International Women's Day - 55 Extraordinary African Women Drive Real Change

When Lesego Chombo was crowned as Miss Botswana in 2022, she immediately set up a foundation to support disadvantaged youngsters and their parents in rural areas. 

After ending her term as Miss World Africa in November 2024, the 26-year-old became the youngest cabinet minister in Botswana’s history when she was appointed as Minister of Youth and Gender Affairs and she is now leading the charge on a Gender-Based Violence Bill focusing on protection, care and support of victims, as well as prevention.

Raïssa Banhoro realised that lack of literacy, limited numeracy and a lack of accessible digital tools were standing in the way of women’s digital literacy in Côte d’Ivoire, so she developed Lucie, the country’s first mobile literacy app with local-language vocal assistance that addressed all three challenges.

Then she pioneered a model of free, intensive digital training for youth not in employment, education or training, achieving a 100% employment rate for graduates.

Chombo and Banhoro are two of the 55 women KFC Africa is celebrating to mark International Women’s Day on Sunday 8 March and honour the occasion’s global theme of Give to Gain.

“These are not just stories of individual achievement,” says Akhona Qengqe, General Manager of KFC Africa. “These are stories of women who give Africa more. 

“They give access where there was exclusion. They give opportunity where prospects were limited. They give hope where there was none.”

Power of giving

For 55 years, KFC Africa has been giving to communities and empowering women, who make up 60% of its workforce. 

To mark International Women’s Day in 2024 it celebrated 53 female firsts across its 22 markets, and last year it honoured 54 women who were accelerating action towards gender equality. 

This year the focus shifts to the power of giving, often by women who embody this spirit daily without recognition, resources or fanfare.

The 55 women honoured, one for each year the brand has been in Africa, also include:

Nice Leng’ete from Kenya, who in 2014 persuaded Maasai elders to formally abandon female genital mutilation. Working with Amref Health Africa and her own foundation, she has helped over 21,000 girls escape the practice.Dr. Germaine Retofa from Madagascar, who has transformed maternal care in one of the country’s most impoverished regions into a life-saving system that ensures a woman’s location or income does not affect her chances of survival.Alexandra Machado from Mozambique, who is pioneering a circular mentorship model that has impacted 25,000 Mozambican women, tripling school transition rates and proving that investing in female leadership is a high-return strategy for national development. 

From visibility to voice

“For this year’s list of Africa’s female firsts we deliberately sought out women whose influence may not fill stadiums but whose impact fills hearts,” says Qengqe. 

“They include women who have built tech networks for their female peers, expanded access to healthcare, made menstrual care a national priority, targeted girls for improved education access and tackled the gender pay gap.

“These are women from diverse backgrounds – lawyers, politicians, healthcare workers, entrepreneurs, authors, technologists and community organisers. Some are well-known figures. Many are not.

“What unites them is what they give: mentorship, protection, access, knowledge, visibility, opportunity, resources and time.”

The ripple effect of giving

Chief People, Culture and Purpose Officer, Nolo Thobejane, says the Give to Gain theme resonates deeply with KFC’s approach to empowerment.

“For years, we’ve seen how giving creates exponential returns,” she says. “When KFC Add Hope gives meals to vulnerable children through women-led feeding centres, communities gain nutrition and dignity. 

“When Women on the Move provides leadership development for women in our business, the entire organisation gains stronger, more diverse leadership. When our Streetwise Academy gives young women accredited qualifications, families gain economic mobility.”

Thobejane says many women in the KFC Africa team are giving back to their communities in meaningful ways. “We have restaurant managers who mentor young women entering the workforce. We have team members who run after-school programmes in their communities. We have franchisees who create pathways for other women to access business ownership. Their giving happens quietly, consistently, and with deep purpose.”

When communities gain, Africa rises

The International Women’s Day 2026 theme challenges the world to recognise that giving has a multiplier effect. When women are given respect, visibility, opportunity, mentoring, resources and access, communities benefit.

Qengqe says that while progress towards gender equality in sub-Saharan Africa has stalled – the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2025 projects that gender parity is 107 years away – KFC’s list of African female firsts prove that transformation is possible.

“These 55 women are not prepared to wait more than a century,” she says. “They are giving now so their communities can gain now. And when communities gain, Africa rises.”

The full list of 55 Women Who Give Africa More is available at: https://purpose.kfc.co.za/people/africas-female-firsts/africas-female-first-2026/