Spark TV champions female empowerment

On Monday, Spark TV (NTV’s sister station) in partnership with GIZ announced the introduction of a TV reality show spun off a female mentorship program dubbed “My World”. My World is a mentorship program that attaches young female graduates to successful, professionally savvy, and highly qualified Ugandan women with different professional backgrounds drawn from Uganda’s corporate world.

The TV show was launched at a cocktail at the Kampala Serena Hotel and was attended by a number of high powered Kampala women drawn from a number of professions; media and broadcasting, legal, civil society, banking and finance, to mention but a few. The chief guest at the event was the Inspector General of Government, Ms. Irene Mulyagonja.

The My World mentorship program was introduced in 2016 by GIZ after realizing that the Ugandan market boasts of a good number of well qualified female graduates and there is a need to empower them by giving them guidance in developing their career path and advice on how to achieve both their career ambitions and personal plans (e.g. family).

The other partners of the program are Spark TV, Uganda Institute of Banking and Financial Services, New Faces New Voices and Mountains of the Moon University.

In her opening remarks, Aggie Asiimwe Konde, Managing Director of NTV and one of the mentors attributed her success and achievements to receiving guidance from individuals who had mentored her. “Mentorship is about sharing experiences, passing on knowledge and guidance to your mentees. It’s our role as women to empower and bring out the best in one another which will as a result increase productivity in the work place, “she said. She added that through the TV reality show that will air on Spark TV every Sunday, the mentorship program would reach even more young women than the 24 who are currently undergoing the mentorship journey.

“Despite living in the 21^st century, today’s woman still faces a number of bottle necks in the work place. These include disparity in equal pay (in comparison to male counterparts), harassment, limited advanced career opportunities, difficulty in maintaining a work life balance and having children while building a career. This program is here to help address those challenges by allowing young women the opportunity to learn from those that have been through it and can share their life lessons and experience, “Ms. Annette Boliba Juma from GIZ added.

In a panel discussion, the mentors gave the young women in attendance tips on how to make it in a male dominated world, how to achieve a work-life balance and the importance of constant self-evaluation to be able to achieve their dreams. Ms. Mulyagonja narrated her experience as a female lawyer in a male dominated profession and noted that with focus and determination, it is possible for a woman to rise up the ranks and achieve success in the work place.

The 13 mentors who have been selected to mentor the 24 young women in the My World program have attained success and are at the top of their careers. They are;

• Aggie Asiimwe Konde, Managing Director of NTV.
• Ruth Sebatindira, President of Uganda Law Society and founding partner of Ligomarc Associates.
• Christine Semambo Sempebwa, Executive Director of Forum for African Women Educationalists Uganda (FAWEU).
• Beatrice Kakembo, Director of Inspirations Centre Uganda
• Florence Mawejje, Head of Human Resources at Centenary Bank
• Veronicah Gladys Namagembe, Managing Director of Pride Microfinance Uganda
• Rose Kwatampora, Acting Head of Department at Uganda Management Institute (UMI)
• Christine Kawooya, CEO of Uganda Women Entrepreneurs Association Limited
• Beatrice Lugalambi, General Manager- Business Development and Marketing at Centenary Bank.
• Christine B. Alupo, Communications Director at Bank of Uganda
• Dorothy Tuma, Director of DMT Consultants
• Annette Wabunoha Kihuguru, Executive Director/ Head of Domestic bank of Ecobank Uganda
• Pamela Reynell, Managing Director, Consultea.

Spark TV has developed a weekly reality TV show out of this program in partnership with GIZ. The 1 hour recap will give the viewers an opportunity to experience the journey of the mentors and mentees and enable them pick up some lessons and guidance as well.