'Her Initiative', a Tanzanian non-profit organisation, is the 2023-2024 King Baudouin Foundation (KBF) Africa Prize laureate, and will be awarded the prize at the Royal Palace in the presence of the King on Thursday.
'Her Initiative' was created in 2016 to help girls and young women in Tanzania achieve financial and economic independence. With various initiatives, it has so far helped over 15,000 women and girls in Tanzania start or improve their businesses. The KBF prize will be officially awarded to 'Her Initiative' at 16:00 on Thursday during a ceremony at the Royal Palace, in the presence of King Philippe.
The KBF awards this prize biennially to an organisation created and led by Africans. It provides the laureate with €200,000 and visibility worldwide, to enable the organisation to foster potential partnerships. The objective is "to reward African organisations that contribute to transforming society and sustainably improving the lives of people in Africa," the foundation underlined.
'Her Initiative' CEO Lydia Charles Moyo grew up in Dar es Salaam in Eastern Tanzania. After experiencing her own difficulties at secondary school, she decided that she didn't want other young women to follow in her footsteps and give them a head start in life.
Limited resources and early dropouts
"Resources were very limited at school; there were no labs, no libraries, and no teachers. The environment was really discouraging," Moyo told The Brussels Times. "It was really unfair because there were many intelligent, young boys and girls, but they didn't make it because the environment was not conducive."
"Many girls also had to drop out during the four years because of poverty, teenage marriages and pregnancies," the CEO added. Over half of young women currently live in poverty in Tanzania; 40% of them face gender-based violence, and the same percentage face HIV infection.
In 2012, Moyo therefore decided to create the 'Teen girls' support initiative' with friends: a movement to vocalise girls' agency, self-esteem and confidence.
Lydia Charles Moyo and the 'Her Initiative' team in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Credit: KBF / Imani Nsamila
The first step was to train young girls and inspire them to be entrepreneurs by inviting female "role models" such as artists, lawyers, politicians and business owners.
In the same year, Moyo also launched her first programme, Panda ('planting' in Swahili) to enable young women to achieve financial freedom through generating income and creating jobs. Focusing on entrepreneurship, it provides users with a free platform to learn and reach out to experts. It is still running today and has allowed over 5,000 girls and young women to access skills and opportunities.
What started as a movement became a full-fledged organisation in July 2019, when Moyo quit her job and dedicate herself to 'Her Initiative' full time.
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This award marks a turning point in the organisation's history. "The KBF Africa prize means so much to us; it will scale our impact. This is an unprecedented prize for us," said first chairperson of 'Her Initiative', Anna Kulaya.
'Her Initiative' is the 22nd laureate of the KBF Africa Prize since it was created in 1980. Previous laureates of the prize include the Somalian organisation Elman Peace, the Nigerian organisation WeCyclers, and Congolese Dr Denis Mukwege.
