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Arjun Sheth

Empowering Women Entrepreneurs In The Gambia To Become Mindful Leaders



Where sisterhood is rooted in purpose and impact...


For the last two weeks, Utopia SGW founder and CEO Naya F. Powell traveled to The Gambia to join Awamary Khan, CEO of The Woman Boss in helping women and girls in this African country find a voice as mindful leaders.


The Woman Boss is a female-focused organization that fosters Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership, where women and girls curate, collaborate, innovate, and grow. They provide women entrepreneurs with an inspiring community and an experiential process that catalyzes innovative thinking and enables them to scale their businesses successfully.


Naya Powell speaks about the importance of the work being done in The Gambia by The Woman Boss...

"Utopia Spa & Global Wellness is a firm believer in cultivating global community and promoting global citizenship. To be healthy as a society, we have to focus on the *wholistic well-being of our women. This means empowering and equipping women with education, and economic resources to thrive mentally, spiritually, relationally, physically, and financially.


As a woman, I know first-hand how difficult it is to thrive when trying to survive. I am proud of my sister-friend, Awamary, and proud to be a part of her enormous vision. I am equally inspired by the energy, passion, and innovation of The Woman Boss Entrepreneurs.

I am a firm believer that we must lift as we climb. Women are givers of life, nurturers, and integral forces in our families, communities, and world. It has been a privilege to see my relationship with Awamary grow from partnering around minority entrepreneurship efforts in the Raleigh-Durham, NC area to now impacting women entrepreneurs and girls globally. I am looking forward to returning and bringing our Utopia Spa and Global Wellness Retreat to Senegal & The Gambia in 2022!"


The Stats...according to the United Nations (un.org)

"The mission statement for gender and development in The Gambia is to:

  • Foster the effective and efficient integration of women in the Gambia’s socio-economic development process as equal partners and beneficiaries with men, and;

  • Ensure that meaningful socio-economic transformation for all is attained by reducing, to an acceptable level, the ills of poverty, inequality, injustice, and dependency for all Gambians.


Following the fourth World Women’s Conference held in Beijing, China, Gambian women are poised to take control of their destiny and in the process, create a new and developed Gambia in partnership with the men of the country."


The vision of Khan and The Woman Boss is critically important as The Gambia has predominantly been a male-dominated society where many women stay at home as the men in their lives would go out to make a living. Due to this, women often enter marriages at a young age. About 30% of women between the ages of 20-24 entered into a marital union between the ages of 15-19. Women and girls in the Gambia are emerging as leaders to escape these gender norms and inspiring others to do the same.


The two organizations, The Woman Boss and Utopia SGW, have been providing collaborative efforts for years to promote the wellbeing of women and girls in realizing their voice as leaders.


Naya Powell delivered a Mindful Leadership workshop for The Woman Boss entrepreneurs and has been an ongoing global mentor and speaker for the organization. Our UtopiaGives arm focuses on social impact by equipping women globally to realize their potential as world leaders. Utopia SGW gifted the current cohort a membership for On-Demand Wellness to invest in their self-care.


Becoming a world leader is an essential step for women worldwide to find independence in male-dominated societies.


Women in The Gambia have started to make strides towards this as more of them have successfully launched businesses that help others in a similar situation. While the movement does not stop here, it is always encouraging to see the positive change that can inspire generations to become leaders in their country and the world.


Over the next few weeks, we will highlight more from Naya's time in The Gambia and upcoming initiatives.


To learn more about The Woman Boss or become a global mentor, please contact hello@womanboss.org or visit WomanBoss.org.

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