When it comes to navigating the workplace and launching businesses, Black women around the globe are facing similar challenges. There’s a growing need for professional development, community support and access.
We’re now creating those spaces for ourselves to gain opportunities through digital communities and in-person conferences.
As professional events centered on empowerment continues to thrive in America, a similar experience is taking shape throughout Africa. One organization that’s bridging the gap between the professional disparities many young African women experience is She Leads Africa.
The digital media platform began in 2014 and has built a community of 650,000 young women both in Africa and in the diaspora to include students, entrepreneurs and professionals. In 2017, founders Yasmin Belo-Osagie and Afua Osei turned their online community into an event experience called, SLAY Festival.
The annual festival has brought 4,000 women together to hear from inspirational speakers, engage with brand activations sponsored by global companies, gain career and business mentorship, and participate in speed networking and shopping from young African entrepreneurs.
According to a She Leads Africa press announcement, “African millennial women want more: access, education and opportunities. These women are global, creative, and are emerging as a driving force for Africa’s cultural renaissance.”
This year’s festival took place in Lagos, Nigeria, on September 28th, at the Lekki Special Events Centre. “The aim is to leave a lasting and tangible impact on the lives of attendees. She Leads Africa is going all out to create a legacy of successful young black African women.” The festival was supported by Google Nigeria, providing a partnership to focus on the career and business needs of millennial African women.
Programming like SLAY Festival is proof that gender inequality is global, but we are in this together.