poverty and starvation.
LIBERIA:Â Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
A Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Johnson-Sirleaf serves as the president of Liberia and is listed among the top 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes. Having faced the crippling effect of the Ebola virus in Liberia in 2014, Sirleaf had to confront accusations of corruption and opposition to her decision to quarantine the heavily infected and poor West Point neighborhood to contain its spread. The country beat the odds by achieving its goal of zero cases by May 2015, making it the first nation to wipe out the disease a year after recording its first case.
In the coming year, several issues are on the table, including infrastructure improvements, poverty eradication, and the continued eradication and monitoring of the spread of the Ebola virus in partnership with the U.S. and other nations.
Also, as a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, Johnson-Sirleaf is working with an international network of current and former women leaders in politics to take collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.
GHANA: Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang
As the Minister of Education, Opoku-Agyemang is tasked with ensuring the intellectual advancement of the children and adult students of the country.
She is pushing to change the use of English as the country’s primary language for education, advocating for a way of instruction that is effective but relatable to African students. In a country where 70% of children attend school, she also promotes support of advanced studies in STEM, primary school reform, and workforce preparation.
With Ghana long being a place where African Americans have been welcomed to trace their roots and resettle, the region is touted as yet another country on the continent with vast opportunities and potential not only for personal growth and new experiences, but entrepreneurial and educational expansion for U.S. blacks as well.
JAMAICA: Portia Simpson Miller
Simpson Miller serves as prime minister and minister of defense, development, information and sports in a country rich in culture and resources but challenged by high unemployment rates, poverty, and national debt.
She is the first head of government in Jamaican history to formally endorse civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens during an election campaign–a decision that led to major backlash–and has faced criticism for the government’s decisions in combating economic difficulties, including a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) providing a support package of $932 million, and another with the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) programs providing $510 million each to facilitate the country’s economic reform agenda.
Other issues on her agenda are
building alliances with the U.S. for energy-related technologies, increasing the reach and bankability of the island’s tourism industry, trade expansion within countries part of CARICOM, and security and visa issues related to the drug trade.NIGERIA: Emma Nyra
Emma hit the scene in Nigeria after relocating from Texas and made her first mainstream debut featuring in Iyanya’s smash hit, Ur Waist.
She’s had her own popular radio hits including Elele and has toured the U.S., Canada, and Europe, garnering a buzz with a fan base of more than 200,000 on social media and beyond.
She was honored with the Nigerian Entertainment Award’s Most Promising Female Act, Most Fashionable Female, Most Outstanding Female Artist, and Global Leadership Award. Her YouTube and VEVO channels have generated collectively over 1,000,000 views worldwide, and she’s shared the stage with many of the top African acts, including Sarkodie, Davido, and Ice Prince, and co-headlined the African Showcase at SXSW last year. Will she be the next Tiwa Savage? This year might surely be the year of Emma.
TRINIDAD:Â Teocah Dove
Dove was named as one of 60 young leaders to be awarded The Queen’s Young Leaders Award for her volunteer work in youth development, women and gender advocacy, HIV/AIDS, human rights, poverty alleviation, and community development.
The 26-year-old first started volunteering at 16 and subsequently held roles as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force, Country Coordinator of the U.S. Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago Youth Ambassador Programme, and serves as Trinidad and Tobago’s representative in the United Nations Development Programme–Caribbean Youth Think Tank.
“As I understand my calling, I reminisce on Hafsat Abiola’s quote, ‘Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are,'” she writes on her Facebook page. “One of my main aims is to empower others to achieve their maximum potential, secure their space, and contribute all that they have and all that they are. It is from giving of myself, I learn, I grow, I gain strength, wisdom, and humility. For me, this is what it truly means to be wealthy.”
SOUTH AFRICA: Louisa Mojela
Mojela is CEO of Women Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited (WIPHOLD), an investment and operating company owned by black women to advocate for the empowerment of black women.
The company has a diversified portfolio from financial services to mining to infrastructure development, and is the first women’s group to be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. With black women around the world being the highest-growing entrepreneurial group, keeping up with what this organization will be doing in the international business space would be ideal, especially in South Africa, where technological and agricultural advances are taking place.
ZIMBABWE: Amira Elmissiry
As special assistant to the president of the African Development Bank, Elmissiry is responsible for matters which include operations, policy, and strategic issues. From 2009—2013, she served as a Young Professional with the bank and graduated as senior legal counsel in private sector and microfinance operations.
She has worked with several international brands including Initiatives of Change International, the German Technical Cooperation, and the Southern African Development Community. She is trained as a barrister at the United Kingdom Bar and holds a Master’s degree in law and restorative justice.
With the African Development Bank (AfDB) being involved in a sovereign exposure exchange agreement, which seeks to improve collective financial capacity and the organization’s development effectiveness, this year will be a telling one in AfDB’s efforts to contribute to the economic progress of its shareholders, which includes more than 50 African countries and more than 25 non-African.
NIGERIA & GHANA: Nicole Amarteifio, Millie Monyo, and the cast of An African City
Created by Nicole Amarteifio, an African Diaspora Award winner, and Millie Monyo, An African City went viral upon its inception in 2014 and was dubbed by CNN as “Africa’s Sex & the City.”
The YouTube sensation follows the lives of five returnees to Accra, Ghana, looking for career advancement, personal fulfillment, and of course, love. The cast includes breakout stars MaameYaa Boafo (Nana Yaa), Nana Mensah (Sade), Marie Humbert (Makena), Maame Adjei (Zainab), and Esosa E (Ngozi), and showcases another side of life in Africa for young professionals returning.
It also includes elements of everyday life and business in Ghana including infrastructure issues, male domination, and female empowerment. Season 2 will begin Jan. 24 via a new platform, AnAfricanCity.vhx.tv.
USA via UK: Elizabeth Nyamayaro
As senior adviser to the executive director of UN Women, Nyamayaro headed the HeForShe campaign, a movement that seeks to get support from men as advocates for gender equality for women.
The campaign includes a Website with a geo-locator to record global engagement
and implementation plans for UN agencies, individuals, and civil society, as well as those on university and college campuses. Since the campaign’s inception, more than 300,000 men have signed up, and it prompted 1.2 billion conversations on social media.The campaign has also been championed by leaders of countries, top universities including Georgetown and the University of Oxford UK, top companies including Twitter and Tupperware, financial services giant Chase, and international celebrities including actress Emma Watson.
SOUTH AFRICA: Zahara
Late last year, her album “Country Girl” reportedly went gold in 24 hours, and a 2011 debut release, Loliwe, went platinum in 13 days.
The singer, who could be described as the South African equivalent of Tracy Chapman and who is carrying the torch of Miriam Makeba, has won eight South African Music Awards (SAMAs), including “Best Female Artist” and “Album of the Year.”
She is also a Nigerian Entertainment Award winner, Channel O Music Award winner, and Metro FM Music Award winner. She has also headlined performances with Africa’s top artists for music powerhouses including MTV Africa.
USA via NIGERIA: Kelechi Anyadiegwu
Anyadiegwu is the founder of Zuvaa, an online marketplace for African-inspired fashion and accessories. The platform has almost 80,000 followers on Instagram alone and has earned $500,000 in sales for 2015.
The 26-year-old’s platform and community movement seeks to showcase high-quality fashions and offer dozens of African designers the opportunity to not only expand their revenues but their customer bases as well.
SOUTH AFRICA: Terry Pheto
This actress and producer is best known for her leading role as Miriam in the 2005 Oscar-winning feature film Tsotsi, but has accomplished much more since then. Pheto appeared in other films such as Catch a Fire (2006), Goodbye Bafana (2007), and How to Steal 2 Million (2012).
She’s had film roles in award-nominated film and TV projects including SABC2’s Hopeville, The Bold and the Beautiful, Catch a Fire, and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Late last year she wrapped production of roles in films A United Kingdom, about Botswana’s first president marrying a white woman in the 1940s, and a South African set drama called Cuckold.
Her latest feat: Landing the support and U.S. distribution of a film she co-produced called Ayanda, from award-winning Selma director Ava DuVernay. As awards season begins, many film critics and lovers will be looking to see if there’s an Oscar nod in the works for the film.