The African Women on Board (AWB) will on Thursday at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York launch its global movement to project the advancement of women of African heritage.
The meeting will bring together female entrepreneurs, professors, medical doctors, farmers, mothers, activists, artists and scientists of African heritage, the non-profit organisation.
AWB was founded in 2017 by a former Law teacher at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Nkiru Balonwu and boasts a membership comprising Nigerian women professionals including UNILAG Law Professor Chioma Agomo.
Balonwu, in a statement to The Nation, said speakers at the event will include Liberian Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oscar Onyema and Mrs Aisha Oyebode, who co-founded the “Bring Back Our Girls” support network for those kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Others are “Dr. Joyce Payne, Founder of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund; Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of the Ford Foundation; Elisabeth Moreno, Managing Director, Africa at HP Inc: Christine Soufrant Ntim, Founder of the Haiti Tech Summit: Betty lrabor, Publisher and Founder of Genevieve Magazine; Derrick Ashong, Emmy-nominated producer and founder of Amp.it; and lgwe Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, the Obi of Onitsha.”
The event will celebrate black women’s journeys and discussion of their contributions to the advancement of global affairs.
AWB will also at the event announce an international-scale project to showcase the success of African female leaders from the past, present and of the future.
According to Balonwu, the non-governmental organisation is already working with Wikipedia to profile notable African women, partnering with the London Stock Exchange Africa Advisory Group to produce a report on activating female entrepreneurship.
It is also collaborating with the Ford Foundation for master classes on women in politics, investment and financial literacy.
She said the campaign has reached into African villages by partnering with schools to recruit and train more girls in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects that lead to better paid jobs and opportunities.
The UN General Assembly’s meeting is the 7th Annual High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development.
Balonwu said: “No discussion on finance in developing nations is complete without an examination of the gendered disparities experienced at the society level.
“We are letting out a clarion call for a global movement by and for women of African heritage where we can collectively mobilise to support African women and unlock growth on the continent. Our mission is to advance narratives and improve realities for African women and girls globally by fast tracking women and girls of African heritage into the leadership roles of the future.”
