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Rising number of female CEO underscores business case for diversity
Despite the continued need for more women representation in male-dominated sectors, women are increasingly taking up leadership roles in Africa’s mining and construction sectors, with a growing number of female CEOs signaling a shift in organizational culture. This was the message from a panel of female mining industry executives at African Mining Week 2025, who emphasized that while legislation has assisted in opening doors, women are demonstrating that their leadership is based on merit, with mentorship highlighted as equally important to help more women rise through the ranks. Anjana Turner, Principal at U.S.-based business law firm Anjana Turner Law underscored the importance of building a sustainable talent pipeline. “We must create pathways for women to move into leadership roles. Women need to show up strong, not as followers, but as confident leaders who can contribute meaningfully at all levels of a company.” She added that greater female representation is needed at higher levels of executive decision-making and negotiation situations as it leads to more positive outcomes for businesses.
Emma Townshend, Executive for Corporate Affairs at leading South African producer of platinum group metals (PGMs) Impala Platinum and board member of Women in Platinum Group Metals reflected on her career in which we transitioned from a financial markets role into mining, saying she never felt her gender was a disadvantage. “I’ve been fortunate that my experiences and exposure meant being a female didn’t feel like an obstacle. South Africa is quite progressive in terms of women representation through legislation, which has provided a platform for greater female representation,” she said. Townshend also pointed out that gaining influence in the boardroom ultimately is not gender-specific but rather about knowing your subject and adding value. Lili Nupen, Co-Founder and Director of South Africa-based law firm NSDV Law, where 70% of the legal team are women, recalled the challenge of being the only woman – and often the youngest – in male-dominated boardrooms, where she was frequently perceived as an outsider. She pointed out that “once your expertise is heard by the room, perceptions change.”
“Our approach at NSDV Law is that if you can demonstrate your expertise, you should not let gender be a barrier,” she noted. She further explained that her firm’s flat structure encourages all team members to build their own brands, speak up in boardroom discussions, and participate fully in decision-making. Challenging stereotypes about women in leadership, Nupen acknowledged that women are often perceived as more emotional, while Townshend reframed this as a strength, noting that “there is a time and place for positive emotion in business – it’s a leadership skill. Women tend to be more introspective and aware of the impact of emotions, which can be healthy for organisational culture,” Townshend said. The panelists agreed that creating an environment where diversity is celebrated is a business imperative. With more women now holding CEO positions in mining and construction, the focus must be on building the future pipeline of female leaders. Townshend and Turned both emphasised mentorship as equally important to that of legislative compliance in ensuring that woman are included in leadership roles.
A new technology transfer agreement between the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership (NCSP) and the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer (PICTT) is expected to open more job opportunities, improve local skills, and expand access to advanced technology for ordinary Nigerians.
In a press statement reaching Vanguard on Friday, the MoU aims to strengthen industrial development, support local content, and create clearer pathways for Nigerians to benefit from China’s growing investments in the country.
PICTT Chairman, Dr Dahiru Mohammed, said the partnership will immediately begin coordinated programmes that support local participation in infrastructure and industrial projects.
Special Adviser to the President on Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr John Uwajumogu, said the deal will help attract high value investments that can stimulate job creation and strengthen Nigeria’s economy.
NCSP Head of International Relations, Ms Judy Melifonwu, highlighted that Nigerians stand to gain from expanded STEM scholarships, technical training, access to modern technology, and collaboration across key sectors including steel, agriculture, automobile parks, and cultural industries.
The NCSP Director-General reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to measurable results, noting that the partnership with PICTT will prioritise initiatives that deliver direct national impact.
The MoU signals a new phase of Nigeria–China cooperation focused on practical delivery, local content, and opportunities that improve everyday livelihoods.
EU regulators launched an antitrust investigation into Meta Platforms on Thursday over its rollout of artificial intelligence features in its WhatsApp messenger that would block rivals, hardening Europe’s already tough stance on Big Tech. The move, reported earlier by Reuters and the Financial Times, is the latest action by European Union regulators against large technology firms such as Amazon and Alphabet’s Google as the bloc seeks to balance support for the sector with efforts to curb its expanding influence.
Europe’s tough stance – a marked contrast to more lenient U.S. regulation – has sparked an industry pushback, particularly by U.S. tech titans, and led to criticism from the administration of U. S. President Donald Trump. The European Commission said that the investigation will look into Meta’s new policy that would limit other AI providers’ access to WhatsApp, a potential boost for its own Meta AI system integrated into the platform earlier this year.
EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move was to prevent dominant firms from “abusing their power to crowd out innovative competitors”. She added interim measures could be imposed to block Meta’s new WhatsApp AI policy rollout. “AI markets are booming in Europe and beyond,” she said. This is why we are investigating if Meta’s new policy might be illegal under competition rules, and whether we should act quickly to prevent any possible irreparable harm to competition in the AI space.”
A WhatsApp spokesperson called the claims “baseless”, adding that the emergence of chatbots on its platforms had put a “strain on our systems that they were not designed to support”, a reference to AI systems from other providers. “Still, the AI space is highly competitive and people have access to the services of their choice in any number of ways, including app stores, search engines, email services, partnership integrations, and operating systems.” The EU was the first in the world to establish a comprehensive legal framework for AI, setting out guardrails for AI systems and rules for certain high-risk applications in the AI Act.
Meta AI, a chatbot and virtual assistant, has been built into WhatsApp’s interface across European markets since March. The Commission said a new policy fully applicable from January 15, 2026, may block competing AI providers from reaching customers via the platform. Ribera said the probe came on the back of complaints from small AI developers about the WhatsApp policy. The Interaction Company of California, which has developed AI assistant Poke.com, has taken its grievance to the EU competition enforcer. Spanish AI startup Luzia has also talked to the Commission, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Marvin von Hagen, co-founder and CEO of The Interaction Company of California, said if Meta was allowed to roll out its new policy, “millions of European consumers will be deprived of the possibility of enjoying new and innovative AI assistants”. Meta also risks a fine of as much as 10% of its global annual turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules.
Italy’s antitrust watchdog opened a parallel investigation in July into allegations that Meta leveraged its market power by integrating an AI tool into WhatsApp, expanding the probe in November to examine whether Meta further abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from the messaging platform. The antitrust probe is a more traditional means of investigation than the EU’s Digital Markets Act, the bloc’s landmark legislation currently used to scrutinize Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud services for potential curbs. Reuters
The spouses and children of billionaires inherited more wealth in 2025 than in any previous year since reporting began in 2015, according to UBS’s Billionaire Ambitions Report published on Thursday. In the 12 months to April, 91 people became billionaires through inheritance, collectively receiving $298 billion, up more than a third from 2024, the Swiss bank said. “These heirs are proof of a multi-year wealth transfer that’s intensifying,” UBS executive Benjamin Cavalli said.
The report is based on a survey of some of UBS’s super-rich clients and a database that tracks the wealth of billionaires across 47 markets in all world regions. At least $5.9 trillion will be inherited by billionaire children over the next 15 years, the bank calculates.
Most of this inheritance growth is set to take place in the United States, with India, France, Germany and Switzerland next on the list, UBS estimated. However, billionaires are highly mobile, especially younger ones, which could change that picture, it added. The search for a better quality of life, geopolitical concerns and tax considerations are driving decisions to relocate, according to the report.
In Switzerland, where $206 billion will be inherited over the next 15 years according to the bank, voters on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected 50 per cent tax on inherited fortunes of $62 million or more, after critics said it could trigger an exodus of wealthy people.
Switzerland, the UAE, the U.S. and Singapore are among billionaires’ preferred destinations, UBS’s Cavalli said. “In Switzerland, Sunday’s vote may have helped to increase the country’s appeal again,” he said. Reuters
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