The women redefining power and profit in 2025

Sandra Aguebor, Nigeria’s first female mechanic, became a symbol of women’s power in a male-dominated space. She built a 32-year career and founded Sandex Car Care Garage. Her journey shows how women across Africa are reshaping industries once thought to be off-limits.

Still, the numbers tell a different story. In many sub-Saharan African countries, fewer than 30% of engineering graduates are women. In Nigeria, women make up only 22% of engineering and technology graduates and about 20% of workers in the ICT sector. Even among those who pursue STEM degrees, many leave the field early due to limited opportunities, gender bias, or lack of support.

The majority of the winners of Nigeria’s national maths quiz competitions are male. Most female participants, by contrast, had no public record of continuing in STEM. This makes it even more urgent to spotlight the women who are breaking barriers and building empires despite the odds.

Profiles of women building empires

Alexandra Miszewski (South Africa)

As co-founder and CEO of Altera Biosciences, Alexandra Miszewski closed a R29 million ( $1.6 million) pre-seed round in July 2025 to advance a universal donor cell platform that could transform organ transplants, diabetes, and cancer treatment. Backed by OneBio Venture Studio and E Squared Investments, Altera Biosciences bridges entrepreneurship and science. Miszewski leads the business strategy, while Professor Michael Pepper anchors research.

Nadya Yaremenko & Alberta Asafo-Asamoah (Ghana)

The co-founders of Liquify are reimagining trade finance for African exporters. In July 2025, they raised $1.5 million in seed funding to expand their digital platform. Since its beta launch in late 2024, the startup has processed over 150 transactions worth more than $4 million, helping small exporters access trade credit and liquidity.

Ameni Mansouri (Tunisia)

Founder of Dabchy, a circular fashion marketplace, Mansouri is driving sustainability while empowering women sellers in Tunisia and Egypt. In June 2025, Dabchy received support from the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment. Dabchy blends e-commerce with circular design to create an ecosystem of ethical consumption.

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela (South Africa)

Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela is a science-trained brewer and entrepreneur who founded Brewsters Academy, a skills-development initiative designed to train Black graduates—particularly women with STEM backgrounds—in brewing and fermentation science. Launched to address exclusion in South Africa’s beer industry, the academy blends technical training with cultural reclamation of African brewing traditions. In July 2025, her work gained international recognition after being spotlighted by AFROTECH, reinforcing her role in creating sustainable pathways for underrepresented groups within the country’s multi-billion-rand beer sector.

Faith Obafemi (Nigeria)

Founder of Fezzant, Faith Obafemi is reshaping cybersecurity through inclusion and accessibility. In 2025, she won a UNESCO–AWITAI grant to make cybersecurity tools more accessible to people with disabilities and those in low-connectivity regions. Her startup is developing inclusive cybersecurity tools that bridge accessibility and safety across Africa’s digital landscape.

The stories of Miszewski, Yaremenko, Asafo-Asamoah, Mansouri, Olawoye, Hotele, and Obafemi are connected by a shared struggle and a shared victory—building systems that were not built for them. Each is breaking ground in industries where women remain underrepresented.

These women are redefining what power and profit look like in Africa. Their ventures show that the future of African innovation depends on investing in the women already proving what’s possible.