The U.S. Chamber membership celebrates a female leader every month as part of the Women Taking the Lead (WTTL) program, and October focused on National Women’s Small Business. Rosa Whitaker, President, and CEO of the Whitaker Group and a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board, in a conversation with Allison Dembeck, Vice President of Education and Labor Advocacy, Government Affairs, U.S. Chamber of Commerce shares her experiences in light of the National Women’s Small Business.

Rosa Whitaker’s response to the question of what motivated her as the founder of the Whitaker Group to concentrate on business investment in Africa was that since she has spent a significant amount of time living and working in Africa over the years, she early on recognized the region’s potential as an emerging economic hub for global aggregate demand and growth. She continued by saying that she founded The Whitaker Group to enhance business solutions and foster wealth throughout Africa. She states that she and her colleagues at The Whitaker Group have outperformed their expectations by aiding in the acquisition of billions of dollars in private sector investments throughout Africa in methods that promoted sustainable economic development and environmental protection.

“We quickly became the partner of choice for global brands as the leading investment, corporate strategy, and project development firm specializing in Africa.” – Rosa Whitaker

Sharing her experience, Rosa Whitaker stated that over the past few years, The Whitaker Group’s focus has shifted from transaction consulting and project development for major firms to their direct investments in Africa. Particularly, the group owns and runs Dominion Television, a pan-African media, and television firm that transmits 24/7 in 47 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa on Africa’s largest satellite platform, DStv. Dominion Television has successfully become Africa’s most-watched Christian Lifestyle channel on satellite television as a result of the team’s combination of passion with profession. They have done this by positioning the station as the gateway to Africa’s enormous market of more than 640 million Christians, the continent’s largest affinity group. Beyond television, Dominion TV produces multimedia content and will soon enter the e-commerce space with products tailored to its expanding clientele.

Dominion TV’s Contribution in Support of Women Leaders

The content at Dominion TV focuses on women’s empowerment, health, finance, gender equity, and entrepreneurship. The organization’s leadership is predominately made up of women, which contributes to the culture of support for women. The Whitaker Group’s President and CEO stated that the organization will shortly announce its largest assistance for female entrepreneurs in the early months of 2023.

“We are so excited about an innovative impact fund that will largely support women-owned enterprises in Africa with capital infusions which will help to close what the World Economic Forum (WEF) projected as a $42 billion funding gap for women entrepreneurs in Africa” – President and CEO of The Whitaker Group

Why Commercial Engagement with Africa Is Important

She cites growth as one of the many reasons she believes U.S. small business owners should understand the significance of doing business with Africa. Africa, she says, now has a middle class of around 350 million people, which is starting to compete with China and India. In conclusion, she thinks there are simply too many opportunities for U.S. SMEs to grow in Africa’s diversified marketplaces. This is especially true given that the demand for goods and services continues to outstrip supply in practically every sector of the continent. She believes that President Biden’s US-Africa Economic Summit in December and its subsequent actions will result in ground-breaking U.S. innovations in investment and economic policy as well as U.S. corporate ties across Africa.

In her final statement, Rosa Whitaker offers the piece of advice that has stayed with her throughout her career. Her mother had advised her to be unstoppable and to dream big, and Theodore Roosevelt’s famous quotes “dare greatly” and “critic does not count” subsequently served to further reaffirm this counsel.

Visit @In Her Own Words: Rosa Whitaker, President, and CEO of the Whitaker Group | U.S. Chamber of Commerce (uschamber.com) to read the full article.
Dominion is on DStv channel 352 and GOtv channel 168.
Dominion TV, Africa’s Christian Lifestyle Network for Inspired and Empowered Living.