Mentorship, Education and Economic Opportunity for Women and Girls Across Africa
“What does it take for mentorship and education to translate into real economic opportunity for women and girls?”
In Episode 236 of the Unlocking Africa Podcast, Linda Latsko Lockhart, Founder and CEO of Global Give Back Circle, joins host Terser Adamu to discuss nearly two decades of experience supporting women and girls through mentorship, education, skills development and pathways to dignified work.
Since 2006, Global Give Back Circle has supported more than 6,000 girls through tertiary education and engaged more than 4,000 mentors, with programs across Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana. Mentorship and giving back are at the heart of the Global Give Back Circle model, connecting girls and young women with mentors who provide guidance, encouragement, exposure and access to networks as they navigate education, employment, entrepreneurship and leadership.
In the conversation, Linda shares lessons from Global Give Back Circle’s work, including HER Lab, its skilling and economic empowerment program for marginalized young women in rural Kenya, currently being scaled in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. She explores why skills training alone is not enough and why mentorship, access to finance, markets, networks and supportive communities are critical to helping young women translate skills into sustainable livelihoods.
The discussion also explores entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic independence for rural women, changing perceptions of women entering traditionally male-dominated sectors, and what emerging technologies such as AI could mean for young women who remain excluded from many economic opportunities.
Listen to Episode 236: What Happens When Rural African Women Gain Access to Mentorship, Education and Economic Opportunity? — with Linda Latsko Lockhart