African Women Who Fought for Economic Reform
5 women in the archive worked for economic reform. They came from different countries and different centuries, but each of them saw a wrong that others accepted and set out to change it. Read their stories to see how the same cause looked from very different lives.
5 women in the archive
ModernElisabeth Domitien
Businesswoman and politician who in 1975 became Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, the first woman ever to lead a government anywhere in Africa, and who lost the job within a year for telling Bokassa to his face that he should not crown himself emperor.
ColonialEsther Afua Ocloo
Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microfinance who co-founded Women's World Banking, dedicating her life to ensuring poor women had access to credit and economic opportunity.
ContemporaryFolorunṣo Alakija
Nigerian businesswoman, philanthropist, and one of Africa's wealthiest women, who built a fashion empire before entering the oil industry, and now dedicates her wealth to education and poverty alleviation through the Rose of Sharon Foundation.
ModernNgozi Okonjo-Iweala
Nigerian-American economist who became the first woman and first African Director-General of the WTO. Former Nigerian Finance Minister and World Bank Managing Director.
ContemporarySylvie Kinigi
Economist who became Burundi's first female Prime Minister in 1993, survived the coup that killed the president three months later, and as acting head of state held a shattered government together long enough to hand power back to an elected successor.