by Martine Irakoze
African women. Do you feel like you were raised to be strong? Do you feel like being an African woman embodies a perpetual and unique strength? Have you heard words such as “African women are indestructible. African women are tough lionesses.” “Girl, get up! You got this in your heritage!” “Think of your mothers and grandmothers who raised nations through tough history!”
In this article, I want to focus on the interesting complex of inner African women strength and how it relates to entrepreneurship. I think it is a double-edged sword, depending on individual arguments. First, some would argue that it is detrimental for mental health as it leads many women to undermine their mental health. In my childhood during hard times, I would remember these words from everyone: “You are Burundian. You are a woman. You cannot afford to be weak. You just cannot be vulnerable.” I recited these words as my Ave Maria and moved on without questioning my mental health status. I had to be a “umukenyezi”, i.e. ‘woman’ meaning ‘the one who carries all the problems”. I could not fail because I am expected to carry all the problems with power. I could not fail because I am an African woman and I am strong.
Consequently, it is clear that this inner African femininity strength can become toxic, especially for female entrepreneurs. When business failure kicks in, the shame felt by African female entrepreneurs is a bitter pill to swallow. Failure of appearing weak for an African woman has scared many female entrepreneurs away from starting or marketing their initiatives. Last year, I met a Burundian businesswoman at an event. When I asked her what she does in life, she whispered that she owns a business. Despite her business being very innovative and successful, she was scared to let other people know about it. In fact, most of African female entrepreneurs, as in this example, are hindered from expanding their businesses because this fear of failing and losing the “strong African woman” status.
On the other hand, this perception that African women are strong emotionally can be used to drive more African women to entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a tough lonely journey. The world of business is fierce mouth of a lion closing up on whoever dares to open it. It requires strong mental readiness, sacrifices, and courage. The road is made of failures, rejections, and lazy moments when you want to throw everything out of the windows. Therefore, believing in your strong African female heritage can help you brave entrepreneurship fearlessly.
In the end, it does not matter whether African women are intrinsically weak or strong. There are millions of us, and we can’t fit all of us in a binary category. I would recommend every female prospective entrepreneur to find your own mental health style and personality. Some people can work under pressure. Others cannot. Some can easily multitask while this will not work for others. So, first know yourself outside of stereotypes such as “strong African woman”.
Martine Irakoze is a Burundian student at the University of Edinburgh in International Relations & International Law. She is a serial entrepreneur, passionate about African youth empowerment. One of her favourite activities in Burundi is to walk around the streets of the slums, where it is common to see young people sitting inactive and unemployed. This sight fuels her drive to break this cycle of wasted youth potential. She envisions an Africa where every young person has the opportunity to fulfil their full potential. She believes that, by investing in young people and involving them in the development of their communities, we are not only rising nations but a whole continent. At university, Martine co-founded Linda, which is a student-led social enterprise aiming to spark conversations around sexual health related issues affecting young people in Kenya and Africa. She was also awarded the Resolution Fellowship and the MasterCard Scholarship at the University of Edinburgh.
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