The shortlist of people for KOKO’s 2017 Woman of the Year has been unveiled. Our shortlist features 10 incredible women who strove for excellence in their respective fields in the year 2017. They are a small group of women that have made a whole lot of positive change on the continent, and every effort channeled into our distinguished list gets us one step closer to unveiling of the ‘Woman of the Year’. Our ‘Woman of the Year’ represents not only their trailblazing efforts but more importantly, embodies the hopes and achievements of millions of extraordinary women who make a difference every day across our nations and continent. Our Woman of the Year 2017 shortlist include:
1. Stephanie Linus Okereke
This notable Nollywood actress was named the Regional Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund and spoke alongside Ivanka Trump at 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit, GES 2017 In India.
2. Bonang Matheba
Matheba was named one of the 10 Most Influential Icons In Contemporary African Pop Culture and launched her book, Bonang From A to B, in 2017.
3. Nomzamo Mbatha
She co-hosted the 2017 BET Awards and won the Outstanding Achievement in Film – Africa award at the African Pride Film Awards. Nomzamo was made Puma, Neutrogena and United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ambassador in 2017. She represented the best of Africa to the global community.
4. Mayowa Nicholas
Nicholas became the new face of Calvin Klein underwear in April 2017. Two months later, she became the face of Marc Jacobs’ beauty campaign. She recently featured in DKNY pre-fall 2017.
5. Tiwa Savage
In September 2017, she made BBC 100 Most Inspirational and Innovative Women list. She also performed at the official Grammy week event.
6. Yemi Alade
Yemi was nominated for the annual African entertainment awards USA (AEAUSA) in four different categories and won four awards. She was nominated for best female single, best female artist of the year, international artist of the year and her mama Africa for best album.
7. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian writer and author was elected into the American Academy of Arts and Letters as a foreign honorary member in March. That same month she made the list of 50 world leaders. Adichie was honoured with the ‘Doctor of Letters’ degree at the University of Edinburgh Scotland, United Kingdom in August.
8. Simi
She bagged a juicy endorsement deal with Etisalat and her debut album, Simisola made a lot of rounds after its release. The singer also won African songwriter of the year at AFRIMA 2017
9. Peace Hyde
Apart from anchoring her award-winning programmes, Peace was appointed Forbes Africa’s New Head of Digital Media And Partnerships. A landmark appointment for any African for the organisation.
10. Halima Aden
Kenya-born model first made her big break by featuring in Kanye West’s Yeezy Season Five presentation. In June, she made history by becoming the first-ever hijabi model to snag the cover of a Vogue magazine. She also  featured in the ad campaign for Rihana’s new Fenty beauty collection.
Photo Credit: KOKO
