WiM Africa is part of Women in Marketing (WiM) CIC. A global network of senior managers and c-suite professionals created to educate, inspire, connect and recognise women in the marketing and associated professions through the cycle of their lives. WiM takes a holistic approach to the education and wellbeing of women through collaborations and partnerships with organisations that complement their work.
Like WiM Global, WiM Africa aspires to bring together female professionals (and their male advocates) in the marketing, communications, advertising and other creative fields across the continent to connect, network, share ideas, experiences best practice and celebrate each others achievements. Forging the way for the next generation of female marketers breaking through.
WiM CIC was created in 2004 out of a need for women in the marketing, advertising and communications professions to be recognised, celebrated and empowered to fulfil their potential. The first WiM event coincided with International Women?s Day on Work-Life Balance. Since then, the annual WiM events have grown and tackled topics such as ethical marketing, the creatives, branding and diversity in marketing, with the purpose of provoking discussion and inspiring women across the sectors and the wider business community.
The popularity of the events led to the introduction of the first WiM Awards in 2010. Past award winners have included senior executives from Burberry, Google, Facebook, Hearst UK, Havas, Diageo and Ogilvy & Mather UK. Over the years, WiM has enjoyed the support of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Marketing Academy and sponsor organisations such as ITV, Mondelez, Vodafone, Havas Worldwide and HP.
WiM now serves a global network of influential individuals.
Founder - WiM Africa / Director and Head of Africa - WiM Global
Founder - WiM Africa / Director and Head of Africa - WiM Global
Andrea Djan-Krofa is a founding member, Director and Head of Africa for Women in Marketing (WiM) CIC. She launched and now leads Women in Marketing Africa - the regional hub of the award-winning global network. Through strategic partnerships, thought leadership, and curated programming, she is building a powerful pan-African platform that connects, inspires, and elevates women (and male allies) across marketing, advertising, and communications. Under her leadership, WiM Africa has collaborated with leading organisations including Unilever, Google, Kantar, the Unstereotype Alliance, and International Advertising Association (IAA) Africa.
Andrea is a senior marketing and brand strategist with over 20 years of experience leading purpose-driven marketing initiatives across global brands, start-ups, and social enterprises. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, storytelling, and inclusion - guided by a deep commitment to gender equity, entrepreneurship, and the positive repositioning of Africa on the global stage.
Her professional journey began in multimedia publishing in Paris and evolved through real estate in Washington D.C., eventually leading to her own successful marketing consultancy. Andrea later held senior marketing and brand roles at FTSE 100 companies including Anglo American, Microsoft, Informa, and Marks & Spencer. She brings cross-sector insight, having worked across industries such as mining, healthcare, technology, food retail, fashion, education, and outdoor adventure.
A speaker, consultant, business mentor, and guest lecturer, Andrea is passionate about shaping Africa’s next generation of marketing leaders and helping organisations build inclusive, culturally intelligent, and strategically grounded brands.
WiM Global Founder and CEO
WiM Global Founder and CEO
After a successful career in modelling and luxury retail, Ade became a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and joined the London board, as a volunteer. She became Chair of CIMCOM, the CIM marketing communications forum, liaising with professional bodies from advertising, PR and design and held this post for six years.
During this time, Ade recognised the need to establish a Women in Marketing (WiM) forum to inspire, connect, encourage and celebrate the achievements of female marketers. She launched the first WiM event in March 2004 to coincide with International Women’s Day.
Since the launch of this first event, Ade has gone onto create the WiM Awards in 2010 and is now the CEO of the newly established Women in Marketing Community Interest Company. She is passionate about challenging the gender norms and is an advocate of the global economic empowerment of women.
ADVISOR - Seasoned MarComms & Growth Executive
ADVISOR - Seasoned MarComms & Growth Executive
Taweni Gondwe Xaba is a seasoned MarComms and growth executive with three decades of leadership experience across South Africa and Malawi. She has held senior roles including Managing Director at The Hardy Boys, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Mary’s Meals International, and Chief Growth Officer at the Durban Chamber of Commerce.
Recognised for her expertise in strategic partnerships, content development, editorial direction, and communication strategy, she has successfully led high-performing teams and driven growth for global and regional organisations. Beyond the boardroom, Taweni has been a prominent voice on culture and public discourse through her work as a newspaper columnist, magazine editor, and television presenter.
She has served on numerous boards, is multilingual, and has received several international awards for leadership and communication.
ADVISOR - Chief Marketing Officer, Aya Data
ADVISOR - Chief Marketing Officer, Aya Data
Gillian is a seasoned marketing executive with almost 30 years’ experience across Ghana and Canada. As Chief Marketing Officer at Aya Data, she leverages her extensive background in strategic planning, brand management, and digital innovation to drive the company’s AI solutions and market presence.
Prior to joining Aya Data, Gillian served as Group Chief Marketing Officer at Databank Financial Services for 10 years, where she led a team of 130+ professionals across 20 locations. Passionate about making an impact and creating positive change, she chairs the Education and Research working group of the World Bank-funded Capital Markets Master Plan and contributes to the Ghana Securities Industry Association’s Education and Training Committee.
Gillian’s international journey includes a notable 15-year tenure at Invesco Canada, showcasing her expertise in crafting award-winning marketing campaigns. A sought-after speaker on investing, leadership, and strategy, she also imparts knowledge as a guest lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School and an adjunct faculty member at NIBS University in Ghana.
Gillian holds a PhD in Business Administration from NIBS University and is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Leadership and Governance (FCILG). Recognized as one of Ghana’s 50 most influential CMOs in 2019, Gillian’s journey exemplifies her unwavering commitment to leadership, strategy and continuous learning, making her a valuable partner in helping to drive Aya Data’s mission of transforming businesses through AI innovation.
ADVISOR - CEO, Mullen Lowe Accra / VP Africa Development, IAA
ADVISOR - CEO, Mullen Lowe Accra / VP Africa Development, IAA
Norkor Duah is the CEO of Mullen Lowe Accra an integrated communications company affiliated to Lowe Worldwide and Partners and has almost thirty years’ experience in Ghana’s Creative, Advertising, Marketing and Management Sector.
Norkor is also Vice President of Development - Africa for the International Advertising Association and a past President of Advertising Association of Ghana.
She has worked assiduously in various capacities on numerous councils, including the Council of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and is currently on the Brand Ghana Council.
Norkor sits on a number of Corporate Boards including Adesa Productions Limited and National Conservation Research Centre.
Norkor is a graduate of Watford College in the UK.
ADVISOR - Global Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Manager, Kantar
ADVISOR - Global Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Manager, Kantar
Andrews helped launch the Women in Marketing Africa community at the Loeries Awards a year after her inclusion as the only South African finalist in Women in Marketing's 2017 rising star industry journalism awards. She has served as chairperson for Kantar’s Transformation and Sustainability Forum in South Africa, as well as Global Comms and Engagement Lead for the Women at Kantar ERG (Employee Resource Group) and MEA regional representative for the CREW (Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Work) ERG. In her current role as I&D Manager she has oversight of 12 global ERG Leads as well as I&D comms initiatives across almost 25,000 colleagues. She started the #FairnessFirst column to highlight the true state of inclusion and diversity on the continent in her previous role as Editor in Chief of Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity, the largest B2B news portal in Africa. Her ‘jury duty’ for the marketing industry has been extensive, ranging from the IAB (SA)'s #Bookmarks2020 Publisher panel and judging over 500 entries for that year’s Epica Awards – to the inaugural Marketer of the Year (MOTY) for the 2019 Marketing Achievement Awards (MAA) as well as serving as an #Inspiring50 nominee and Involve HERoes Future Leader Role Model in 2022.
ADVISOR - Global Lead, Creative Solutions
ADVISOR - Global Lead, Creative Solutions
Cynthia is performance-driven brand consultant with over 20 years of global experience in marketing communications, experiential event strategy, and brand development. Her expertise lies in maximising the impact of marketing campaigns, translating insights into innovations, and identifying commercial growth opportunities.
She has led significant initiatives across the creative, telecoms, and oil & gas sectors, including developing customer value propositions for emerging technologies, managing global event sponsorships, and overseeing company rebrands. Known for her excellent relationship management and strategic thinking, Cynthia has successfully secured and managed major partnerships with brands such as Sony, Nissan, the BBC, and Samsung. Her leadership and creative ambition are reflected in numerous awards, including her recognition in the 2023 Empower Top 100 Future Leaders list.
WiM Africa Advisor - Consumer & Market Insights Director Africa, Unilever
WiM Africa Advisor - Consumer & Market Insights Director Africa, Unilever
Deeply passionate about people, Stacey Grant leads the Africa Insights Team and is a member of both the Unilever South Africa leadership team, as well as the Unilever Africa Leadership Team. In this role, she is ultimately responsible for showing the business where and how to win – through converting data into insights that inform solutions to the unmet needs of consumers across the continent. A strong believer in African creativity and solutions, Stacey has led her team to a number of major Global Unilever honors, including awards for Innovation and Communications excellence. Her biggest passion is centered on building sustainable businesses and Stacey believes that this is one of the key elements in unlocking the potential of the African continent.
In over 13 years of Unilever experience, Stacey has continuously leveraged her ability to empathise and advocate for the needs of the consumer, and combined it with her technical expertise to lead for innovation. This has included provocative research into gender narratives, as well as understanding the evolution of female identity in Africa. Insights from this work have directly fed into the powerful creative executions and purposeful brand messages which have seen Unilever rise as an industry thought leader and society shaper in areas like gender stereotyping and racial equality.
As a working parent with a busy household, 2 energetic sons, a couple of pooches, and a demanding job, Stacey is fiercely passionate about helping people advance in both their careers & personal lives.
WiM Africa Advisor - Senior Director: Marketing, Digital & Creative EMEA Pay TV & Global Brands Discovery
WiM Africa Advisor - Senior Director: Marketing, Digital & Creative EMEA Pay TV & Global Brands Discovery
The chance to run all things brand for the world's biggest real-life entertainment company saw Henry move to Dubai in late 2017 to join Discovery's Middle East and Africa team. With 64 markets and 30+ channels, including Food Network, TLC, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and Fatafeat (the Middle East's biggest Arabic food channel), he's become very familiar with the phrase Inshallah. Before that, he was London-based as Head of Marketing at Global, one of the UK's largest media and entertainment groups with over 24 million weekly listeners across its radio portfolio that includes Heart, Capital FM, LBC and Classic FM. Before marketing was a twinkle in his eye, Henry completed a PhD in American foreign policy at UCL in London.