A jury composed of internationally renowned personalities will select 8 outstanding young women in their field of activity or competence. This initiative is part of WIA’s commitment to promote equal opportunities and to allow young leaders to be supported to go further each year.
In partnership with
2022 WIA YOUNG LEADERS

Oluwakemi ADETU
COO of JENDAYA
(Nigeria)

Adélaïde BIH
President / Co-founder of the African Initiative for Health and Research Promotion (AIHRP)
(Cameroon)

Lydia HLONGWANE
Manager and Founder of I. C. A. R.E. Organisation
(South Africa)

Lydia MERROUCHE
Founder and CEO of FOSSOUL AGRICOLE
(Algeria)

Vanessa METOU
Expert in law/Youth rights activist – LONA
(Republic of Congo)

Tamarah MOUTOTEKEMA BOUSSAMBA
Founder and CEO of AGRIDIS
(Gabon)

Grace MZUMARA
Child Health Researcher at Malawi Liverpool and Wellcome Trust
(Malawi)

Folake ONI
Director of Business Strategy and Transformation – SydaniGroup
(Nigeria)
PROGRAMME
The WIA Young Leaders will benefit from a tailor-made training path whose themes will be related to women’s leadership and the skills needed for the future. Then, in autumn 2022, the laureates will benefit from a “business trip” in a world economic capital to:
- connect with high-level personalities and mentors such as CEOs, ministers, journalists,
business or public figures, and accomplished entrepreneurs - be trained on boards of directors, media training, career coaching and other customized
training - benefit from high media visibility
A personalized follow-up will be set up by WIA, to identify the individual needs of the Young Leaders and to respond to the progression of their skills with precision.
APPLICATIONS
2,824 African women have sent us their application for the second edition of the WIA Young Leaders programme. The jury, composed by internationally renowned personalities will proceed to a rigorous selection to appoint the 8 WIA Young Leaders.
The selection process will be conducted in two phases:
- Selection based on file
- Interview with the jury
The main selection criteria:
- Women between 25 and 40 years old (flexibility possible depending on experience level)
- Born in an African country or having parents born in an African country
- Involvement in the development of the continent and social commitment
- Leadership skills (humility, empathy and resilience)
- Special consideration will be given to candidates with “self-made” backgrounds
- Vision of what Africa should be in the future.
- Willingness to reconcile business conduct, social impact and public/private dialogue.
- Ability to take on responsibilities at the highest level.
- Strong convincing skills combined with a taste for teamwork.
- Francophone, Anglophone, ideally bilingual.

Discover the 2022 WIA Young Leaders jury members
BUSINESS TRIP TO PARIS – 2022 CLASS














Discover the WIA Young Leaders promotions