Inspiring Girls and Women to Achieve Their Potential Through Mentorships

Giving Compass' Take:

• Lerato Motsamai, from Johannesburg, launched Girlignite in 2014, a foundation that helps young women through mentorship by fostering skills in entrepreneurship and STEM education. 

• What is the relationship between mentoring and women empowerment? How can this be transformative for young people? 

• Read about why advancing our world begins with empowering women. 

Lerato Motsamai, from Johannesburg, has a passion for empowering women and girls in South Africa.

It was this passion that inspired her to launch Girlignite Africa in 2014, a foundation focused on helping young women and girls ignite their true potential through entrepreneurship, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

Motsamai told Global Citizen that she was motivated to keep going in her mission by a statistic from this year that showed that, among black African females aged 15-34, some 40% were not in education, employment, or training. She empowers women and girls by creating opportunities for them and urging them to make decisions to help improve their financial wellbeing. And, over the four years, she said she has been able to reach 3,300 girls and young women.

“Women empowerment is all about providing tools, skills, and resources that will enable women to access equal opportunities that will benefit them and their communities, socially, and economically," continued Motsamai. "It shouldn’t stop there though."

“Not only are they defining their position on the table of power and influence, but they are bringing a tangible shift to their economies,” she said. “This is the women empowerment we want and is most needed for Africa’s economy to thrive.”

A key programme offered through the Girlignite Centre is mentorship. While economic equality is a social problem that still needs to be resolved, Motsamai added that she believes that dynamic partnerships — such as mentorships — are critical to solving Africa’s complex challenges.

“I believe women’s success is based on their ability to connect with people from different walks of life, and their know-how of building relationship equity which then creates access to unlimited opportunity for all,” said Motsamai.