The World’s Most Powerful Black Women 2013 with 30% from Africa!

A couple of weeks ago, FORBES published its 2013 annual list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Of the 100 women featured, 11 are black, of whom 3 are Africans. They include political leaders, corporate executives, heads of non-governmental organizations, top government functionaries and a first lady. These are the 11 black women who matter the most: Ertharin Cousin Executive Director, World Food Programme, United Nations, U.S.A

The World’s Most Powerful Black Women 2013

Three of them were from Africa !!!

 

Joyce Banda President, Malawi

Banda spent her initial year in as Malawi’s first female president pushing for rapprochement with the international donor community while grappling with spiralling inflation.

Malawi, one of Africa’s poorest nations, depends on foreign aid for roughly 40% of its revenue and Banda has been travelling the world over, persuading global financial institutions to restore the dollars and Euros frozen during the regime of her predecessor, Bingu Wa Mutharika.

But her decision to devalue Malawi’s currency by 50% — to meet IMF conditions — has resulted in soaring costs for food and fuel and widespread protests.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance, Nigeria

Nigeria’s revered Minister of Finance and Coordinating minister of the economy oversaw a 6.5% increase in GDP from 2011 to 2012. Nigeria is the third largest economy in Africa with nearly $50 billion in foreign reserves.

In 2011, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a seasoned economist and administrator, left her position as a managing director at the World Bank to take the job as finance minister of Nigeria at the urging of Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

It was her second coming.

Between 2003 and 2006 she had served in the same capacity under Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo where she helped secure a debt write-off of $18 billion from Nigeria’s creditors.

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf President, Liberia

Africa’s first female head of state won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her work in promoting Liberian reconciliation and in atoning for Liberia’s history of civil war.

She was re-elected for a second term the same year, reneging on an earlier promise to run for only one term in office.

But the Harvard-trained economist has done well.

She successfully negotiated for debt relief from international creditors, including a $4.9 billion debt waiver from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Thanks to WFP