There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish – Michelle Obama
Bureau Veritas, a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification, is proud to announce the launch of its “BV Women in Africa Mentorship Program” a strategic collaborative partnership with TWAA, an innovative and disruptive global and professional networking, knowledge sharing and mentorship platform for women and girls. The platform provides women with digital tools to connect and find suitable mentors and mentees, share and access opportunities bolstering continuous progress and development.
Speaking at the launch of the program in Nairobi today, Marc Roussel, President of Government Services & International Trade & Senior Vice President for Africa commented:
“The Bureau Veritas Group operates in several countries across Africa. The organization has a very strong ethos on gender balance and women empowerment. As such many of our CSR initiatives focus on the support and development of women both inside and outside of the organization. The TWAA initiative is a unique way for our Group to engage women in supporting each other through a BV dedicated mentorship program. This platform creates a unique opportunity to invite many of the great women of BV to support other women within Africa. The digital tool is an incredible means to reach out to many women even if they are located remotely. This initiative will contribute positively to the social compact and development within the African continent and it is my fervent hope that other companies will come on board and support this program.”
Bureau Veritas’ objectives are to:
- Engage TWAA as a knowledge sharing and mentorship platform for women across Africa and in so doing drive positive growth and development of female leaders
- Promote women in the workplace that will add value and gravitas to the brand and its success
- Support women by working to decrease the digital gender divide by building and bringing a steady balance to communities and workplaces, further enhancing a sustainable future
- Support TWAA’s vision to help create a prosperous world that is inclusive of women and girls’ social, economic and cultural participation at all levels
As an innovative and forward thinking organization, Bureau Veritas is continuously advancing into the digital age, thereby sharing a common digital ethos with TWAA’s approach in which women are able to connect and support one another via a bundled myriad of connectivity tools making accessibility and communication seamless.
Speakers at the launch also included three women from Bureau Veritas in Nairobi: Ruth Njeri, Lynda Oyaro and Jacinta Gatwiri, who will all be actively participating on the platform as mentors to prospective mentees.
Irene Kiwia, Founder of TWAA commented:
“We are thrilled to partner with Bureau Veritas to promote TWAA across Africa and globally. This platform was built to help organizations with a strong women empowerment agenda such as Bureau Veritas accomplish their goals by providing a platform to engage, connect, mobilize and impact their women communities through mentorship, knowledge sharing and access to opportunities. TWAA provides a safe and private space with relevant digital tools for women to thrive and aims to bridge the gender digital divide which can be ramped up if organizations globally become the drivers of the platform.”
The program is already available in English, French and Swahili and in the future will be available in even more languages like Yoruba, isiZulu, Portuguese and Arabic.
Bureau Veritas enjoys a strong gender social awareness ethos, with the company launching the Ithemba Trust in South Africa in 2019, a women’s empowerment body involved in projects benefiting girls and young women in South Africa.