Ntha Foundation

A recent study had some interesting insights for the progress we are making with women’s empowerment:

1. 47% of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates from African universities are women, surpassing Europe’s 42%, Asia’s 41%, and North America’s 39%.

2. However, African women hold less than 20% of executive technology roles and receive just 1% of all start-up funding raised on the continent.

3. Less than 1/5 of publicly listed African companies with C-suite tech positions have a woman in that role, and only 3% of firms with annual revenues above US$1 billion are led by women in technology.

And 4. Despite women founding roughly 26% of Africa’s businesses, double the share in Europe, only one in ten tech start-ups has a female chief executive and about one in five has a woman co-founder.

What does this evidence mean for how we are programming, with respect to women’s empowerment? What policy need to be created? Which policies need to be reevaluated? Which policies need to be reenforced?

Listen to our founder in conversation with in partnership with the Digital Frontiers Institute on the power of capacaity development: nthafoundation.org/uncdf-dfi

When asked to speak on the power of intentional mentorship, our founder reflects on her summer MBA internship, and all the wonderful people she met and was mentored by—including President of , .

Listen to the full podcast on “Scaling Impact Through Women in Digital Finance” by in partnership with the Digital Frontiers Institute: nthafoundation.org/uncdf-dfi

At this year’s event themed “The Unasked Questions”, Malawian storyteller and youth leader Tamanda Namangale took the stage with a performance that reminded us of the power of words to heal, build, and transform communities.

In her piece, “Healing in Community,” Tamanda weaves poetry and memory into a reflection on what it means to live, heal, and belong across borders. Raised and educated across Malawi, Eswatini, and South Africa, and now deeply involved in youth civic engagement in Maine, USA, she embodies the spirit of global citizenship — grounded in African roots yet reaching across cultures and continents.

Watch the full piece on her profile, and learn more about here work and piece on our website: nthafoundation.org/tedxbates