Below are the Winners chosen by the Independent Judging Panel
BEST MAKE UP ARTIST
WINNER
Christelle Kedi (Cameroon)
Christelle Kedi describes herself as a (zXA.yt) which means “face painter” in nuwaupic language. An ethical make-up and fashion stylist, she was born and raised in Paris, has trained at University of the Arts (London College of Fashion) before starting her London-based consultancy specializing in make-up and fashion guidance for media industry in 2007
This Category was sponsored by Eryca Freemantle www.erycafreemantle.com
BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Mavis Amankwah (Ghana)
Mavis Amankwah is a business woman and the author of 44 Ways To Grow Your Brand. Named as one of the most influential people in PR by PR Power Book 2012, she is the Managing Director of ‘Rich Visions‘; a communications, marketing and PR agency, which helps mainly corporate and commercial organisations to reach out to their chosen audiences across the UK. Rich Visions is now considered to be to be one of the leading communications agencies targeting niche communities and audiences in the UK.
This Category was sponsored by Gita Patel www.stargatecapital.co.uk
AUTHOR/BLOGGER OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Aminatta Forna (Sierra Leone)
Aminatta Forna is an author and commentator who now resides in South London. She is the author of several books including ‘The Devil that Dance on the Water’ (2002) and ‘Ancestor Stones’ (2006). In 2011 she was short-listed amongst the Orange Prize Contenders; six female authors for her book The Memory Of Love.
This Category was sponsored by Evans Igor www.knightguard.co.uk
MEDIA PERSON OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Lola Ogunbadejo (Nigeria)
Lola Ogunbadejo is a Presenter and Producer. Mostly known for anchoring flagship television show ‘Afrika Rising’, “your window on the world of music culture and arts straight from the heart of the mother land Africa”, Lola has quickly built a very reputable name for herself in the African Entertainment Scene.
This Category was sponsored by Ravensbourne University www.rave.ac.uk
YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Barbara Soetan (Nigeria)
Babara Soetan is a founding member of ‘Elevation Network‘, a social enterprise that; “aims to inspire, challenge, and positively influence a generation of young people into a belief system that challenges the impossible, overcomes barriers, and provides a gateway for aspirations to become tangible goals.
This Category was sponsored by Afrimobile www.afrimobile.co.uk
OUTSTANDING MOTHER OF THE YEAR
JOINT WINNERS
Atiti Sosimi, Roucheon Iloyi and Niina Kabesa
Atiti Sosimi (Nigeria) will be the first to tell you she is ‘distinctly different’ She said she owes the way she is to her gift. She successfully manages to juggle family life, mother of 6, running a business, writing books, inventing/producing/selling a board game described as a ‘diamond’, lecturing part time, mentoring business owners to become award winners and young people to believe and achieve! Atiti is accommodating, kind and always makes time for friends and family.
This Category was sponsored by Victory Nursery www.cvgicare.org
Roucheon who has been married to Femi Iloyi for 11 years, has three children and is probably better known for her work with the gospel rap group Royal Priesthood.
ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Mavis Amankwah (Ghana)
Mavis Amankwah is a business woman and the author of 44 Ways To Grow Your Brand. Named as one of the most influential people in PR by PR Power Book 2012, she is the Managing Director of ‘Rich Visions‘; a communications, marketing and PR agency, which helps mainly corporate and commercial organisations to reach out to their chosen audiences across the UK. Rich Visions is now considered to be to be one of the leading communications agencies targeting niche communities and audiences in the UK.
This Category was sponsored by Fola Kelani www.buyandsellpropertyinvestors.com
EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Clare Eluka (Nigeria)
Clare Eluka is the founder of the worlds first allergy-free, candida-free botanical based luxury skincare brand ‘Premae‘. She proved that necessity is indeed the mother of inventions when her own battle with allergys inspired her to create the solution that she couldn’t find. At 23 I became a qualified A-Level Teacher and on the cusp of my 25th birthday I combined my teaching and independent study of biochemical practices to conceive Raw Skin Food.”
This Category was sponsored by 805 Restaurants www.805restaurant.com
MOST INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN
WINNER
Rainatou Sow (Guinea)
Rainatou Sow is the Founder and the Executive Director of ‘Make Every Woman Count‘. Make Every Woman Count is a team of young women from Africa, Europe and America. Together, they are using their skills, experience and passion for women’s issues to promote the empowerment and the rights of African women and girls.
This Category was sponsored by Dr Albert Okoye Chairman OFNC www.ofnc.org.uk
SOCIAL/HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Betty Makoni (Zimbabwe)
Betty Makoni is a gender activist, Founder and Director of ‘Girl Child Network Zimbabwe (GCN)‘ and Chief Executive Officer of ‘Girl Child Network World Wide‘, an organisation that champions the rights of the girl child in Zimbabwe and world over. Betty Makoni has mobilised financial resources to build four Girls Empowerment Villages, a unique model that provides safe shelter, healing, and a future to sexually abused girls. A survivor of rape at age six as well as orphaned at age nine, Betty fought for her education and to date she has fought for girls in similar circumstances all round the world. Betty is hailed as ‘CNN Hero’ which she is a hero to many.
This Category was sponsored by Eunice Onyeama www.renowncare.com
CAREER WOMAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Nike Balogun (Nigeria)
Nike Balogun was appointed as a salaried judge of the Employment Tribunal in November 2009, based in Croydon. Before that she sat as a fee paid Employment judge in Cardiff for two and a half years and in Southampton for four years. Nike was admitted as a Solicitor in 1992 and spent 14 years in practice specialising in employment law.
This Category was sponsored by Awarded2U www.awarded2u.com
INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Tosin Taiwo (Nigeria)
Tosin Taiwo is an “afro-ethnic” singer from Nigeria. Her lyrical content is almost always infused with inspirational expressions. She draws her inspiration from African folk or Afro/soulful ballads. She also plays the acoustic guitar and percussion. She describes herself as “earthy,natural and spiritual.”
This Category as sponsored by Classical Gospel singer Dawn Lulu-Briggs
INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Olamide Davies (Nigeria)
Olamide Davies is the CEO & Founder of the ‘Miss Africa Tri-State‘ pageant in the USA, CEO of Lammy Inc. Production which is an entertainment firm that promotes African artists in New Jersey USA. The objective of the organization is to empower and encourage young African females in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Philadelphia on the importance of using their power, voice, and newly acquired status as queen to advocate and support humanitarian causes as goodwill ambassadors.”
This Category was sponsored by Dr Albert Okoye Chairman OFNC www.ofnc.org.uk
RECOGNITION AWARD
WINNER
Susan Mashibe (Tanzania)
Susan Mashibe is the Founder and Executive Director of ‘Tanjet‘ and was honored by the World Economic Forum as a 2011 Young Global Leader (YGL), recognised for “professional accomplishments, commitment to society and potential to contribute to shaping the future of the world.” She is the first woman from East Africa to become a certified pilot and engineer. TanJet, (born out of her dream to become a pilot) is the first company of its kind in Tanzania. It offers logistical support for corporate, diplomatic, and private jets and has transformed the way business aviation operates in East Africa. It’s clients include Heads of State, monarchs, Fortune 500 executives, celebrities, and military flights.
This Award was sponsored by WebITLondon www.webitlondon.co.uk
RECOGNITION AWARD
WINNER
Mojisola Sonoiki (Nigeria)
Mojisola Sonoiki is the Founder and Director of the ‘Women of Color Arts and Film Festival (WOCAF)‘ based in Atlanta. She is a cultural activist with a passion for art and culture. She told the African Women in Cinema Blog; “I have been involved in artistic events from a very early age and music and dancing was my first love. From primary through middle school in Nigeria, I was a member of the traditional dance groups that entertained guests at our end-of-school-year cultural event. Then I was one of the organisers of the foundation week at my secondary school, the International School of Ibadan (ISI), which was a celebration of the cultural diversity at our school. ”
This Award was sponsored by Fusionplus TV www.fusionplustv.com
RECOGNITION AWARD
WINNER
Fatima Jabbe (Gambia)
Fatima Jabbe is a Gambian Actress and an African Socialite. A household name in the Gambia and the African Entertainment Scene she is also a Model, Producer and an Event Manager. She is involved in extensive charity work in her home country The Gambia. During her Role as the Winner of the Miss Afro Caribbean Beauty Competition, she embarked on a lot of charitable roles by putting together the Gambia Meningitis Foundation, the promotion of girls education in the Gambia through Face of the Gambia, the role of women empowerment through the Women of Excellence Awards. She won the Gathering of Africa’s Best 2010 Award in London (GAB Awards) for her role in Community Development. Her first acting role came in 2010 as Queen Fina in the 2011′s most talked about African Film called the Mirror Boy.
This Award was sponsored by Tayo Dagazau www.tdlighthomes.com
RECOGNITION AWARD
WINNER
May7ven (Nigeria)
May7ven as she is famously known is currently hailed in the UK as the ‘Queen of Afrobeats’. The former Hedge Fund Manager has worked with the likes of Phoebe1, Wayne Marshall, Ebony, LLoydie Crucial and KRS1, Jamelia, Rah Digga, Blu Cantrell, Beverly Knight, Mary J, Angie Stone Stevie Brookstein, Akon, Joe Thomas. Her current hit ‘Ten Ten’ is getting airplay on Choice FM and other noteable stations. She is at present one of the most sought after female Afrobeats artist in the UK.
This Award was sponsored by Consulting4London www.consulting4london.com
RECOGNITION AWARD
WINNER
Bekezela Nsingo (Zimbabwe)
Bekezela Nsingo is the founder and CEO of ‘African Mothers Foundation‘. She has been referred to as an unsung heroine within her Zimbabwean community. Bekezela who is also a motivational speaker founded the non-profit organisation to provide girls and orphans with equal access to opportunities that ensure they get the investment and recognition they deserve, enabling them to reach their full potential and to become powerful agents of change within their families, communities and nations. She says; “We want to create a structure in communities that ensures that girls get the investment and recognition they deserve as powerful agents of change within their own families, communities and nations in Sub-Sahara Africa. AMFI offers a different way of thinking, testing, and scaling efforts that will shape the next generation of Africa’s girls.”
This Award was sponsored by NEL www.nelawards.com
SPECIAL WOMAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Isha Johanssen (Sierra Leone)
Isha Johansen: The 47-year old has already founded her own Sierra Leone Premier League club, ‘FC Johansen‘. She is also well known for her work with youth football in Sierra Leone. She is the first candidate to officially declare her intention to run for president in July’s SLFA elections. Isha says she has taken her inspiration from the current president of the Burundi Football Federation, Lydia Nsekera, and Izetta Wesley – the former head of the Liberian FA. Some have described her as ‘A BRAND’ The prominent Chief Dele Momodu, publisher of Africa’s leading society magazine OVATION, named her ‘Isha Power’ some twelve years ago, and the name has stuck since.
This Award is sponsored by Women4Africa
SPECIAL WOMAN OF THE YEAR
WINNER
Bola Olabisi (Nigeria)
Bola Olabisi is the Founder/CEO of ‘Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network (GWIIN)‘. GWIIN was founded in 1998, following the successful and prestigious launch of the first Inventive women award – The British Female Inventor of the Year Award and has since grown to become the number one and leading accolade for bringing women inventors into the spotlight. GWIIN is a global network that has the desire to increase the number of women embracing enterprise. GWIIN continues to extend its services to include working with Government departments, leading industry experts, voluntary organisations, enterprises and educational departments in finding effective ways of bringing the support, assistance, tools, advice and information that assist women in achieving significant growth in their businesses.
This Award is sponsored by Women4Africa