1. NEW Africa Leadership Program Overview
The Network of Women Investing in Africa (NEW Africa) Leadership Program is a multi-stakeholder
initiative to mobilize the next generation of African female leaders (Change Agents) aged 35 and under
who are recognized for their strong commitment to championing social issues and dedication to creating
innovative, integrated solutions to address challenges spanning Agriculture, Health, Education, Water,
Energy, Infrastructure and Technology.
In Women’s Hands
Multiplier Effects of Investing in Women
Research confirms that women reinvest 90% of their
incomes in their children and families, and that putting
incomes and assets in the hands of women leads to
higher investments in food security, health and
nutrition, education, and human development.
The NEW Africa Leadership Program’s capacity-
building framework will focus on agriculture-led
development and the role of women in agriculture
Above – Mpule speaks with a mother and her cognizant of the fact that 65% of Africa’s population is
daughter at Nyangabgwe Hospital in rural, and that over 80% of the rural population, most
Francistown, Botswana. Mothers invest of whom are women, depend directly on agriculture for
heavily in their children’s health, nutrition their livelihoods.
and wellbeing.

2. With over a decade of experience in convening and partnering with multi-stakeholders to empower
women to create multisectoral approaches to pressing social issues, the MPULE Institute and its partners
will equip NEW Africa Leadership Program Change Agents with leadership skills, tools and capacity-
building and training opportunities that will enable Change Agents to strengthen and scale their own
social programs and commitments.
The NEW Africa Leadership Program
is an advocacy and public policy initiative
to highlight the vital role of women in
development and unlock the potential for
economic growth that lies in African
women.
The goal of this innovative campaign is to
increase African women’s representation
and participation in global development
agenda—leading to more resources and
capabilities in their hands, and increased
investment in social services and labor-
Above – African female leaders who support our work. From left: Joy saving technologies most beneficial to rural
Phumaphi, former Minister of Health (Botswana) and former Vice and urban women alike—leading to new
President of the World Bank; Graca Machel, former Minister of
opportunities and areas of productivity in
Education (Mozambique), founder of New Faces New Voices, co-
sectors proven to lift women and their
founder of The Elders; Lady Gladys Olebile Masire, former First
Lady of the Republic of Botswana families from poverty.
The Feminization of Poverty
African women earn 10% of all incomes &
own 1% of all assets on the continent
Poverty is Gendered in Africa
Gender inequality in access to and control of a wide
range of human, economic and social assets and other
socio-economic, political and cultural constraints,
presents enormous challenges for women to achieve
economic empowerment, and constitutes a key
dimension of human poverty that results in
deprivation in education, health and nutrition. The
feminization of poverty means that women and the
poor are often one and the same across Africa.
Above – Mpule visits a young mother living with
HIV/AIDS in Gabane, Botswana. The MPULE
Foundation works closely with the Gabane
Community Home-Based Care Programme

3. Although progress has been achieved towards gender equality in African parliaments, notably in Rwanda
where women occupy 52% of parliamentary seats, women continue to be under-represented in most
structures of power and decision-making, and in the public and private sector. This has impacted
negatively on their ability to derive full benefit from the economies of their countries and the
democratization process. Women face two problems in particular: under representation and low
participation (compared to men) in formal political, economic and social institutions. The lack of
women’s decision-making power in the family and household in particular limits their ability to make
choices to safeguard the health, education and welfare of their children
Women and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The challenge to eradicate poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, reduce child
mortality, improve maternal health and combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases remains critical for
Africa to achieve inclusive growth and development. Limited education and employment opportunities
for women in Africa have reduced annual per capita growth by 0.8%. Had this growth taken place,
Africa’s economies would have doubled over the past 30 years. Millennium Development Goal 3 on
gender equality is shown to have multiplier effects that advance achievement of the other MDGs, proving
that women’s empowerment is critical to realization of all the Millennium Development Goals.
“Promoting gender equality, women’s empowerment and ending violence against women is
essential to human development, poverty eradication and economic growth” – Mpule Kwelagobe
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
Women's Economic
Human Rights Empowerment
Political Social
Empowerment Empowerment
Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) Framework
The NEW Africa Leadership Program’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE) framework
will empower Change Agents to become gender equality and women’s empowerment champions who
will advocate for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls,
promote women’s rights to own and inherit property and have equal access to productive assets and
resources, ensure girls and women have access to critical social services such as education and
reproductive health services, and increase women’s political participation and access to decision making.

4. The MPULE Institute will build upon 12 years of extensive experience in global advocacy and public
policy to strengthen women’s rights, ensure their voices are heard, increase their participation in
development and decision-making roles, which will benefit women and men, and girls and boys equally.
Agriculture-Led Development
Women play an important role in agricultural development across Africa. Women constitute 50% of the
agricultural labor force and are responsible for 80% of the food production and 50% of the agricultural
output.
AGRICULTURE
ENERGY WATER
EDUCATION HEALTH
TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE
NEW Africa Leadership Program Capacity Development framework
Agriculture is an engine of growth and poverty reduction in agriculture-dependent countries in Africa
where it is the main occupation of rural women and the poor, often one and the same. GDP growth
generated by agriculture is 4 times more effective in reducing poverty than non agricultural growth. But
the agriculture sector in Africa is underperforming because women, who represent a crucial resource in
agriculture and the rural economy through their roles as farmers, laborers and entrepreneurs, face more
severe constraints than men in access to productive resources.
Gender increase women's raise overall
reducing poverty
agricultural
equality in yields by
productivity by
and hunger by
agricultural
development has
potential to
30% 4% 17%
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

5. Closing the Gender Gap for Development
The NEW Africa Leadership Program will serve as an internetworking platform for Change Agents through a
Peer Approach (PA) strategy. The MPULE Institute will engage in comprehensive research on Gender
and Development (GAD), create multisectoral programs and agendas for the NEW Africa Leadership
Program and convene African female political, social and economic thought-leaders from government,
private sector corporations, financial and investment banking institutions, research policymaking and
diplomatic mission, multilateral agencies, academic institutions and non-government organizations to
engage with Change Agents, provide mentoring and development and further the dialogue and capacity
on closing the gender gap for development.
Among its goals the program will:
Increase Change Agents awareness on Gender and Development dimensions and issues, and
approaching social entrepreneurship from a holistic multisectoral integrated systems approach
Assist Change Agents in accessing funding, grants, fellowships and collaborative opportunities
with stakeholders, including writing winning proposals
Increase visibility of Change Agents social initiatives and endeavors by utilizing the program as
an advocacy and public policy platform for Change Agents
Foster transformative private-public partnerships and innovative multisectoral solutions that
allow program Change Agents to achieve scale, efficiency and effectiveness in their social
enterprises and investment approaches
Change Agents will learn about our partners corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainable
development (SD), philanthropic, social investment and sustainability initiatives and identify
areas of convergence with their own initiatives
African policymakers and gender machineries will disseminate information about international
gender instruments and continental gender policies that can strengthen the work of Change
Agents
The MPULE Institute will provide year round capacity-building sessions through workshops,
seminars, and other formal and informal networking sessions and meetings for Change Agents
both within and outside their countries
Gender Mainstreaming
The MPULE Institute will advocate for all stakeholders to engage in gender analysis—which is the
systematic gathering and examination of information—in order to identify, understand and redress
inequities between women and men, girls and boys, based on gender roles and gender relations, to review
their existing policies and strategies and ensure greater and better participation by women, and to produce
gender disaggregated data that reveals the impact of policies and programming on women
Moving forward, Change Agents will be encouraged to make women’s concerns an integral dimension of
the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all development
spheres so that women and men may benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated.
African Women’s Decade 2010-2020
The NEW Africa Leadership Program is aligned with the Africa Union African Women’s Decade (AWD,
2010-2020) on advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE).

6. Gender and Development
Gender policies and action plans guiding and informing the NEW Africa Leadership Program and advocacy
and public policy campaign include:
The Convention on African Union
The Beijing
the Elimination of Solemn
Platform for Action
all forms of Declaration on
(BPfA, 1995) and
Discrimination Gender Equality in
Dakar Platform for
against Women Africa (SDGEA,
Action (1994)
(CEDAW, 1979) 2004)
African Union African Union
UN Resolution
Gender Policy and Protocol on the
1325 on Women,
Action Plan (2009) Rights of Women
Peace and Security
& Maputo in Africa (ACHPR
(2000)
Declaration (2003) Protocol, 2003)
MPULE Institute
The MPULE Institute is a New York City-based advocacy and public policy think tank that champions
agriculture-led development, pro-poor inclusive green growth, gender equality and women’s
empowerment, and sustainable development pathways in Africa. We engage in participatory grassroots
research to understand development constraints firsthand at the village/district level, and collaborate with
international stakeholders to advocate for and implement dual bottom-up top-down multisectoral policies
and innovative approaches.
MPULE Foundation
Since 1999, the MPULE Foundation, our Botswana-based foundation,
has partnered with nearly 20 multi-stakeholders including the
Government of Botswana, the United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA), Harvard AIDS Institute, African Youth Alliance (AYA),
Botswana National Youth Council (BNYC), Bristol Myers Squibb’s
Secure the Future AIDS Foundation, Botswana Council of Churches
(BCC), Botswana Family Welfare Association (BOFWA), Botswana
Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (BONEPWA), Coping
Center of People Living with HIV/AIDS (COCEPWA), Youth Health
Organization (YOHO), the Botswana Council of Women (BCW), and
supported the Magic Johnson Foundation, Hale House, God’s Love
We Deliver and amFAR AIDS Research. The MPULE Foundation has
launched health and empowerment programs in 20 urban and rural
Above – Mpule receives the Jonathan areas across Botswana, and in 2001 was recognized with the Jonathan
Mann Human Health Rights Award in
Mann Human Health Rights Award by the International Association
Chicago, USA
of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC).

7. About Mpule K. Kwelagobe
Mpule Kwelagobe is the founder and CEO of the MPULE
Institute, and President of the Botswana-based MPULE
Foundation, which she founded in 1999 to address the
HIV/AIDS crisis in Botswana. She was selected as a Global
Leader for Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum in
2003, and again as a Young Global Leader (YGL) in 2006. She
is one of two people to ever receive the Freedom of the City Key
to Gaborone, Botswana (the first is former President, Sir
Ketumile Masire). She was also awarded Freedom of the City
Keys to Asuncion, Paraguay and Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad. In
2000, she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the
United Nations (UNFPA) for Youth and HIV/AIDS. She holds a
degree in International Political Economy (IPE) from Columbia
University in the City of New York. In 1999, Mpule Kwelagobe
Above – Mpule with Her Excellency
became the first African woman to win the Miss Universe
President Joyce Banda of Malawi
pageant.