From the days of the Dahomey all-female military regiment of the 1600s who fiercely protected the Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa from external threats to our present-day Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first democratically elected female head of state, women on the continent have long been revered for their formidable managerial skills, industriousness, and social vision.

In recognition of the pivotal role woman from the continent play globally, Forbes included three African women in its list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2022 ranking.  AMAKA spotlights the African women on this influential list.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is an economist and international development professional with more than 30 years of experience working in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and North America. She is the current director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a position she's been occupying since March 2021, as the first woman and the first African to head the organisation.

Previously, Okonjo-Iweala served two terms as Nigeria's finance minister, from 2003-2006 and 2011-2015; she also briefly acted as foreign minister in 2006. As a finance minister, Okonjo-Iweala implemented comprehensive home-grown economic reforms that stabilised the macro-economy and tripled Nigeria's growth rate. Some of her reforms ranged from trade, financial and real sector issues.

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Her achievements as finance minister garnered international recognition for enhancing the transparency of government accounts and strengthening institutions against corruption. In October 2005, she spearheaded negotiations with the Paris Club of Creditors that led to the cancellation of Nigeria's external debt of $18 billion. The debt deal also reduced the country's external indebtedness from $35 billion to $5 billion.

The economist also had a 25-year career at the World Bank as a development economist, rising to the number two position of managing director of operations. She was recognised at the apex financial institution for leading several World Bank initiatives to assist low-income countries.

Okonjo-Iweala was educated at Harvard and has a doctorate in regional economics and development from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Global Leadership Award from the United Nations Foundation as a "Champion for Global Change." 

She was also named Time magazine's European Hero of the Year Award in 2004 for her work on economic reform in Nigeria, Euromoney magazine Global Finance Minister of the year, 2005, Financial Times/The Banker African Finance Minister of the year 2005, This Day (one of Nigeria's premier newspapers) Minister of the Year award 2004 and 2005, among other honours. 

Indeed, Okonjo-Iweala deserves mention in the World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2022, judging from her tall achievements.

 Samia Suluhu Hassan

The first-ever female leader to govern the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, is another African on Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She became the country's sixth president following the death of her predecessor, President John Magufuli. Her steady rise to the top began in 2000 after she was elected as a special seat member of the Zanzibar House of Representatives and appointed a minister. At the time, she was the only high-ranking female minister in the cabinet.

In 2010, she was elected to the National Assembly and became Minister of State for Union Affairs. In 2015, she was the first female vice-president in the history of Tanzania after John Magufuli was elected president. She continued to hold the office after the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party won the 2020 presidential elections. When Magufuli died in 2021, Hassan was sworn in as his successor. Among her first actions as president was to enact nationwide policies to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic in Tanzania, in contrast to her predecessor.

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Her administration has been praised for encouraging investment, tourism, and peaceful relations with neighbouring countries. Hassan's reforms have seen Tanzania proactively engage with multilateral and bilateral partners in the region and worldwide. The president has demonstrated commitment to the climate agenda by attending the United Nations Climate Change Conferences. 

She also implemented policies to make education accessible for girls and young women. Her policies have enabled pregnant girls and young mothers to attend formal schools. Hassan's exemplary leadership challenges the stereotype that women cannot hold top leadership positions and opens the door for many women and young girls worldwide to take on leadership roles.

Mo Abudu

Mo Abudu's accomplishments in the global media industry earned her recognition as Africa's most successful woman in 2015. She is the founder and CEO of Ebony Life TV, Africa's first global black entertainment network that now airs in more than 49 countries across Africa, the UK and the Caribbean. Her primary goal for the channel was to alter the narrative around Africa into something more positive.

Before starting EbonyLife, Abudu was the creator, executive producer, and host of Moments with Mo, a pan-African television talk show that earned her accolades globally. The show hosted many A-list celebrities, governors, presidents, and Nobel Laureates, including the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton and the managing director of IMF, Christine Lagarde.

Abudu's pan-African TV service has since expanded into content production through related companies, including EbonyLife Studios, EbonyLife Films and EbonyLife Media. EbonyLife Films has been producing and co-producing some of the highest-grossing Nigerian films for years. In 2015, Fifty was Nigeria's top film and highest-grossing drama. In 2016, the studio produced The Wedding Party, which became the highest-grossing title in the Nigerian film industry. Its sequel, The Wedding Party 2, released in 2017, surpassed the original movie in terms of domestic and international revenues and currently sits second on the list of highest-grossing Nigerian films of all time with over N400m in revenue

Over the years, EbonylifeTV has struck major partnership deals with Sony Pictures Television, AMC Networks and Netflix. The deal with Netflix marked the first time an African media company signed a multi-title film and TV agreement with the streaming giant. 

Abudu’s journey in the media space is a testament that she’s one of the most powerful women in global entertainment.