Nombulelo Hackula, or Bea as she is fondly known, is the founder and president of Africa for Africa Women’s Conference.
Her focus is on connecting and uniting women across Africa for sustainable growth and development as well as leadership and the promotion of entrepreneurship.
The latter is achieved through new venture creation, trade promotion, expos and conferencing.
“I was inspired to start the conference because I have always had this belief that the solution for a better Africa will come from Africans,” Hackula said.
“If Africa focuses on women and youth development and economic empowerment, we can realise the aspirations of Agenda 2063 and build the Africa of our dreams.
“Our interventions are targeted at women and youth empowerment.
“This transformative approach to development will ensure that we bridge the gap for women to be equal players in the economy of our country and the continent, while on the other hand breeding a new cadre of young people who are innovators and job creators rather than job seekers.”
Hackula attributed her passion for development to the fact that it made her wake up in the middle of the night and “I pen down new strategies to steer Africa for Africa Women’s vision in the right direction with tangible results year on year”.
She said the best advice she had ever received was “fail forward!”
“There are easy solutions for an entrepreneur, and they emerge when you are looking at ways to re-engineer yourself and your business so that it always remains relevant.”
Advice that Hackula would give young people looking to enter her field is that “consulting in the development space requires that you understand your target clientele and potential co-operators’ and collaborators’ needs so that you deliver value to your customer consistently”.
Three milestone events in her journey have been:
• Envisioning a Women’s Bank and facilitating its establishment until it was officially licensed. It is now ready to take deposits and issue loans to members.
• In the midst of the Covid-19 lockdown, creating a network of women leaders across 36 countries and expanding the reach of ‘Africa for African Women’ by establishing an all-encompassing women’s forum titled “Women of Africa Arise”.
• Being invited by the AU Commission on Peace and Security to speak in Morocco on the nexus between women, peace and development.
“My five-year goals would be holding a prominent seat at the AU or UN Women which would facilitate me driving the agenda of women’s economic empowerment.”
She added: “If I am remembered, I would like it to be for changing lives and producing other women leaders and women champions in Africa.”
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