Alex Rose-Innes
The Cartier Women’s Initiative (CWI) was launched in 2006. Now, 15 years later, CWI had recognised and supported 262 women across the globes who are tackling a diverse range of challenges. The CWI community spans 62 countries and includes sectors as diverse as pharmaceuticals, e-learning and agriculture.
To celebrate its 15th anniversary, CWI selected nine former fellows who had made an extraordinary impact over the years. The Impact Awards cover three categories: Improving Lives, Preserving the Planet, and Creating Opportunities, which are based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Three former fellows are recognised in each of the three categories.
The first-place, second-place and third-place awardees will be announced on March 6.
The awardees from Africa are:
- Temie Giwa-Tubosun, founder of LifeBank (Nigeria)
- Lorna Rutto, Founder and CEO of EcoPost (Kenya)
- Rasha Rady, Co-founder & COO of Chefaa (Egypt) and
- Nneka Mobisson-Etuk is co-Founder and CEO of mDoc (SA).
The three winners would be announced at the CWI World Reunion in Dubai next month. While the winners will take home US$100,000, USD 60,000 and USD 60,000 respectively, each of the nine awardees will receive grants for their businesses. They will all be provided with human capital support, international exposure and media visibility.
We take a look at Africa’s regional nominees.
Temie Giwa-Tubosun (born Oluwaloni Olamide Giwa in 1985) is a Nigerian-American health manager, founder of Life Bank (formerly One Percent Project), a business enterprise in Nigeria working to improve access to blood transfusions in the country.
We had previously profiled the multi-talented Lorna Rutto, an entrepreneur who founded Ecopost, a Nairobi-based company which recycles plastic waste. Five years ago she gave up her well-paying career to pursue her dream of ridding Nairobi of plastic waste through recycling. Without much experience and money, many thought her ambition crazy. Lorna had proved them wrong.
Dr. Rasha Rady co-founder and COO of Chefaa, together with Doaa Aref, set up the company in 2017 to help chronic patients order, schedule and refill their recurring medication prescriptions. From the comfort of their homes, users of the app can locate their nearest pharmacy and purchase medication.
Nneka Mobisson-Etuk is co-Founder and CEO of mDoc, a social enterprise integrating proven methodologies in quality improvement and behavioural science with web and mobile-based technology to optimise the end-to-end care experience for people living with chronic health needs such as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer.
