Women are part of a revolution that is building across Africa, development finance institution African Development Bank (AfDB) Group president Dr Akinwumi A Adesina told women at a conference in March.

He was speaking at the virtual Women Heads of State Initiative, a new cross-media initiative organised by Africa.com in partnership with Coca-Cola Africa. The summit recognises serving and past women presidents and prime ministers in Africa. One of its highlights is strengthening capacity for emerging female leaders on the continent.

Adesina lauded the accomplishments of women in Africa, commenting that unlike women in other parts of the world who have had to break through glass ceilings, “women in Africa have had to break through concrete ceilings”.

The AfDB president said the recent virtual Africa Investment Forum boardrooms – an initiative of the Bank Group and other founding partners – attracted $32.8-billion in investment interests, including $5-million for women-run businesses.

The Women Heads of State Initiative featured other speakers, including Sierra Leone’s Freetown mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr; United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe; World Resources Institute VP and Africa regional director Wanjira Mathai; Human Rights Watch’s Africa division executive director Mausi Segun; and Aspen Pharmacare and Massmart Holdings chairperson Kuseni Dlamini.

Issues discussed included women in leadership and business, climate change, vaccine manufacturing and water security.

The conference also honoured the 22 women who had served an African country as president or prime minister. Special guests included Namibia Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila; the former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; the former President of Mauritius Ameenah Gurib-Fakim; and the former President of Malawi Joyce Banda.

During the event, Banda shared concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s progress. She said the pandemic had deepened poverty levels and led to thousands of girls dropping out of school. She added that she was, however, heartened by the AfDB chief’s update on his institution’s women-centred programmes.

Johnson Sirleaf was emphatic about Africa’s prospects, which she said were boosted by an increasingly youthful population. She called for policies that would focus on marginalised women. “As women leaders, we need to look at our own laws, and our own policies, and see: Are they conducive to promoting those women who are at the levels where you may consider them disadvantaged?”

Both Banda and Johnson Sirleaf shared plans to uplift women through their respective foundations. This included an upcoming conference in Malawi, which will address funding for women- headed organisations, among other issues. Banda said only 1% of gender funding goes to organisations headed by women.

The Women’s Head of State Summit was convened following the 2021 UN-organised Generation Equality Forum held in Paris.