Empowering women in finance

Themed Women in Leadership, this joint initiative of Ocorian, Future Females Invest and the United Nations Systems in Mauritius, took the form of a conversation with Dr. Mary Okelo, a Kenyan woman having held senior positions in the financial sector in Africa and pioneered major initiatives for the advancement of women on the continent.

Ocorian joined the initiative of this conversation to mark its commitment to advancing the role of women in the work place and more specifically in the finance arena. In her welcoming address, Mrs Nousrath Bhugeloo, Ocorian Head of International Growth for the Africa, Middle East and Asia (AMEA) region commented:

“Conventional wisdom says that women hit a glass ceiling as they advance, preventing them from reaching senior leadership positions. In reality, the biggest obstacle that women face is the first step up to manager, something a report from Mackenzie in 2019 identifies as the broken rug”.

Currently 48% of Ocorian managers in its Mauritius and Africa offices are female, a situation Mrs Bhugeloo says puts them in a position to motivate and inspire other women to reach for their goals.

On her part, the UN Resident Coordinator, H.E. Mrs Christine Umotoni, commented:

“The UN is delighted to partner with Future Females Invest and Ocorian for this ‘Women in Leadership’ event with DrOkelo. It’s high time we break ground in the financial and business space for women. Future Females Invest is doing this and helping to ensure gender equality and empowering women by encouraging investment in female founders.”

Aysha Julie, the Director and Founder of Future Females Invest, introduced Dr Okelo, saying her achievement in a male-dominated financial world and her commitment to female empowerment was an example that inspired her to set up her own organisation:

“Future Females Invest, whose mission is to challenge the gender gap in access to finance and support women’s entrepreneurial capacity, is greatly inspired by what Dr. Okeloachieved, at a time when barriers were even more difficult to overcome. Women still face barriers in terms of finance with significantly less female-led companies securing investorsupport. I am delighted by the opportunity we have today to hear from her experience and to share insights with her,” commented Julie.

Dr Okelo shared her inspiring journey, to an audience comprised mainly of women, on how she managed to overcome the barriers to her own advancement and found the drive to help other women develop their potential and fulfil their dreams. She faced a lot of discrimination as a woman earlier in her career in the financial sector and she managed to turn that around and showed that women are truly valuable as customers. In order for women to reach to senior levels, she gave some useful tips:

– “Women should hold a ladder for each other to climb up”

– “Women have a lot of power inside. They should tap that high power they have”

– “Women should support each other to grow further. They need to open doors for each other”