Awamary Khan explains her vision for Gambia

WE ARE HERE TO CHANGE THE NARRATIVE, Awamary Khan explains her vision for Gambia

The female sex in the current gender equality paradigm has suffered immensely as a result of the social stereotypes and prejudices used to keep women down in society, especially in Africa. But the narratives are fast changing as a lot of women are working tirelessly to empower and transform women and girls in society, using their skills, education and substance to make that change. One such person is Awamary Khan, a Gambian entrepreneur, influencer, and thought leader, who spoke to Elegance magazine as its ‘Lady of the Month’ in this exclusive interview.

Elegance Magazine: Mrs Awamary Khan, what’s your profession and what are you engaged in right now?
AK: I am the Founder and CEO of The Woman Boss and Innovate Gambia. These are initiatives created to help revitalize economic development in The Gambia, and to be a catalyst for innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership for women and girls. I am also the CEO of AKHAN, Inc., a management consultant company, with clients in the US, Spain, and The Gambia. I have over 20 years’ experience working in the United States as an Executive in the nonprofit, management, and innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem.

EM: What can you share about your projects which include the Naissance, birth of Innovate Gambia and The Woman Boss?
AK: Innovate Gambia was created to foster and elevate economic development in The Gambia. It started with the notion of rebuilding and revitalizing the country, by increasing innovation, digital transformation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development. We are committed to making The Gambia’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem one of the top in the region. To help with the redevelopment and accelerate innovation in The Gambia, we are focused on four initiatives as a means of achieving results and creating greater economic opportunity; The Woman Boss – a women’s centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Digitalize Gambia – to leverage and adapt cloud, data, and collaborative technologies, The Disruptive Lab – A tech hub, co-working, and workforce development space, and The Gambia’s Community Innovation Fund – a loan fund to provide access to capital for entrepreneurs.

EM: What inspired you to create your projects, business and organization?
AK: In the United States, I helped build centres for innovation and entrepreneurship. I am a community influencer and worked to help in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. I served and chaired numerous Boards of Directors; from economic development, innovation, to education. Living in the community of Raleigh/Durham for almost 22 years meant finding ways to give back to a community that did so much for me. All this triggered my thoughts of doing the same for my little Gambia; a place I call home, a place that opened my eyes to dream big dreams, to one day come back and build something for my community. The Woman Boss involves my very favorite passion; girls and women. It is a nonprofit organization with its mission to connect, inspire and support women and girls, by promoting innovation and entrepreneurial learning, leadership skills, and being a catalyst for creative action. We aim to provide an ecosystem of support for women that will foster intellectual capital and allow entrepreneurs to leverage different learning platforms.

EM: Who are your target group and why are you focusing on them?
AK: My target group is girls and women of all ages. The centre will serve any girl or woman; entrepreneur or not. We will serve as a resource for women in the community. I am however, very passionate about girls and leadership. I believe that providing access to leadership skills for young girls should start early. My goal is to foster a generation of girl leaders by promoting success, education, self-advocacy, and self-worth. I don’t want our daughters to have the same persistent gender inequalities that our generation and before suffered. We are here to change the narrative. We will be hosting our first leadership series for 200 women and girls – Women in Leadership Retreat: Lifting the Next Generation, and Girls in Leadership: Mothers + Daughters Brunch – on March 2nd and March 9th respectively.

EM: The business might seem young, but you’ve done quite a lot. How are you going to make it be embraced in a new environment like The Gambia?
AK: When I thought of the idea of Innovate Gambia in 2017, I brought the idea to my husband. We brainstormed further to create value-added initiatives. Lots of research was done not only about The Gambia, but the overall continent of Africa. That sealed my promise that I was doing the right thing. We first launched Innovate Gambia in November 2017 from the United States. All the work was pretty much done remotely. We reached out to community influencers; some we never met. They were all very excited and supportive. We have been very fortunate to have a good support system in The Gambia. This made the sacrifice of leaving my comfort, my 9 to 5 corporate job, easier. I knew I had to pivot and take that leap of faith to follow my promise. Launching The Woman Boss a year later is astonishing. Unfortunately, all has been self-funded. I wanted to start small with a cohort of only 20 women to go through a rigorous curriculum built specifically for entrepreneurs. Aside from the curriculum, we are also providing application software to help ease their entrepreneurial journey. In addition, we will be opening The Gambia’s first Tech Hub this year; to bring programs for youth to help with the migration crisis.

EM: What advice do you have for aspiring young girls who are trying to find their feet on the ground?
AK: My advice for young girls is to stay educated. Education transforms communities. Education is the new sexy! Education doesn’t only mean school; it means acquiring skills and knowledge to understand your power and that of your community. Never stop your hustle; this generation does not like asking for help. Please leave egos behind and ask! Support your sisters a bit extra just so we can have an equal playing field. Be each other’s sisters’ keeper. Continue to dream, never let anyone take away your POWER! Control your narrative. Follow your dreams and always be confident.
EM: What are the challenges you face right now and are foreseeing?
AK: When I decided it was time to give back to my community, my people, to create value and impact, I knew there would be challenges. Aside from funding, acceptance has been a challenge. I must constantly prove and remind people that I am Gambian. Cultural norms have rocked me a bit. Ways of doing business and the laid-back environment, coming from a very fast paced and structured environment makes it a bit tough. All these challenges, however, I see as opportunities. We embrace the unknown to benefit The Woman Boss, by forcing us to adapt and reevaluate our strategies.
EM: You have just launched The Woman Boss in the Gambia. How is it going? Was it launched in the USA prior to your relocation to the Gambia? What is the nuance and or difference between the two settings?
AK: I launched The Woman Boss November 2018. It has been going well, exceptionally busy. We hired a couple of staff to help run the centre when we opened in March. The centre will be open to all women, a space they can curate, engage, learn, collaborate, and grow their ideas and ventures. We are also working with women in other parts of the continent, to push The Woman Boss regionally.

EM: Are you open to collaborating with other CBOs, NGOs, corporate companies and institutions or individuals that may want to support your initiatives?
AK: We are looking for influencers who want to collaborate to bring resources for the community. We want partners to be change agents that challenge the status quo. We are collaborating with community influencers for The Woman Boss’ leadership series, impacting 200 women and girls during the time of International Women’s Day. Through collaboration, we provide more solutions and leverage human capital. It would be impeccable to have a low interest loan fund with set perimeters, to nurture entrepreneurs and boost economic development.

EM: You’re chosen as a Lady of the Month due to your influence, your drive, your motivation and your confidence in believing in the impact your work will do for the women of The Gambia. How do you feel about that?
Any future plans? projects?
AK: I feel absolutely honoured to be chosen as lady of the month. I do what I love to do because it’s my passion and my promise. To get recognition for something I love to do is truly humbling. I love helping people and having an impact in the communities I live in. My goal is to continue doing what I love, especially mentoring and sponsoring young girls to continue to change the narrative, disrupt the norm, and challenge the status quo. I want to foster a supportive environment for all people.

EM: Please, are you together with your family?
AK: I am a mother of 3; ages 15, 11, and 9. I am a wife and life partner to my better half, my king, Malik Khan. I am an Entrepreneur, an Influencer, a Disruptor, a Speaker, a Thought Leader, and a Woman Boss.

======================================================================================================================================
Quote:
“My goal is to foster a generation of girl leaders by promoting success, education, self-advocacy, and self-worth.”

“I do what I love to do because it’s my passion and my promise. I love helping people and having an impact in the communities I live in.”

“My advice for young girls is to stay educated. Education transforms communities. Education is the new sexy! Education doesn’t only mean school; it means acquiring skills and knowledge to understand your power and that of your community.”