Accra, Ghana – 10 May 2019: Junior Achievement (JA) Africa announces the successful transition of its governance leadership, as Charles Olumuyiwa Moyela takes over from Ms Jean Snikiwe Chawapiwa as Chair of its Board of Directors, effective 1st June 2019.
“The commitment, network, knowledge and resource base of our Africa Board has been invaluable to the JA mission over the years,” said Elizabeth Bintliff, Chief Executive Officer of JA Africa.
“I would like to extend my personal gratitude, and the appreciation of the JA Worldwide Board of Directors to Jean Chawapiwa, who has led and championed the affairs of JA Africa with diligence and passion. Under her leadership, our programs and pan-African footprint were deeply enriched,” Bintliff remarked.
Ms. Chawapiwa is the founder of Win Win Solutions 4 Africa Consulting and Country Director of WEConnect International, South Africa.
An accomplished marketing and communications professional with extensive experience in the media and mining sectors, she remains one of the few women to have served at the highest levels of the external affairs, government relations and communication portfolios at mining giants Rio Tinto, Barrick Gold and Placer Dome – successfully supporting businesses in South Africa, Namibia, Guinea, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Cameroon, and Tanzania.
Chawapiwa is a coach, mentor and role model to women and girls across Africa. She was at various times the first woman to sit on the South African Chamber of Mines Executive Council, chairing its Communications Committee; a member of the Board of Rio Tinto Management Services; and the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa (AmCham). She has served on the Board of JA Africa since 2012.
“It has been a great honor to serve on the Board of JA Africa, during this time I have met and worked with extraordinary people serving and supporting JA WorldWide. I have also had the opportunity to travel to many countries that JA is active in Africa; Asia; Americas and Europe during this period, I have learnt a lot about entrepreneurship education and the dedication needed to make the incredible impact JA is making globally.
I am delighted to be handing over to Charles and the rest of the impressive JA Africa Board, I will always be an ambassador and champion for JA”.
Moyela, Chawapiwa’s successor, has been on the JA Africa Board since 2017. His 20-year plus career has been consistently located at the intersection of the media, public relations and communication sectors, corporate relations, youth and international development.
Moyela is a Senior Communication consultant at the African Development Bank and was previously IBM’s External Relations Leader for Central & West Africa. A co-founder of Kalahari Kangaroo, a trade advisory and communications consultancy, he writes regularly on Africa’s youth and economic development, West Africa’s investment climate, business and technology trends, and the geopolitics of Africa’s regional and global economic ties.
He is a Fellow of Reuters Foundation, Rhodes University, South Africa and an alumnus of the International Visitors Leadership Program of the US State Department. He also sits on the Advisory Board of Oando Foundation, an independent charity focused on supporting education and Nigeria’s development agenda.
“These are challenging and exciting times for Africa, and I am humbled to have been chosen to lead the JA Africa board into the next era of the continent’s youth development, which will be focused on skills, work readiness, entrepreneurship and the adoption of technology tools and techniques,” Moyela said.
Calling for deeper focus on Africa’s youth development agenda, Moyela said, “Public and private investment in the youth continue to be dwarfed by commitments in other fiscal priorities, yet ironically this is the most youthful continent. JA Africa will continue to play its role in advancing partnerships and strategic alliances that uplift the continent’s young minds and talents.”
Moyela assumes the leadership of the JA Africa Board of Directors, comprised of 16 accomplished professionals who oversee the healthy operation of Junior Achievement programs in 14 countries across Africa. He will also represent Africa on the Board of JA Worldwide.
Other members of the JA Africa Board include:
- Asheesh Advani, JA Worldwide
- Elizabeth Bintliff, JA Africa
- Janet Thiongo, Oracle
- Lorenzo Bell, Ernst & Young LLP
- Khethiwe Nkuna, Accenture
- Greg Rung, Oliver Wyman
- Amini Kajunju, IUGB Foundation
- Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, AirtelTigo Ghana
- Christi Maherry, Etion Secure, incorporating LAWtrust
- Ebele Okobi, Facebook
- Moky Makura, Gates Foundation
- Vusi Fele, Barclays Africa Group Ltd.
- Abdu Mukhtar, African Development Bank
- Seth Adu-Baah, Coca Cola Ghana
About Junior Achievement Africa
Junior Achievement Africa is an affiliate of Junior Achievement Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving non-governmental organizations, activating youth for the future of jobs, and inspiring Africa’s young to succeed in the global economy. Powered by over 470,000 volunteers and mentors in more than 100 countries, Junior Achievement programs were first introduced in sub-Sahara Africa in 1979.
Visit www.ja-africa.org
