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Some African female trailblazers and how they made it
As more women lace their boots to hit the ground running in 2022 and beyond, we take a trot across the continent and put together short stories of some African women who continue to blaze the trail in their respective sectors.
Salima Mukansanga
First is Salima Mukansanga, Africa’s first woman to officiate as centre referee at the Africa Cup of Nations. The 33-year-old Rwandan is one of the four female match officials selected for the tournament which kicked off on January 9, 2022, in Cameroon.
She became the first-female centre referee since the inception of the tournament, making history in the match between Zimbabwe and Guinea.
She had previously officiated at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan; 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, 2018 female under 17 World Cup, Under 23 Olympic qualifiers, Africa Women’s Nations Cup, CAF Women’s Champions League, Rwandan League matches, among others.
Salima Mukansanga was listed among the 63 officials at a tournament hosted in Cameroon. Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco), and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco) were the other three females worked as assistant referees.
Precious Sibalo
From working as a waitress, she rose through the ranks to become a Commercial Pilot.
She is a former Cabin Crew at Qatar Airways and holds an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL) from 43 Air School, South Africa. Her late mother had her at age 17 and she was raised by her grandparents.
At age 17, she also had a child and immediately relocated to South Africa because she could no longer proceed to the University. Upon arriving in South Africa she worked as a waitress, but all this could not stop her from achieving her dream.
“I used the job of a waitress as a stepping stone. Some people will always say I will never take this job; take it and use it as a stepping stone.
“Work with excellence and cultivate your knowledge because knowledge is power. The waitress job took me to Dubai and paved a way for my job at Qatar Airways,” she said.
Precious is currently working on her Flight Instructors Rating and flying to build hours in South Africa, in an effort to achieve her next goal – flying big planes at Qatar Airways.
Sinethemba Masinga
She is a second-generation farmer and has been involved in farming from a young age, working closely with her parents. Her farm produce include – nuts, yams, sweet potatoes, dry beans, green beans, eggplant, green peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, among others.
As Director of the farm, she is involved in the day to day manual labour on the farm.
“If I’m not monitoring basic tasks like fencing, fetching water and supervising harvesting, I keep also the records of the farms accurate and up-to-date.
“I handle our business account to manage all our monthly expenses and payrolls and make sure the profits we make are used for emergencies or saving towards resources for labour on the farms,” she said.
She believes “the only way for more young women to be involved in farming is to change their minds.”
“Farming is for everyone and should not be associated with any gender. There are no limits to the positions women can fill in the agricultural sector. The sky is the limit; young women should go grab those opportunities, break the chains to motivate and create jobs for the generations to come,” she said.
Maud Chifamba
Born in abject poverty, she is now a Chartered Accountant, Education Content Creator and Advocate. At age 14, she became one of the youngest University students in Africa.
She obtained a Bachelor of Accountancy (Honours degree) at age 18 and a Master of Science (MSc) in Accountancy at age 20 from the University of Zimbabwe.
Chifamba lost her father when she was just five years old. Her mother was suffering from cancer and she could not take care of her younger brother.
When she was in grade ‘3’ in 2005, she was mistakenly given a grade ‘4’ exam paper but managed and scored 100 per cent. The same year, she requested for a grade ‘5’ test paper and passed with distinction. She went on to finish grade 7 at the age of nine.
In 2009, Chifamba did not have money for high school, she studied on her own and completed her Ordinary Level in just two years. She was later identified by the Ministry of Education and awarded financial assistance for her A levels.
She lost her mother in 2011 but against all odds, at age 23, she qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe and certified as a Public Accountant by the Public Accountants and Auditors Board, Zimbabwe.
— WomenPowerAfrica
By Spectator Reporter
The Global Network of Export-Import Banks and Development Finance Institutions (G-NEXID) successfully held its sixth (6th) Exchange Programme, hosted by the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) Bank in Accra from March 22 to 23 March.
The event brought together member institutions, partner organisations and Ghanaian public entities to advance dialogue on South-South trade, investment and development finance, while also creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing and institutional cooperation.
Organised as a capacity-building and networking platform, the 2026 edition of the G-NEXID Exchange focused on GEXIM’s experience in developing innovative solutions to promote intra-African and extra-African trade.
It also highlighted trade and investment opportunities in Ghana, particularly in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and broader national development initiatives.
The Exchange Programme forms part of G-NEXID’s mandate to foster cooperation among export-import banks and development finance institutions in support of South-South trade and investment.
This 6th edition follows earlier successful programmes hosted by India Exim Bank (2016), BNDES (2017), Indonesia Eximbank (2018), Afreximbank (2019) and Saudi EXIM Bank (2025).
On the first day, participants were presented with G-NEXID institutional information and received an update on the Network’s 2026 work programme.
There were a series of substantive presentations, including an overview of the Ghanaian economy by the Ministry of Finance, with particular attention to debt-related challenges; a presentation by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), on investment opportunities in the country; and institutional presentations by GEXIM and Development Bank Ghana (DBG) on their respective mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Discussions during the sessions underscored strong interest in sector-focused webinars and business dialogues, particularly in agribusiness value chains such as poultry and rice.
Participants also emphasized the importance of continued information exchange and the sharing of best practices, especially in the area of guarantees.
The second day opened with a presentation on the 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme, a national economic transformation strategy launched by President John Dramani Mahama in July 2025.
The initiative aims to enhance economic productivity through continuous industrial activity, accelerated export development and strategic import substitution.
As the programme is expected to mobilise both private and development capital, it presents concrete opportunities for G-NEXID members in areas such as co-financing, guarantees, trade finance and technical cooperation.
The programme also featured institutional presentations by guest organisations, namely the African Guarantee and Economic Cooperation Fund (FAGACE) and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), which shared their mandates, initiatives, products and services.
Following these exchanges, the G-NEXID Secretariat held bilateral discussions with both institutions as part of the Network’s ongoing membership drive.
Participants further benefited from a presentation by the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB), as well as a showcase of GEXIM’s key pipeline projects.
On the margins of the Exchange Programme, G-NEXID members also held their 20th Annual General Assembly Meeting to review progress and discuss strategic priorities.
Following the event, participants joined the GEXIM@10 International Conference, held from March 24-25, 2026 under the theme, “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”
The conference provided an important platform for exploring how Ghana can strengthen its transition from a primary commodity exporter to a more competitive player in value-added trade and industrial development.
Source – G-NEXID
President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, signed five bills including three amendment bills passed by Parliament into law.
They are: Security and Intelligence Agencies Bill, 2025; University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Bill, 2025; Ghana Deposit Protection (Amendment) Bill, 2025; Growth and Sustainability Levy (Amendment) Bill, 2026; and Education Regulatory Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026.
In a brief remark after assenting to the bills, President Mahama explained that the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act, 2026, scraps the Office of Minister of National Security and frees the President’s to appoint any Minister to supervise the security agencies.
He said it also reverses the name of the office of National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), to the original name, Bureau of National Intelligence, (BNI).
This the President said, addresses the confusion between that security agency and a well-known Ghanaian financial institution, the National Investment Bank.
President Mahama also noted that the University of Engineering and Agricultural Sciences Act, 2026, establishes another University in the Eastern Region, at Bonsu, with three campuses – the main campus at Bonsu in the Eastern Region, with the second campus to be cited at Ohawu in the Oti Region.
The third, the Presdient assed will be located at Acherensua in the Ahafo Region.
Touching on the Amendment to the Growth and Sustainability Levy Act, the President said, “As you’re aware, the act was amended to increase it from 1% to 3%, and so this act reduces it again. That is the levy on mining companies. It reduces it again to 1%, because of the introduction of the sliding scale of royalties.”
He also spoke to the passage of the Government Education Regulatory Bodies Amendment Act, emphasising that amends Act 1023 to grant greater flexibility to private tertiary institutions and the option to Charter.
The Ghana Deposit Protection Amendment Act, the President concluded, is an amendment to an original act that was supposed to guarantee deposits held in commercial banks or financial institutions.
It basically expands protection to include mobile money wallets and other digital platforms, ensuring a wider scope of digital financial assets are secured.
The signing ceremony, was witnessed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr. Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, Secretary to the President, Dr Callistus Mahama, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Dr Dominic Akrutinga Ayine, Chief of Staff, Julius Debrah, Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a Senior Presidential Advisor and a Special Aide to the President, Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, and the Vice President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang.
