Zim women shine on the continent

ZIMBABWEAN women have risen through the corporate ladder to straddle the continent, with three of them making it to the list of the Top 100 Women chief executive officers in Africa.

Founder and managing director of DDNS Security Operations, the holding company of Securico Security Services, Divine Ndhlukula, First Mutual Life Assuarance Company CEO Ruth Ncube and EcoCash’s Natalie Jabangwe stand with the best on the continent in a list compiled by Reset Global People and Pulse and Avalance Media of Ghana last month.

The criteria included the size and importance of the woman-led business in the economy, the health and direction of the business, the arc of the woman’s career and their social and cultural influence.

The geographical location of the business was also a factor in this inaugural list.

When contacted, Ms Ndhlukula was elated.

“I am pleased that it was not just based on profitability, but also on important aspects like impact as a result of leading change that has set the tone for the next generation of women CEOs in alignment with SDGs 5 and 10.

“On my part, one of my most proud achievements is that I have changed the face of the security industry by fighting

THE year 2019 started off with marathon meetings between Government and leaders of junior and middle level doctors who had been on an industrial action for over a month.

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa was to meet the doctors at State House where the professionals pledged to work out a win-win plan with their employer.

While the talks with doctors continued, Government undertook a recruitment exercise of more doctors.

But as soon as the situation in hospitals began to normalise, drug prices in pharmacies began souring.

Local currency prices for drugs escalated in what was seen as a deliberate move by some pharmacies to drive patients into purchasing the medicines using foreign currency.

Government, then moved in announcing plans to set up National Pharmaceutical Company (NatPharm) retail pharmacies, in a bid to avail drugs sold in local currency.

President Mnangagwa, through his re-engagement exercise was also able to acquire equipment and surgical sundries from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for public hospitals.

Parliament also initiated processes for the establishment of a pharmaceutical caucus — that would deliberate on pharmaceutical sector-specific policies, with sights on heightening local drug manufacturing to improve general access to for women acceptance who are now a force to reckon with.

“I have also been a champion and driver of women economic empowerment on entrepreneurship having founded and initiated Women Owned Business programmes for women that seek to grow their enterprises from micro to small to medium and to large scale, linking them to corporate supply chains. I have mentored hundreds of women both rural and urban to scale in business with some growing from annual revenues of US$50 000 to over US$500 000. That’s impact,” she said.

Securico was the first Zimbabwean manned security firm to be certified with the internationally acclaimed ISO90012008 Quality Management System.

From humble beginnings, Ms Ndhlukula founded Securico in 1998 with just five employees but the company has now grown to about 3 600 employees of whom 800 are women.

“I am also happy to have met some of the women on the list from other countries like Namibia, Nigeria, Kenya, etc, as I know they are really working and supporting other women in their countries,” she said.

Ms Ndhlukula is a recipient of several local and international awards. Last year she was named Forbes Magazine’s Most Influential Business Woman in Africa.

First Mutual’s Ms Ncube could not hide her joy at her achievement.

“I thank God for this award. My advice to other women leaders is that they should strive to remain balanced, open-minded and fair whilst bringing together a diverse range of viewpoints for shared and collective decision making.

Women should be driven by a strong creative vision to better the society at all times remembering to be honest, optimistic and decisive,” she said.

Ms Ncube has been at the helm of the First Mutual Life Assuarance Company for the past decade, spurring growth and innovation.

She has introduced such products as micro insurance and banking products relevant and inclusive to all Zimbabweans.

She has received numerous national and regional awards over the years.

She sits on a number of boards and is a mentor of note both in corporate and social circles.

Ms Ndhlukula chipped in with some advice: “My advice to other women CEOs and men too, is, given the fact that studies have indicated we are still decades away from gender equality, let’s all try to play our part in giving promising women opportunities and space for them to scale the corporate ladder even having policies and inclusion in their supply chains where they can prove themselves.

“In addition, mentorship, inspiration by just sharing your story as some of us have grown on the back of our forebears, educational bursaries for bright girls from disadvantaged backgrounds go a long way in building a critical mass of women leaders of tomorrow.

EcoCash’s Ms Jabangwe is the youngest CEO to run a mobile money business in Africa. Her company is Zimbabwe’s largest mobile money service.

The award-winning CEO has more than 11 years’ experience in fintech having worked for such big corporates as NCR before joining EcoCash.

The Ghanaweb quoted Reset Global people CEO the top 100 women had distinguished themselves in business and they would inspire the next generation of women CEOs in Africa and across the world in alignment with SDGs 5 and 10. The top 100 women were selected from 24 countries.

Sustainable Development Goal 5 talks about achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls while SDG 10 is about reducing inequality within and among countries.

“With representation from 24 countries, the list features women who are noted to have broken the glass ceiling from across diverse sectors, making a name and case for women leaders on the continent,” read the report.

Other women winners were from Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Namibia, Botswana, Rwanda, Ghana, Cameron and Zambia, among others.

demanding a US dollar interbank exchange rate-pegged salary which Government says it cannot afford.

Over 500 doctors were later fired for disobeying a Labour Court order to return to work.

However, President Mnangagwa extended a reprieve for all those wishing to return to work.

In addition, Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa and his wife Tsitsi, through their Higher Life Foundation, came on board offering doctors a $10 million fellowship facility. The fellowship lasts six months and a total of 362 doctors were accepted.

At the end of the year, the health sector was allocated $6,5 billion in the 2020 National Budget.

But public health expert, Mr Itai Rusike feels the allocation is still not enough.

“The Government should prioritise the country’s health delivery system and allocate at least 15 percent of its national budget to the health sector as per the Abuja Declaration of 2001 or 5 percent of the country’s GDP.

“If the country’s National Budget cannot adequately fund healthcare provision, then there is need to find other innovative health financing strategies to domestically fund this important sector,” he said.

Mr Rusike said although strikes by health sector personnel are not to be condoned, it was important that they get satisfactory remuneration.

It is hoped that 2020 will bring with it an improvement in general healthcare.