The month of March is widely known as Women’s Month, a celebration honoring the contributions of women to history, culture, and society.
In that regard, we introduced a special Feature series for Women’s Month under the 2021 International Women’s Day theme: ‘Women In Leadership: Achieving An Equal Future In A COVID-19 World.’ Throughout the month, we are featuring women that have portrayed exceptional leadership in their respective fields during these uncertain times.
The outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic has revealed a hard-and-fast evidence of female leadership competence with numerous studies pointing out, that number of cases and deaths, were systematically less in countries with women at the highest levels of decision-making and frontline service delivery.
Today, we celebrate Irene Ochem, founder and CEO of Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF), a pan-African women’s economic empowerment organization that works to unleash the potential of women entrepreneurs and close the gender gap in women entrepreneurship in Africa.
Irene is an Entrepreneur and Innovation Specialist, with 20+ years of experience working in international development, research management, enterprise development and private sector growth, across geographies of Africa and Europe.
At the strategic leadership of AWIEF, her work is focused on driving female entrepreneurship, promoting enterprise and innovation, designing and implementing bespoke women-focused business support programmes for women-led startups, implemented across different African countries, and mobilizing resources and partnerships. She is also the Convener of the annual AWIEF Conference and Awards event that every year gathers more than 1,300 African and global entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders for dialogue and discussions on entrepreneurship and innovation. I serve on Boards as Non-Executive Director.
What motivates you to wake up daily?
My current professional interest is focused on gender economic equity and social inclusion. Contributing towards achieving this African and global objective motivates and drives my daily actions.
What is a typical workday in your life like?
Leading my team to oversee the successful implementation of our different programmes, engaging with current and potential AWIEF programme partners and stakeholders, attending meetings (mostly virtual since the COVID-19 pandemic). Some days I have to attend and speak at events and conferences.
What are some of your most notable failures that ended up playing a great role in your success as a leader?
I do not see failures. I see mistakes from which I learn and continuously improve my leadership skills.
There’s no gain without pain. What are some of the sacrifices you have made along the way to get where you are now?
The most important ingredient for success is hard work. To that, you add the investment of time and money. I have had to do a great deal of all three.
Describe your leadership style? What are some of your go to leadership strategies that help you achieve great results?
My leadership style is generally situation specific. However, some tried and tested strategies that have helped me achieve desired results include leading by example and with integrity, and effective communication.
What are some of the tools and resources that have helped you grow as a leader especially during this pandemic?
Technology has been a very important and enabling tool especially during this pandemic. Being able to quickly adopt and use technology to implement our programmes and reach our partners and programme beneficiaries has created for us added opportunities and success.
What are some of the strategies you have put in place to support your team during this time?
The first thing was to think about safety. We immediately adopted remote working, providing needed support to make working from home both effective and productive.
Leading especially during a pandemic is not for the faint hearted. What has kept you going? What has it taught you about yourself?
The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to the global economy and health. Leading during a pandemic is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Endurance, resilience, and hope keep me going. One thing it taught me is never to take anything for granted. A situation you think is optimal can suddenly change and you will have to deal with that change otherwise you become extinct.
What is the one mistake you often witness women make that hinders their success in leadership?
The one mistake I see women make that hinders their success in leadership is not having enough confidence in themselves and their ability. As women, we have power; we should own our success and be unapologetic about it.
What takes up most of your time?
As an Entrepreneur, you have no time of yourself. My business takes up most of my time, but I always try to find balance between that and my personal life.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I would love to be remembered for having made a positive impact in some other women’s lives in Africa through my work with AWIEF. No matter how small the impact, it will be my contribution to together achieving the ultimate goal.
