For most women, climbing the career ladder in a field few or none has ascended is hard enough. However, when they find someone who has reached the top and who tells them that it is safe to climb; that they can keep coming on up; that the view is breathtaking at the peak, then the way becomes easier and dreams look more achievable.
For more than 10 years, Business Daily has been singling out outstanding women who have dared to turn their dreams in million-shilling enterprises, who have made groundbreaking medical discoveries, who have escaped poverty to head multinationals, to those who became the ‘firsts’ in different fields.
However, what has lacked is a network of these women to help grow each other’s businesses or mentor young professionals, especially those seeking a hand-up to grow. Mentorship and coaching hold the key to growing the numbers of female immunologists, quantum physicists, computer programmers, neurologists or even chief finance officers; fields where women are woefully underrepresented.
As we unveil this year’s Top40 Under40 Women, I dare you to be champions of disruption. Let’s move away from traditional businesses which are flooded, and which limit our chances of succeeding. Let’s scale our businesses that we will no longer play small. No one finds passion by playing small!
Diana Mwango