Bureau Veritas, a global provider of testing, inspection, and certification services, has announced the launch of its “BV Women in Africa Mentorship Program,” a strategic collaborative partnership with TWAA, an innovative and disruptive global and professional networking, knowledge sharing and mentorship platform for women and girls.
The platform provides women with digital tools to connect and find suitable mentors and mentees, share and access opportunities bolstering continuous progress and development.
(TOP: L-R – Marc Roussel, President of Government Services & International Trade & Senior VP for Africa, Bureau Veritas; Irene Kiwia, CEO and Founder of TWAA; Cyprian Kabbis, Bureau Veritas District Chief Executive for Eastern Africa; and Esther Passaris, Nairobi County Women Representative).
Speaking at the launch of the program in Nairobi recently, Marc Roussel, President of Government Services and International Trade & Senior VP for Africa, commented: “The Bureau Veritas Group operates in several countries across Africa. The organization has a very strong ethos on gender balance and women empowerment. As such many of our CSR initiatives focus on the support and development of women both inside and outside of the organization. The TWAA initiative is a unique way for our Group to engage women in supporting each other through a BV dedicated mentorship program. This platform creates a unique opportunity to invite many of the great women of BV to support other women within Africa. The digital tool is an incredible means to reach out to many women even if they are located remotely. This initiative will contribute positively to the social compact and development within the African continent and it is my fervent hope that other companies will come on board and support this program.”
Through the partnership, Bureau Veritas aims to:
- Engage TWAA as a knowledge sharing and mentorship platform for women across Africa and in so doing drive positive growth and development of female leaders
- Promote women in the workplace that will add value and gravitas to the brand and its success
- Support women by working to decrease the digital gender divide by building and bringing a steady balance to communities and workplaces, further enhancing a sustainable future
- Support TWAA’s vision to help create a prosperous world that is inclusive of women and girls’ social, economic and cultural participation at all levels
As an innovative and forward thinking organization, Bureau Veritas is continuously advancing into the digital age, thereby sharing a common digital ethos with TWAA’s approach in which women are able to connect and support one another via a bundled myriad of connectivity tools making accessibility and communication seamless.
Speakers at the launch also included three women from Bureau Veritas in Nairobi: Ruth Njeri, Lynda Oyaro and Jacinta Gatwiri, who will all be actively participating on the platform as mentors to prospective mentees.
Irene Kiwia, Founder of TWAA commented: “We are thrilled to partner with Bureau Veritas to promote TWAA across Africa and globally. This platform was built to help organizations with a strong women empowerment agenda such as Bureau Veritas accomplish their goals by providing a platform to engage, connect, mobilize and impact their women communities through mentorship, knowledge sharing and access to opportunities. TWAA provides a safe and private space with relevant digital tools for women to thrive and aims to bridge the gender digital divide which can be ramped up if organizations globally become the drivers of the platform.”
Esther Passaris, Nairobi County Women Representative, commented: “Mentorship, mentees and networking have been challenged a lot during this pandemic where we can’t even meet and with Twaa it will be enhanced. A lot of women will come together on this platform and they will meet people of like mind. I think in terms of opportunities, let’s not feel guilty as women because this is a woman’s platform. We needed something like this, a safe and sincere space. This affirms that women are not their worst enemies. Every time they say, we don’t have enough women to hire, I wish we could shine all of you.”
The program is already available in English, French and Swahili and in the future will be available in even more languages like Yoruba, isiZulu, Portuguese and Arabic.
Bureau Veritas is active gender and social awareness issues. In 2019, the company launched the Ithemba Trust in South Africa in 2019, a women’s empowerment body involved in projects benefiting girls and young women in South Africa.
Bureau Veritas, founded in 1828, has more than 78,000 employees located in more than 1,500 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.
TWAA, Swahili for Acquire, Lead; is a professional networking, mentorship and knowledge sharing platform for women globally. The platform provides the ultimate private setting for connectivity and communication with relevant multi tools, features and resources to help women everywhere realize their full potential. TWAA is designed for women across various sectors and backgrounds, women associations, networks, Not for Profits, and corporations whose aim it is to support and empower women across the world. TWAA is available as a web portal via web portal and will soon be launched as a mobile app.
Be the first to comment