Press Release

Namibian Women Business Leaders Take Part in U.S. Department of State and Fortune's Fourth Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Program

Namibian women business leaders Ms. Monica Kalondo and Ms. Anna Ipangelwa are participating in the Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership from April 27-May 22.  The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has joined Fortune's Most Powerful Women and Vital Voices Global Partnership to launch the fourth Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership. 

Thirty-two emerging women leaders from Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lebanon, Macedonia, Namibia, Nigeria, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Vietnam will be mentored by participants of the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit.  These women join a program that now includes 116 remarkable achievers from around the world. 

Monica Kalondo is the Managing Director (and a shareholder) of Stimulus Private Equity, Namibia’s first private equity fund.  Monica sits on various Boards (both private sector and State-Owned Enterprises).   She has received numerous meritorious awards for entrepreneurship and innovation and is regularly invited to make presentations at large workshops and conferences.  Monica also provides financial literacy training to the employees of various State-Owned Enterprises, as well as grassroots community organizations. 

Anna Ipangelwa is the Managing Director at Gelnhausen Safaris cc, which owns a guest and hunting game farm. Anna co-founded the Lazarus Shinyemba Ipangelwa Foundation (LSI), a Foundation created in honor of her late husband’s work, philosophy and ideals, as well as for his love for business and education.  LSI has implemented academic and business leadership programs for disadvantaged high school youth that have a potential to excel in their lives.  Anna also volunteers on the boards of the Small Marketing Association (SMA), a nongovernmental organization that focuses on HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, and the Jacobine Ihuhua Trust (JIT), created by the late Jacobin’s former students to honor of her commitment to education, and as a pioneer of women leaders in education in Namibia.  JIT sponsors disadvantaged, gifted students through tertiary education.

This year’s mentors include Ann S. Moore, Chairman and CEO, Time Inc.; Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO of Avon Products; Molly Ashby, CEO of Solera Capital; Kathleen Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Wholesale Lending at Wells Fargo; Linda L. Addison, Partner-in-Charge, New York at Fulbright & Jaworski LLP; Kathleen Murphy, President, Personal Investing, at Fidelity; Meredith Whitney of Meredith Whitney Advisory Group; Jean Case, CEO of the Case Foundation; Mary Wittenberg, President and CEO of New York Roadrunners; and Barbara Goodstein, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Innovation Officer, AXA Equitable.  Women in senior leadership positions at Exxon Mobil, Wal-Mart, KPMG, Accenture, Ernst & Young, DuPont, Goldman Sachs, and Skadden Arps are mentoring as well.

The program, which began in 2006, will open with a four-day orientation session in Washington, DC, where the participants will meet with senior women in government, academia, and business.  The second phase of the program will pair each of the 32 participants with one or two of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Leaders.  For two weeks, American and international participants will share their skills and experiences, exploring ways to strengthen women's leadership.  The program will conclude with a two-day debriefing in New York City, where participants will meet executives of Goldman Sachs and Solera Capitol.

The Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership is an innovative program that connects America's top women executives with emerging women leaders from around the world.  Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Leaders share their time, talent and expertise in business with the next generation of international women leaders. 
Visit exchanges.state.gov/citizens/professionals/fortunepartnership.html and www.fortunempws.com for more information.

For more information, please contact Public Affairs Officer, Ray Castillo, at 0811280816, or Information Assistant, Roger Lyners, at 229801 (ext. 226).