African women

"When you dream of something, you just have to put your mind to it. You will come across several stumbling blocks, but you just have to keep trying until you achieve your goal. Meet Miss Botswana 2009, Rudeboy Necta, 2009."

"I always find solutions to problems that I have with slow pace systems in our country and society in general."

"I have always been someone with a wandering mind."

"I build innovation models just from being annoyed by waiting in line for something that I don’t believe I should be waiting for."

"There is always someone rooting for you and trying to connect you, which has really been instrumental."

"I made sure to always have a respectable reference; people don’t like to talk to complete strangers therefore I advise people to network as often as possible; join clubs, go to conferences, go to business social events and really talk to as many people as possible on a regular basis so that you constantly know someone who knows someone."

"More women need to take bold steps into fields that aren’t traditionally attractive to women; for example fashion, beauty, culinary arts, which are all great but within our comfort zone which is keeping us away from tapping into medicine, engineering, coding, agriculture, etc."

"I have been in rooms with women brainstorming and I just think we are such powerful problem solvers who can conquer any challenge out there; so I just invite more ladies to lose the inner critic and take that leap into tech and other non-traditional female enterprises."

"The best advice I got was that “the best way to predict the future is to create it”."

"I would advise young girls to build a strong relationship with their intuition and become its best friend because that is what keeps you reassured at every step of the way. Identify what your inner critic says to you and learn how to cut it out because that is usually what stops us from making moves. Don’t be afraid to fail, also don’t do mediocre work, take yourself seriously because people treat you how you treat yourself. And lastly, believe in abundance, because nothing is out of reach; God made enough for everybody, so it’s up to you to find where your bread is."

"“Being patient and listening to your intuition helps you decide when to keep going or when to refine your strategy.”"

"Founders Spotlight: Tuduetso Masire (Founder, MatchAPro) (18 May 2022)"

"Our main aim is to teach them about confidence and to boost their self-esteem. The programme teaches them to know who they are and to believe in themselves."

"In these workshops I realised that a lot needed to be done since many did not want to get out of the shell."

"The aim is to make those in the rural areas to know that they can be anything they want to be and not be intimidated by where they come from."

"We all know that fame is not such a simple thing to handle, but again, you have to accept what comes along your way."

"Taking action tells the world every human life is worth something."

"This willingness to stand up and fight for what we believe in must be the hallmark of the student progressive community"

"We believe that we must refuse to let the words “never again” continue to be void of meaning because, as President Clinton stated in his 1998 address to Rwanda, “We must and we owe it to those who have died, and to those who survived who loved them, our every effort to increase our vigilance and strengthen our stand against those who commit such atrocities.”"

"Tell your story. I can see you are fighting yourself over it."

"If you cannot accept yourself, you live in a fog forever, trying to figure out who loves you or does not."

"Love yourself and if there is something you do not like about yourself, change it."

"Self-acceptance is a bittersweet remedy for many mental health issues that people face nowadays."

"I just realised that I could make a difference through something else instead of loathing myself."

"I had always loved writing and reading and so I decided to make a change."

"There are fewer chances of knowing if someone else truly accepts you."

"I was young and telling my story, baring myself."

"The crucial thing I learned is that writing is a process and one may have to do some rewriting and countless edits to get it to the level they want."

"I am more open to socialising with people, whereas I used to be a soft-spoken and quiet person."

"It takes a lot of conviction to release your thoughts and ideas to the world."

"The only thoughts we have control over are our own."

"I learned to be patient and collaborate with others."

"It is a journey that one never ends. I just have to keep on learning and growing in literature."

"It is hard to do, but the best things in the world do not come easily."

"Writing is not for the faint-hearted; one should be able to stand by their writing."

"I learned to be patient and tried to excel at things even when I did not want to."

"High school life taught me to choose my friends carefully and how to deal with my emotions as a teenager."

"There were things that I could not deem worthy of my time, but then with the situation there, there were some things I had to go through."

"I can’t believe it, I’m so grateful for the win. I didn’t give up."

"I am happy to be back at the Women’s 5k Challenge...Last year (2009) I lost in a sprint finish but this time I will be stronger at the end."

"I went out for gold but it was too hard to keep up with the pace of the three on my own. Our team tactic did not work, my team mates fell off and I got tired for the last kick. It is disappointing but at least I got bronze."

"I am hoping to double-up in Daegu. I feel my body is in good shape to handle both races."

"I am ready for the marathon...my management has been able to get me a race in Amsterdam and I want to see how my body will react to it. I have hopes of doing well, but am also not certain how it will go. It is my first marathon race."

"It is great to win gold in my first championships race over 10,000 with a personal best...We were inspired by the marathon girls and we wanted to achieve the same."

"My fourth Olympics and I hadn't had gold. Today I said 'I am not going to lose'."

"Today I’m very happy because I won this year in London...I knew I was strong because I have done good training so I was having a feeling that I could do it."

"I knew this morning I was going to run well and there was such a good field you were always worried someone would do better,...It wasn’t until 25 miles that I got that confidence back and felt I could win."

"This is a great moment for me, and this is a day I will not forget for the rest of my life."

"I am convinced that this time is good enough to be selected for the Kenyan World Championships team."

"Some people like to run but they can not run [very fast]. It (running fast) is a talent."

"I don’t do anything. I just run. So I have to just focus on running. We don’t have any other jobs. Where we get money, it is from running. That makes us to work hard. If we do not win, we do not get money. If we do not get money, how can we live? In Kenya, everything is money, money, money. So we have to make it [in running]."

"What I have learnt is that a genuine name and personality will always remain,...Athletes should learn a lesson from these dopers that whatever you take, it will always come out, however, long. Shortcuts are not the way."

"I’m feeling so good to win my first World title. Since I started steeplechase in 2009, I knew that one day I was going to be a World champion. I have been waiting, waiting, and this year it is my time."

"I want to continue being in the athletics, and that is why I saw it wise to change from track to the marathon and road races."

"I'm new in marathon races and I will be looking forward to a good performance. It's been a tough training for me, but it has come from me in terms of good will and hard work for good results."

"I have been in athletics for a long period and what I can say is that when you are disciplined, you will be there for a long period. It really motivates me training with the world beaters like Eliud Kipchoge and Geoffrey Kamworor."

"I have done my part on the track and now it is only right to try out a new challenge and the marathon discipline is inspiring enough."

"Eliud Kipchoge has inspired me. I have seen him train, the punishing he goes through to be ready for a marathon and it is worth to try it out."

"I believe 5,000m is my race though I took long to realize and specialized in the 1,500m. Since venturing in the 5,000m, my performance has been growing and I believe the best is yet to come."

"This season has been inspiring for me considering I have been able to lower my personal best. I have decided to settle for 5,000m and just hope for the best."

"For me, the improvement in time this season has been key and very inspiring for that matter."

"“Zimbabwe is a strong side, hence our preparations should also be up to standard,”"

"My interest in my field was solely based on soccer. Going to college was never a part of my plan. I did not plan for school because of the ego I had towards my athletic talent. Fortunately, everything does not always go according to plan.""

"I was never offered a good deal to play professional soccer and even worse, I suffered an injury that almost ruined my whole soccer career."

"An artistic attacker with goals to her name."

"I am a servant leader, creating impact through the media, literature and in the technology industries."

"God Almighty has given me the grace of achieving one of my greatest ambitions within my first year on this sacred throne of Oduduwa. Moremi Ajasoro, an Ife queen who in her lifetime exhibited an unrivaled heroism of world’s liberty dedicated her life to the liberation of mankind by sacrificing her only child to free the people of Oodua land from the invasion of some faceless terrorists thousands of years ago."

"Moremi is an important figure and a great warrior worthy of emulation. With the pageant, we are trying to globalise and make the world know about a very important person."

"Times are changing and women are beginning to realise that we need to grow stronger. We need to show strong character in changing the society. I urge them to emulate the great heroine and be saviours to others."

"Women have very strong pain thresholds because they are born mothers. Women endure a lot and while some show it, some don’t. Moremi is proof to everyone and not just women that if you love something, you would fight for it no matter the cost. Women fight for their families aggressively on the daily and this is the message of Moremi. Moremi is strong and she changed destiny and history by saving her people and this is what women can do."

"I will protect Queen Móremí’s 12th Century iconic legacy as a contemporary torch bearer of Yorùbá culture and heritage globally."

"The indelible and heroic legacies of Queen Moremi will continue to endure in the chronicles of both Yorùbá and world histories."

"She (Moremi) was a heroine, who liberated the people of Oodua land from faceless invaders who sought to enslave them"

"I feel extremely delighted especially at the mere thought of achieving my dream. As a child growing up, I always wanted to be a pilot and my late dad made sure that he did all what it takes to make me succeed."

"After I lost my father, everything came to a standstill. I had no way out. My uncle later advised me to write a letter to the president. Which president? I asked. I later wrote to the president of South Sudan and my plea was granted."

"When I was in charge of it, I traveled all over the country to see the state of the country's women. It was difficult back then to talk about women's rights to women who had no understanding of what it meant, especially in rural areas."

"Equatorial Guinean women welcomed the creation of this department with joy."

"I was a teacher by profession and was the first woman arrested by the dictator Macías on December 5, 1968. I went into exile in Gabon until 1973 and lived as a refugee, teaching Spanish to feed my six children."

"because in my country there are many older people still working, but I'll wait and see what my country's Foreign Ministry tells me. I want to be calm, and the truth is, I haven't asked because I'm very proud."

"because from December 2017 until now in 2020, there hasn't been a single statement that he was involved in that coup d'état; let them prove it. All he did was defend a childhood friend of his and one of his judges who died in a police station. It's his responsibility to do so and find out the truth. If something happens to an embassy employee, my responsibility is to defend and protect him."

"Obiang defends his son, and I defend mine. I believe I am within my rights."