On Tuesday 25 September 2018, on the sides of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Melinda Gates handed over the co-chairmanship of an all women led philanthropy group, Maverick Collective, to South African businesswoman and philanthropist, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe at a special gathering in New York City (NYC).
“It makes me optimistic to think about all that this extraordinary group of women will accomplish while moving forward together. I look forward to watching Precious harness the potential of Maverick Collective and bring it to more women in more places,” says Melinda Gates.
The female-led philanthropy organisation was founded five years ago by Her Royal Highness (HRH) the Crown Princess of Norway and PSI’s Senior Vice-President Kate Roberts, inspired by Melinda Gates, to uncover health solutions for women and girls globally. The initiative currently has 25 female philanthropists investing in various projects. Melinda Gates has co-chaired the group together with HRH the Crown Princess of Norway, and with PSIs Kate Roberts as CEO, since the collective was founded.
Maverick Collective is a community of strategic philanthropists and informed advocates who use their intellectual and financial resources to end extreme poverty by investing in girls and women.
To date, Maverick Collective has identified unique health solutions for 1 million women and girls across 15 countries and leveraged over USD$70m in funding. Investments have been made in multiple health areas. Maverick Collective’s Cervical Cancer project in India, aimed at detecting cervical cancer amongst low-income women with minimal resources, has been extended across the state to reach 24 million women.
Efforts in Tanzania, aimed at adolescent access to contraception, has now been scaled across Tanzania, Ethiopia and Nigeria. Maverick Collective has also implemented a bi-directional data collection tool, in Zimbabwe, designed to gather better data and push relevant information to Community Health Workers to improve the quality of service. The pilot went live in April 2017 and has already received a commitment from the Ministry of Health to scale it across the country.
As co-chair, Dr. Moloi-Motsepe represents the next phase of growth for Maverick Collective to internationalise and engage with locally led innovators and philanthropists on the continent. Dr. Moloi-Motsepe is a female philanthropist from Africa who will enhance the way philanthropy is executed globally, and particularly in Africa. In South Africa, Dr Moloi-Motsepe, through the Women’s Unit of the Motsepe Foundation, has focused on education with aspects on health as a tool to help build women’s agency and to empower them with knowledge.
“I believe that strategic investment in women and girls will ensure that we address the most pressing issues that face women today. Addressing women’s issues is part of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the impact made by Maverick Collective will extend toward closing identified gender parity gaps,” says Dr. Moloi-Motsepe about her new position.
About Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe:
A successful South African businesswoman and philanthropist, Dr. Moloi-Motsepe trained as a medical doctor at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is the Co-Founder and deputy chairman of The Motsepe Foundation as well as Executive chairman of African Fashion International, she is a member of the Giving Pledge.
Through the Foundation, she works towards poverty alleviation through education and especially STEM studies amongst the youth, empowerment of South African communities especially women and girls.
She developed The Little Black Book, a special booklet to empower women and girls with information and knowledge. Dr. Moloi-Motsepe is a member of The Harvard Kennedy Women’s Leadership Board and The International Women Forum of South Africa. She drives social entrepreneurship on the African continent in partnership with the Schwab Foundation, and supports a Harvard Kennedy school executive program for social entrepreneurs. Her interests include: developing South African fashion designers and contributing towards growth and consolidation of the fashion industry by forging ecosystems that harness individual creativity and talents to build thriving businesses and thus creating more jobs for women and youth.