Botswana’s youngest-ever MP to address attendees at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit:
Bogolo J Kenewendo
Her message of inclusivity in development and calls for effective service delivery will resonate with many of the attendees to this year’s FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit – hosted by KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government. Bogolo J Kenewendo, Botswana’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, will join the speaker programme alongside influencers in business, sports, science, entertainment and leadership at the fourth annual summit, taking place at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre on Friday, 8 March.
Methil Renuka, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA and FORBES WOMAN AFRICA, and this year’s host, said one of the summit’s aims was to represent the enormous impact young women are having on the continent.
“The overwhelmingly positive social media reaction to the announcement of the honourable Bogolo J Kenewendo’s appointment as Botswana’s youngest cabinet minister so perfectly depicts the need for strong, young African women to be assuming these roles in leadership,” explained Renuka. “She has already achieved so much and her message to the summit’s attendees is greatly anticipated.”
Getting to know Bogolo J Kenewendo
Kenewendo achieved an MSc in International Economics from the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom through the Chevening Scholarship. She went on to partner at leading consultancy, Econsult Botswana, a working locally and within other southern African countries. She later joined the Ministry of Trade in Ghana as a trade economist.
She has been a frequent commentator on the economics of Botswana and Southern Africa through her contributions to many academic papers; on-air through her radio show entitled ‘The Multiplier Effect’; and in print through her newspaper column called ‘Game Theory’.
In 2016, she was appointed the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana, serving cabinet as a minister, and parliament as a specially elected member. At the age of 30, she was the country’s youngest member to serve in the current cabinet and parliament, and she’s the youngest female member of both institutions in the country’s history. Minister Kenewendo also serves in the United Nations Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Co-operation.
Throughout her career, Kenewendo has drawn on her expertise in trade and investment policy, macroeconomic policy, public debt management, regulatory and institutional frameworks for policy formulation, as well as private sector capacity building and development. She promotes inclusivity in development and seeks to ensure services reach people in a timely manner, strongly advocating the message: ‘Leave no-one behind’.
She has been honoured with many accolades in Botswana and internationally, including the title of 2018’s 100 Most Influential Africans by New African Magazine and the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) award by JCI Botswana, among many others.
Speaker programme
Minister Bogolo J Kenewendo will be joined by many influential speakers at the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit, hosted in association with ABSA, the IDC, Women of Africa and supported by Delta Air Lines, Nespresso and Carrol Boyes. These include the headline speaker, Naomi Campbell; CEO panellists Basani Maluleke, Grace Harding, and Nozipho Sithole; Minister in the Presidency responsible for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma; former Miss Universe, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters; and spotlight speakers Kgothatso KG Montjane, Simidele Adeagbo, Dr Portia Gumede, and Noëlla Coursaris Musunka.
For more information, visit www.leadingwomensummit.co.za or follow @LWSummit on various social media platforms (#LWS2019KZN).
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