Video: Koleka Putuma sends a Love Letter to Africa
South African slam poet Koleka Putuma delivers a powerful recitation of the poem she authored, entitled – “Love Letter to Africa.” Putuma uses the medium of the spoken word to express her love for Africa and to highlight the unique traditions, legacies, and culture of the African continent. Her words are carefully chosen and beautifully penned, but to see her speak the words that she has written is a spellbinding experience. Every part of her body speaks to her audience, from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Watch her love letter to Africa here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=IXiuCPvJvMc Putuma earned a degree in Theatre and Performance at the University of Cape Town, and she has traveled the globe delivering these mesmerizing performances in places as far afield as Glasgow, Scotland, and New York, USA. She was recognized on the Forbes Africa Under 30s list of creatives making waves for 2018. Other works by Putuma address important social issues facing African women, including health and education. Standard Bank Group is the largest African banking group by assets, with a market cap of approximately R317 billion (USD28 billion), offering a range of banking and related financial services across sub-Saharan Africa. Their strategy is to be an African focused, client-centered, digitally enabled universal financial services organization, which drives Africa’s growth and creates value for all our stakeholders. Our clients are at the center of everything they do. Standard Bank Group has a 155-year history in South Africa and started building a franchise in sub-Saharan Africa almost 30 years ago. They have an on-the-ground presence in 20 countries on the African continent, and solid local knowledge required to operate a successful business in Africa. Sponsored post.
Ivy Barley: With coding, I can create a powerful software that can transform Africa and the world
Ivy Barley is a social entrepreneur and currently shaping a world where more African women will be daring enough to lead in in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields. She is the co-founder of Developers in Vogue, an organization that trains females in the latest technologies and connects them to real-time projects and jobs. In 2017, she was named as one the 50 Most Influential Young Ghanaians. Ivy is also a Global Shaper of the World Economic Forum and holds a Master’s Degree in Mathematical Statistics. Tell us about yourself Growing up, I always had a strong aptitude for Mathematics and Technology, and that has pretty much shaped my career path. I recently completed my MPhil. in Mathematical Statistics. I believe that I have the potential to make a significant impact in Africa, and this is enough motivation for my work at Developers in Vogue. Aside from being a selfie freak, I enjoy hanging out with my best friend (my phone). How did Dev in Vogue start? About a year ago, I was working at an all-girls pre-university where my role included assisting the girls with Mathematics, Statistics, and Physics. I also taught the girls programming. Before working in this school, I’d been hearing people say that women don’t like coding. However, I realized the contrary! The girls were very enthusiastic about coding, they also had so many great ideas! My stay in the school was cut short but all the while after that, what never left me were the memories of the girls! It dawned on me to start a sustainable initiative that will create the ideal environment for females to code, connect and collaborate. What has been your biggest hurdle so far? We pretty much didn’t have a lot of challenges getting our business off the ground. We’re glad we had support from interested stakeholders. A hurdle though is trying to create a community. One of our unique value propositions is that we don’t only match our ladies to jobs, but also creating a community of women who support each other. It definitely requires a lot of time and effort to create such a sisterhood. [bctt tweet=”Coding and generally technology has so much untapped potential in Africa – Ivy Barley @devinvogue” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Has there ever been a time when you thought of giving up? What kept you going? I think I have thoughts of giving up very often and I find that normal. I have however learned not to let my feelings dictate. If there is something that has to be done, I definitely need to do it and do it now! My life is governed by one mantra: Pay Now; Play Later. That is, I would rather sacrifice now so that I can have a better future. Most importantly, I start my day with the word of God and listen to a lot of inspirational podcasts especially from Joel Osteen and Terri Savelle Foy. What is your favorite thing about coding? I particularly like that with my laptop and internet, I can create powerful software that can transform Africa and the world at large. Coding teaches you critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are very important skills for this era. I won’t deny that it doesn’t get difficult. When coding, you’d realize the power of a ‘simple’ semi-colon because omitting that can sometimes cause you hours of no sleep. Which season is the toughest for your job? How do you overcome this? For now, it has been keeping the community engaged. Though it has been fun doing this, it definitely needs more time investment. I’d like to call myself the cheerleader of the team, inspiring the ladies to dream big and work hard to make them happen. What however serves as motivation in spite of the challenges are the stories of the impact we are making in the lives of these women. What, in your opinion, is the future of coding especially for girls in Africa? Coding and generally technology has so much untapped potential in Africa. For females, the future is even brighter. Day in and day out there are so many opportunities that come up to promote women in technology. Relevant stakeholders are beginning to realize the gender gap in the tech ecosystem and are putting measures in place to bring more women into the room. What advice would you give to any girl in Africa considering coding? Keep at it, my girl! You need to work hard in order to stay relevant. You need to keep improving your skills. Though it may get difficult at some points, think about the big picture. Also, make time to network with people in the industry to learn best practices that can make you world-class. If coding is truly your passion, then you definitely need a lot of diligence and determination. In case you need some support with this, I’ll be glad to offer a helping hand! Any advice for African women entrepreneurs? I think one advice I’d always give to people is hard work. Also, have your visions and goals in writing and review them every single day. As women, there are so many activities that are likely to take our attention from growing our businesses. This is the more reason why we need to stay focused. Let’s do this for Africa! If you’d like to share your story with She Leads Africa, let us know more about you and your story here.
Motherland Mogul playlist: Women’s History Month Edition
Shout out to all the ladies in the house!!! It’s Women’s History Month and it’s that wonderful time of year when we get to recognize all of the incredible women who’ve made an impact on the world, our countries and our communities. It’s that time of the year to strategize on how to improve the conditions for women across the globe. No Women’s History Month would be complete without a playlist of fist raising, hip shaking anthems to inspire and motivate us to keep working for equality and opportunities for women everywhere. Here are some of our favorite songs that you should keep on repeat this month. Lira – Rise Again Beyoncè – Grown Woman Stella Mwangi – Identify Yourself Queen Latifah – UNITY BLU3 – Strong Woman Destiny’s Child – Independent Women ONE Campaign – Strong Girl Brenda Fassie – Good Black Woman Whitney Houston & Chaka Khan – I’m Every Woman Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire Becca – African Woman Aretha Franklin – Respect What are some of your favorite inspiring and motivating songs by women? Let us know and we’ll add them to the list.
9 non-cliché ways to celebrate International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is upon us! On March 8th, women all over the world will be celebrated as part of International Women’s Day. Every year, this day comes and goes, and sometimes we don’t even notice it. Or for those of us that do, we spend it doing the same thing – girl’s night! Spa day! Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of these things, but for you, this year is a little different. Why, you say? Well, because this year, you have us at SLA to show you a new way of doing things to mix things up. Below are 9 ways you can celebrate International Women’s Day this year in the least cheesy, least expensive, most fun way possible. Spend time with your mum Mothers are great, and honestly, they won’t always be there. This International Women’s Day, make the most of the time you have with the wonderful woman who bore you. Take her to her favourite restaurant, watch a movie with her, cook with her – however it is you usually bond. You’ll be surprised by how much she’ll appreciate your spending time with her, and more importantly, how much you’ll learn from being with her. Parents have feelings just like us, and doing this would definitely create a greater bond between you two. Celebrate with women you admire If you have a mentor (which you all should have, but more on that later), this is the time to reach out to her. Mentor-mentee relationships should not be one sided with you always taking from your mentor. You should consciously seek ways to add value to the life of your mentor as well. On that day, treat your mentor to lunch or a coffee date. If there’s someone else you admire who you haven’t yet built the mentor-mentee relationship, then this is a great opportunity to do so! Not only would the person be flattered by your thoughtfulness, you will also get the added bonus of a great conversation with someone you look up to. Give back to other women Get involved at an NGO or social enterprise that is all about empowering women and girls. Alternatively, you could even volunteer at your local community centre or help out at church. The point is to find ways to reach out to women in your community who are in need of help or rehabilitation, and there are many opportunities to do just that. Accomplish a personal goal Remember that thing? That important-but-oh-so-scary thing that you’ve been procrastinating on? Yup, you know exactly what I’m talking about, it just came to your mind now. Yeh, so get.it.done. There is no better way to celebrate than accomplishing a seemingly daunting task. The more difficult it seems, the better. Let your triumph be your gift to yourself this International Women’s Day. Invest in your career This year, Accenture is hosting an event to discuss issues centered on women in the workplace. If you’re in New York, Dublin or Sydney you can attend any of the sessions. Also, the event will also be broadcast online, so regardless of where you’re located, you should check it out. For those of you interested in consulting, this is a great opportunity to connect with Accenture consultants and recruiters, even if you’re not able to physically attend the event. Visit a local women’s day event near you Between networking mixers, concerts and art exhibitions, there is a Women’s Day Event in literally every city. So much so that the UN has made our lives easier and compiled a list of all these events here. The theme this year is #PledgeForParity, and so a lot of the events will raise awareness to the pay difference seen between men and women. There will of course be other issues involving inequality that will be addressed as well, but this would be a great time to learn some more about the problem and what we have to do to reverse it. Support other women There are many wonderful women doing powerful things, and we can all find ways to support their enterprises! This Women’s Day, visit that gallery run by that woman whose art you admire, splurge on that outfit by that designer you adore, download that innovative, game-changing app! If you need inspiration, feel free to draw from one of the many entrepreneurs we’ve spotlighted here at SLA. Fortunately, there is an surge in talent and this trend is something we all want to see continue. Learn about impactful women I know, I know. I promised you a fun list, and here I am bringing homework. Since when was learning ever fun? But hang on there, it really depends on how you do it. Get a group of friends and make it a fun, interactive activity. (Games night anyone?) Play a game of trivia and discover who among you knows the most about famous women civil rights activists. Here, I’ll even give you a few key starting points: Maya Angelou, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Gloria Steinman, Nina Simone, Chimamanda Adichie. Winner gets bragging rights, and a bag of treats! Spend it alone – Treat yourself by doing absolutely nothing If you want to stay at home, basking in the presence of your awesomeness that is totally fine with me. Just make sure you commit and go all out while you’re at it. If it’s going to be you and a book, don’t just stop there. Grab that book and curl up with a hot cup of tea, hot chocolate, biscuits – whatever your favourite comfort food is. If your thing is Netflix, you’re in luck, House of Cards will be back by then, so you have a long day of political drama ahead of you. But even better, you can watch a movie that passes the Bechdel Film Test. This year, do things a little differently. Celebrate the powerful women in your life and yourself for being just that – powerful.