Last week I shared a story about a young African mother long ago who hadn’t yet finished high school, had to flee her homeland due to conflict, but who still managed to prosper as a local entrepreneur with her family in a new land, because of her great personal grit, savvy, and solution-seeking #mindset. [I know this could also be the story of some of you].

Today looking forward, although her story was of success against many odds, I want to remind you of the importance to our continent to ensure we EDUCATE ALL OUR GIRLS as well as our boys.

Not everyone is as remarkable as my mother, in succeeding so well with limited formal education, although African women never cease to amaze me, and are our most resilient continent builders. Let us all do what we can to help empower them to greater heights, starting as young as possible.

In the past few weeks, I’ve told you that any entrepreneur worth his or HER salt MUST know how to read and understand financial statements. To ensure this is possible, our young learners must first get a good grasp of basic maths, starting early, whether a boy child or a girl child.

You all know I have five daughters, and to be honest, it is completely beyond me how anyone in the modern day could need to be made aware of the critical importance of quality girls’ education, not just across Africa but globally.

It’s mind-boggling. Even before COVID hit, more than 132 million school-age girls globally were out of school because of poverty, child labor, war, exploitation, lack of school infrastructure, early marriage and/or pregnancy, cultural issues, lack of access to sanitary products, and a prevalent attitude in some communities that “education for boys is more important” than for girls. Can you imagine?

Now you know we don’t focus on problems on this platform: We #SeekSolutions. So today I wanted to share one way we’re tackling this challenge at home: Econet Wireless is supporting an 18-month initiative across Zimbabwe called the “Girls’ Education Awareness Program” [GEAP].

This project is being launched in partnership with the Global Partnership for Education [GPE] and other public and private partners in Zimbabwe and around the world. GPE will also launch similar programs in Kenya and Ghana. One of my daughters will be helping to lead the initiative in Zimbabwe.

__The message we want to share is simple: Our young girls must be allowed, encouraged, and inspired to go to school and to stay in school! They should have equal opportunities to learn and prosper. ALL our girls, all the time. Okay? Girls need to have the same opportunities to learn as boys.

There should be no excuse whatsoever.

While most of you already know about the digital educational initiatives we’ve launched over the years like Muzinda Hub, Simba Education, Ruzivo Digital Learning and 21C Skills (https://21cskills.africa/) and others through the Higherlife Foundation, this new project focuses specifically on girls’ education.

We need to start working on this urgently NOW, with new #Innovations and #Mindset, whether our schools have reopened again or not. [Already there are signs of a higher dropout rate with kids just not returning to classes once the doors have opened again].

__Urgent challenges like this require many of us to be part of the #Solution bringing together our different resources.

I know some of you have seen the op-ed article I recently wrote with GPE’s CEO, Alice Albright, in the April/May edition of “New Africa” Magazine which talks about the importance of public and private investment in quality and inclusive education, especially now as we try to get our economies moving again. Here’s the link: https://issuu.com/icpublications4/docs/na0421_lr

Without a doubt, investment in education is one of the most important ways to grow prosperity in our families, nations, and across the continent.

Are girls in your communities in school? If not, why not?

Lots of interested people from around the world will be reading your comments this week. Please help them understand the education situation where you live, and share any ideas you may have.

Let’s talk.