On April 4, 2018, a rocket took off for good in Botswana: Bogolo Joy Kenewendo made history. That day, at just 31 years old, he became the youngest person in the history of the South African country to hold a ministerial position. It was not a light portfolio: he took the reins of the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Commerce.
Despite his youth, his appointment, far from arousing surprise, was received with pride. "He deserved it" was the most heard phrase in the corridors of power.
Years before, as the youngest parliamentarian in the South African country, she had led a tireless fight for the rights of girls and women.
In her two years as minister, Bogolo has stepped on the accelerator, implementing reforms to make it easier to start businesses and expand domestic and international markets, digitizing the Botswana economy and setting an example of leadership.
After her stint in national politics, Bogolo continued her meteoric career and last year was appointed director for Africa and special consultant to the United Nations climate change group.
From the beginning, he made it clear that an African voice will be essential to address the global climate crisis. Also that eradicating poverty and inequality are indivisible objectives in the fight against global warming. "Climate action and the climate change space," he protested on the Africa Renewal website, "is normally dominated by the West and focuses on reducing carbon emissions without addressing development issues."
Born into a middle-class family in the small town of Motopi, in central Botswana, Bogolo soon emerged as a brilliant and tenacious mind. Interested in global economy, international trade and development, she trained in the capital of her country, Gaborone, and later furthered her studies, thanks to scholarships, in the United Kingdom and the United States.
After working in Ghana, she returned to her country to work as a consultant and on projects to empower women and youth. His name began to become popular in 2016, when the National Assembly launched a crusade to force the country's schools to provide free sanitary material to the students so that they could attend classes without interruptions, since many stopped going to school during the days of your menstrual cycle.
It became a reference for many young girls in the country. In a TED Talk titled "How History Erases Women," she delivered a message to the teenage girls who were listening in awe from her seat. "Get up. There will never be a better time for us to own our spaces, to do the things we believe in, to shine."
After being named one of Time magazine's 100 Future Personalities last year, former Sierra Leone president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf praised Bogolo's committed and feminist ambition. "Through her tireless commitment to advancing women's representation in all sectors and advocating on behalf of girls and boys, (Bogolo) continues to open doors across Africa for youth and women's leadership." Sirleaf wrote.
Years ago, in one of her first interviews, given to a small local African Foundation, a Bogolo still in her twenties defined herself as a "young woman and empowerment activist", although she asked to leave the definition open. “The list could be longer because there are so many more causes to fight for in the world,” she noted.
Bogolo, whose name comes from the Tswana phrase “‘Bogolo jwa modimo,’ which means the greatness of God, continues to fight.
