ABOUT LEADING WOMEN OF AFRICA

Preamble
The Beijing Conference in 1995 stressed the empowerment of women as one of the central development goals of the 21st century. It adopted a Platform for Action which calls for mainstreaming gender perspectives in the design, implementation and monitoring of all policies and programmes, including development programmes.
The Platform for Action commits Countries to design specific programmes and activities in consultation with women's groups and other non governmental organisations (NGOs) to implement the Platform for Action. The Commission on Status of Women urges governments to take all necessary measures to empower women, strengthen women’s economic independence and promote women’s full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Unfortunately, failure to incorporate gender perspectives in the design of macroeconomic policies of governments persists. Ignorance of the role of women in the structure of African households contributes to misunderstanding of women’s roles in economic growth in the world.
Pursuant to the Millennium Declaration of September 2000, governments are committed to promoting gender equity and women’s empowerment to combat poverty, hunger and diseases as well as to stimulate sustainable development. This commitment is a vital part of an effective strategy. Moreover, the World Bank emphasizes the developmental costs of ignoring women and denying them access to key resources. The World Bank urges countries to draft gender action plans.
Still, there has been insufficient political will and sustained commitment to meeting the needs and interests of women.
Therefore, Mrs. Madelein Mkunu has found it necessary to create the Leading Women of Africa in order to monitor and promote the empowerment of women on the African continent.

Vision

Born in Africa, Leading Women of Africa (hereafter the “Organisation”) is a pan-African forum promoting women’s leadership in order to contribute in the maintenance of peace and stability on the African Continent.

Mission

The organisation’s mission is to raise a new generation of women leaders by promoting unity and economic empowerment of women in Africa.

Objectives
                  
The Organisation’s objectives are:

• Promoting unity among all women of Africa;
• Supporting the economic empowerment of women in Africa;
• Implementing solutions to social, political and economic challenges confronting the African continent;
• Engaging women to in the Millennium Development Goals;
• Promoting the exchange of economic opportunities among women;
• Highlighting the contributions of African First Ladies to the maintenance of peace and stability as well as empowerment of women in Africa;
• Creating strong networking opportunities for women of Africa.

About the founder

Originated from the province of Maniema,In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madelein (Ngongo) Mkunu, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Leading Women of Africa has spent 14 years in the financial administration of various South African companies, among them "Sun International" in the Western Cape Province in Cape Town. It is her passion for African Women, her dream to combat what she defines as poverty mentality as a major stumbling block for development in Africa that motivated her to abandon her career.
Woman of action, her traces are easy to find among other her contribution in:

Publications

• "The contribution of women in the process of  African   development and unity," appeared in Diversity In Africa, the coming of age of a continent, edited by Professors Kurt April of the famous University of Cape Town / Graduate School of Business and Marylou Shockley, currently Associate Professor and chair at the School of Business, California State University – Monterey Bay
• “New Vision for Women of Africa in the 21st Century” appeared at   Convergence Vol 6 No1                                        

Realizations

Her connections and influences in the international corridors is palpable when she organized the first Leading Businesswomen of Africa forum  2008 for the first time bringing together delegates from over 12 African countries from the Cape to Cairo, Nigeria, Kenya, and in the board , the powerful Association of South African women entrepreneurs (The South African Trade Department),the World President of Women Entrepreneurs, the secretariat of NEPAD, the royalty of Bafokeng, the U.S. and the Provincial Government of Western Cape.

It is through her courage and determination that Mrs. Amani Asfour, President of the Egyptian Business women association of businesswomen called her: "Madeleine Mkunu is the dynamo  of the new generation of African women.