Rosalind Kainyah MBE, founder and Managing Director of Kina Advisory, has been named one of the International Women’s Forum (IWF) 2021 Women Who Make a Difference (WWMD).
The award was presented on November 5, 2021 during IWF’s virtual 2021 World Leadership Conference and Gala. The WWMD award has been in existence since 1987 and celebrates the accomplishments and contributions that IWF members have made to their communities and the world.
Rosalind is a trusted and sought-after advisor on Sustainability to global companies working in emerging markets, particularly in Africa. In addition, she is an experienced Non-Executive Director on boards in diverse sectors including energy, technology, mining and education. A strong advocate for gender equality and parity, Rosalind is vocal about the potential of women.
Speaking after winning the award, Ms Kainyah said: “I am honoured to receive this incredible recognition from the IWF and grateful to my IWF Ghana sisters for nominating me. It encourages me to carry on motivating and encouraging my peers, women who are already in leadership, and the up-and-coming generation of leaders, particularly those on the African continent and in the African diaspora”.
“Countries will only realise the full potential of their human capital when everyone is equipped with the skills, resources and support they need. With the discussions currently taking place at COP 26, this is even more important as we focus globally on how to meet our current needs and to ensure that future generations can meet their own needs, all while doing what is right for our natural environment,” she added.
Ms. Kainyah has led and supported a number of education related initiatives including: the Tullow Oil Scholarship scheme, a £1.5 million a year scholarship scheme which ran for 4 years benefitting over 200 young people across Africa; Sabre Education, an early childhood education organisation working in close partnership with the Government of Ghana to deliver Sustainable Development Goal (SDG); and the African Gifted Foundation’s African Academy Science Academy, a sixth form science academy based in Accra, Ghana, that educates academically gifted young women with a passion for Maths and Science from across Africa on full scholarships.
Her work in promoting corporate social responsibility for the benefit of youth in Africa was recognised when she received an MBE from the Queen Elizabeth II in 2014.
More about Rosalind Kainyah
Rosalind Kainyah MBE, past Co-President and current member of IWF Ghana and a member of IWF UK, founded Kina Advisory Limited in 2013. The firm advises global companies on responsible business investment and partnerships in emerging markets. Rosalind is also an experienced nonexecutive director, chairing Sustainability, Nominations, Remuneration and Governance Board Committees.
She has almost 30 years of combined international, senior management, executive and board level experience, working with companies and organisations including Linklaters, Anglo American Corporation of South Africa, De Beers, Tullow Oil plc, and the United Nations Environment Programme, and on projects across Africa, in Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, Asia, and the South Pacific. She has recently been appointed to the Board of discoverIE group plc, effective 1 January 2022, and is currently a Non-Executive Director of London listed Gem Diamonds Limited and of CAL Bank Limited, Ghana.
In addition to her recent recognition as a 2021 Woman Who Makes a Difference by IWF and her MBE award in 2014, in 2019 Ms. Kainyah was selected as one of the top 50 leading female professionals by Cranfield University, UK, and in 2016 named by Forbes Afrique Magazine as one of the 100 influential women on the African continent. In 2008, Rosalind was selected as one of Britain’s most influential people of African and African Caribbean heritage by The Power List.
Ms. Kainyah holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Ghana, a Bachelor of Laws degree from University of London and a Master of Laws degree from University College, London. She is a member of the Bar of England and Wales and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
The IWF
The International Women’s Forum was established in New York City in 1974. Today the organisation is made up of over 7,500 pre-eminent women leaders in 33 countries and has 74 local forums. IWF is the only organisation of this scale that builds significant relationships between C-level women across countries and careers.
Its members include inventors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, Heads of State, academics, scientists, Olympic athletes, artists, financiers, philanthropists and more. The mission of the organisation is to advance women’s leadership and champion equality worldwide, shaping a future in which leadership has no gender and the next generation is inspired and equipped to transform the world.
