Facebook has announced the launch of ‘LeadHERs: Life Lessons From African Women’ as part of its celebration around International Women’s Month.

The book is a collection of beautifully inspired stories and life advice from 19 women who are “breaking boundaries” in fields such as media, entertainment, politics, education, and business.

According to a report by Facebook, the book which is available for free in digital and physical formats provides inspirational real-life stories for future generations and young leaders. Each chapter of the book focuses on a personal experience and life lesson around how these women have navigated their path to success, alongside the challenges they have had to overcome along the way.

“LeadHERs: Life Lessons from African Women’ is aimed at encouraging, inspiring, and guiding the reader, no matter the background, age, or ambition”.
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‘LeadHERs’ follows on from the successful 2020 launch of ‘Inspiring #Changemakers: Lessons from Life and Business’ in South Africa. This 2021 book is further brought to life through a series of beautifully illustrated artwork specially commissioned from four female artists from across the continent; Massira Keita from Côte d’Ivoire, Lulu Kitololo from Kenya, Karabo Poppy from South Africa, and Awele Emili from Nigeria.

With over 5,000 copies printed, the book will be provided for free to some of Facebook’s local training partners including She Leads Africa, Fate Foundation, DigifyAfrica, Siyafunda, and Smart Ecosystems for Women. These will be distributed across 15 countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Senegal, and Kenya; in schools and to beneficiaries of training offered by Facebook partners.

The Regional Director for Facebook Africa, Nunu Ntshingila said: “At Facebook, we know that African women are at the helm of shaping the future of our promising continent. They are changemakers, mothers and CEOs. This book is a celebration of just some of the exceptional African women who in their own right are trail-blazers, motivating and inspiring people and advocating for good across Africa, and the world.

“We’re excited about their individual stories, inspired by challenges they’ve endured and how they’ve risen above these, and importantly how they’ve turned these into important life lessons to help inspire others”.
Nunu Ntshingila

Some of the women who told their inspiring stories in the book include Ghana’s very own Elizabeth Akua Ohene, a journalist and politician, Tara Fela-Durotoye, Entrepreneur and CEO (Nigeria), Hawa Sally Samai, Founder, CEO, and Campaigner (Sierra Leone), Saran Kaba Jones, Founder and CEO (Liberia) Temi Giwa-Tubosun, Founder and CEO (Nigeria), Baratang Miya, Tech entrepreneur and CEO (South Africa), Dr. Judy Dlamini, Entrepreneur, Author and Philanthropist (South Africa), Yvonne Okwara, Journalist and News Anchor( Kenya), Tecla Chemabwai, Athlete and Educator (Kenya) and many more.

That notwithstanding, this March marks the third anniversary of Facebook’s #SheMeansBusiness program in Sub-Saharan Africa, an initiative designed to inspire, empower and train female entrepreneurs across the continent to build, grow and start their own businesses. As part of this, Facebook is launching a new training component on business resiliency through financial education in Nigeria, South Africa, and Senegal, with the additional modules aimed at improving female business owners’ financial management skills, whilst addressing challenges that women entrepreneurs face, such as access to capital.