Being a leader in the business world is about more than being a successful entrepreneur. In addition to raising capital, a real leader raises up the community in which he or she is based.
This year’s Goldman Sachs (GS) and Coins2Day Global Women Leaders Award went to two businesswomen who embody this principle.
The first recipient, Tidings Chimphondah, is the managing director of ProGroup Holdings, a regionally-focused agribusiness in Zimbabwe. In addition to her role at ProGroup, Chimphondah has been working to create sustainable sources of income for women in rural parts of the country. She founded Moms Are Geniuses (MAGs), an empowerment initiative that teaches women necessary business skills and gives them short-term capital injections to create long-term income streams.
Chimphondah credits Wendy Clark, the president of sparkling brands and strategic marketing at Coca-Cola (KO), with her success. As Chimphondah’s mentor in the Coins2Day/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership program, Clark challenged her to do something to help her community, she told the audience at Coins2Day’s Most Powerful Women summit on Tuesday. “It’s because of that challenge that I stand before you as a winner,” she said.
The second Global Women Leaders Award winner, Hanan Khalil, is the founder and managing director of Zahraa Trade, which imports low-cost pharmaceuticals to Egypt, making it possible for cancer patients there to have access to affordable medication. Also a graduate of Goldman’s 10,000 Women, Khalil said the program helped her increase her revenue twelvefold.
Khalil plans to use her award money to teach the many young refugees in Egypt how to support themselves through handicraft production. She hopes to teach refugee youth artisan business skills and guide them to “self discovery, development, and empowerment.”
As Gary Cohn, president and COO of Goldman Sachs, said while presenting the award, “Capital is only part of the equation.” These two women are recognized as global leaders because they also have courage.
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Note: The original version of this article identified the program through which Wendy Clark mentored Tidings Chimphondah as the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program. It is actually the Coins2Day/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership program.
