Quoting Michele Obama, “…there is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” A new digital female-driven mentorship platform that aims to support and empower women in business in Africa has launched. Bureau Veritas, a company that specialises in testing, inspection, and certification, has partnered with TWAA, a global women empowerment platform, to create the BV Women in Africa Mentorship Programme. The partnership will allow TWAA to promote its offering globally and across Africa.
Marc Roussel, President of Government Services & International Trade & Senior Vice President for Africa comments on the launch of the new programme.
“The Bureau Veritas Group operates in several countries across Africa. The organization has a very strong ethos on gender balance and women empowerment. As such many of our CSR initiatives focus on the support and development of women both inside and outside of the organization. The TWAA initiative is a unique way for our Group to engage women in supporting each other through a BV dedicated mentorship programme. This platform creates a unique opportunity to invite many of the great women of BV to support other women within Africa.”
The programme
The Bureau Veritas Group aims to engage TWAA as a knowledge sharing and mentorship platform for women across the continent, promote women in the workplace, support women by decreasing the existing gender gap in the digital arena, and supporting TWAA’s vision to create gender equality in the social, economic and cultural sectors of Africa.
Providing women with digital tools, the platform connects users to suitable mentors and mentee’s, facilitating the growth of a women-based community and increasing access to opportunities for participants.
Irene Kiwia, founder of TWAA explains the aims of the partnership and the launch of the mentorship programme.
“This platform was built to help organizations with a strong women empowerment agenda such as Bureau Veritas accomplish their goals by providing a platform to engage, connect, mobilize and impact their women communities through mentorship, knowledge sharing, and access to opportunities. TWAA provides a safe and private space with relevant digital tools for women to thrive and aims to bridge the gender digital divide which can be ramped up if organizations globally become the drivers of the platform.”
Utilising a digital platform, the mentorship programme aims to reach women located across Africa, even in remote areas. During the programme, users will be able to connect, engage, and upskill themselves in the digital arena and business, resulting in overall empowerment.
“This initiative will contribute positively to the social compact and development within the African continent and it is my fervent hope that other companies will come on board and support this program,” adds Roussel
Available digitally, women in business are able to access the platform, which is currently available in English, French, and Swahili. The BV Women in Africa Mentorship Programme hopes to expand the languages that the programme is available in, with the possibility of it being available in Yoruba, isiZulu, Portuguese, and Arabic.
