The SheSuite Africa Program by PAWEN (Pan-African Women’s Empowerment Network) is an annual initiative that provides a structured C-suite leadership and executive readiness pathway for ambitious African women. For many of them, the path to the C-suite is a deeply personal mission, the result of years of hard work, navigating complex workplaces, and often doing so without the right tools, networks, or spaces to grow into the leaders they are meant to be. SheSuite Africa exists precisely to change that, giving high-potential women across the continent the competence, confidence, and connections they need to step boldly into senior executive roles.
Photo: Some of the 2026 Participants
The 2026 cohort kicked off on 21st February, bringing together 18 women from across Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and South Africa, with some participants based internationally in the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. These are women already doing remarkable work, senior managers, CFOs, heads of units, country HR leaders, product leaders, and programme officers drawn from industries as varied as healthcare, banking, media, telecommunications, agriculture, legal, and technology. They came together virtually, united by one shared intention: to grow into the leaders Africa needs at its highest levels.
What drew them to SheSuite was not accidental. Some joined because they were ready to take ownership of their growth into senior leadership. Others had heard powerful testimonials from women who had passed through previous cohorts and wanted to experience the programme for themselves. The Pan-African nature of the faculty shaped several factors; seeing facilitators and speakers from their own countries and regions created an immediate sense of trust and belonging. And for many, the chance to learn alongside women from across the continent, to understand different leadership cultures, workplace realities, and career experiences, was itself a major draw.
Photo: Some of the 2026 Participants
In just over three months, participants have worked through ten masterclasses covering a wide and deliberately curated range of topics from Self-Awareness and Leadership Identity, Wellness and Leadership, and Women, Power, and Leadership, to Strategic Thinking for the CxO, Financial Acumen for C-suite Leaders, and Personal Brand and Reputation Management. The curriculum is intentional in its progression, moving from the inside out, beginning with who the woman is as a leader before expanding outward into strategy, finance, and enterprise leadership. The sessions that have resonated most deeply with participants are telling. Self-Awareness and Leadership Identity, Wellness and Leadership, and Influencing, Negotiating, and Leading Through High-Stakes Conversations stood out. Many participants came expecting a traditional leadership course. What they found instead was an immersive experience that challenged them to look inward, confront their blind spots, and reconnect with their own leadership identity.
One participant captured this beautifully when she reflected on the Johari Window concept covered in class. Rather than simply absorbing the lesson, she took it further, creating her own feedback form, building on the questions from class and adding her own, and sharing it with her colleagues. Another participant spoke about the impact of a thirty-minute one-on-one session with a facilitator during the Wellness and Leadership masterclass. In that single conversation, she was able to explore her wellness goals in depth and understand what had been standing in the way of achieving them. These are not small moments. They are the kinds of shifts that change how a woman shows up in the boardroom, in her team, and in her life.
The faculty and facilitators behind these moments are themselves a testament to the programme’s commitment to quality and relevance. This cohort has been guided by accomplished leaders, including Fiona Nuwamanya, Co-founder of the Africa Centre for Applied Digital Health; Unini Campbell, Chief Commercial Officer at BudPay; Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Board Member at The Alternative Bank; and Oluwaseyi Kehinde-Peters, Founder of PAWEN, among others. They are founders, board members, senior executives, and globally recognised professionals, many of them standing exactly where SheSuite participants aspire to be. Their presence in the classroom sends a powerful message: this is possible, and here is someone who has done it.
Early signs of impact are already visible. Ayedime Amadi, a Senior Manager at MTN South Africa and a participant in this cohort, was recently recognised as a Unique Contributor for 2025 at MTN. A woman already excelling, now further sharpened and strengthened by the programme’s investment in her growth.
SheSuite Africa fills a gap that few programmes on the continent address as deliberately. It is Pan-African in the truest sense. It goes beyond theory into deeply reflective, practical, and personal learning. And it creates a safe environment where women can be honest about where they are, ask the hard questions, and grow together. As the programme looks ahead, the vision is clear: to expand into more African countries, build stronger in-person country communities, grow a world-class network of facilitators and mentors, and continue deepening value for both current participants and alumni. The goal, simply put, is to reach more women, in more places, and help them lead boldly.
The women who will lead Africa’s boardrooms in the next decade are deciding today. Applications for the SheSuite Africa 2027 cohort open on December 1, 2026.
Join the waitlist here.