How To Break Through: Interview With the AFRICAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2012 - Justina Mutale!

Today we have another fabulous addition to our “How To Break Through” series! Justina Mutale is one of the most influential and inspirational women of African origin. She is even named AFRICAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2012. She is also a mega award-winning international celebrity PR Maven; Social Entrepreneur; International Speaker; humanist; philanthropist; philosopher; as well as HIV/AIDS, Women’s, Children’s & Human Rights Activist and Advocate. Justina serves as Patron, Ambassador, Trustee and Board Member of several humanitarian, community and charitable organizations in the UK and overseas. WOW, thats a lot! But what we really want to know is.... how did she break through and achieved all these succeses. Read the interview after the jump:

 

Q. Can you tell me more about your background (your age, origin, place of birth etc)?

First of all, I would like to thank you for affording me this precious opportunity to be featured in your prestigious publication.  I am the African Woman of the Year (2012-2013), an honor bestowed upon me on the same platform where the female President of Malawi, The Right Honorable Joyce Banda and the female Deputy Prime Minister of Zimbabwe, the Right Honorable Thokozani Khupe were also nominees, in the African Achievers Awards founded by the Institute of Leadership and Management and held in Association with Kings College in London.  I am also an international PR Maven, Social Entrepreneur and International Speaker (among many other things of course!). I also serve as Patron, Ambassador, Trustee and Board Member of several humanitarian, community and charitable organizations in the UK and overseas. I come from Zambia, a country in the southern part of Africa, where I was born.  Every day I wake up and thank God and also celebrate the fact that I have been blessed enough to live for over half a century ... never ask a lady her age! 

Q. Tell us about your education following your career path?

At first glance my career path at the moment might appear not to be directly related to my educational background.  I have studied International Relations and Political Science, for which I hold a double BA Honors Degree.  I also hold a Masters Degree in Public Administration. Until 2007, I worked in the Commonwealth Secretariat, an international development organization based in London.  However, even in my present career, I find that my educational background is fundamental to my success.  Being African Woman of the Year and dealing with some of the issues that I deal with in my work, whether it is in my own organization or others, I find that I always have to fall back on the knowledge from my experience and my education. I am continuously keen to develop myself and my career and I am currently taking a course in Practical Philosophy. I have also undertaken and continue to undertake all kinds of leadership and management training programs, and other short courses on personal development that are relevant to enhancing my career and my personal growth. 

Q. Is going to school a must if you want to succeed in entrepreneurship?

There is no truer saying than that of one of America’s Founding Fathers, Franklin Benjamin who said “If a man empty his pocket into his head, no man can take it away from him”. We live in fast changing world.  To keep apace with the ongoing social, economic,  political and technological changes, it is fundamental for one to go to school and to get a good education, so that one can learn and understand life and the necessary aspects of a chosen career in a competitive globalized world.  Whatever career one may choose to follow, an investment in education and knowledge always pays the best interest. As an International Speaker, I speak at numerous fora around the world that address social economic, political and gender issues.  I have recently been invited to speak at the National Congress of Black Women (NCBW-LAC) Annual Event in Los Angeles.

Q. What inspired you to venture into business?

My passion has always lain in the fashion and entertainment industry, and in helping others. I had a very prestigious job in the Commonwealth - jet-setting and travelling the world.  However there always comes a time when one needs to follow one’s heart. Somehow I felt that my talents were not being adequately utilized as an employee and I just had this urge to follow my heart and my passion. My passion inspired me to venture into being my own boss and social entrepreneurship.

Q. Your passion is very evident. How did you come to be so passionate about social entrepreneurship?

I believe that every person has a right to human dignity. In a world ravaged with man-made catastrophes and natural disasters, I believe it is our moral duty and obligation to take care of those less fortunate than ourselves.  Being a social entrepreneur is one way for me to give back to society and to come to the aid of those less fortunate than myself - albeit in my own little way. 

Q. What are the particular challenges faced by women looking to start their own businesses in Africa? Are families and communities generally supportive of female entrepreneurs?

In recent years women in Africa and elsewhere in the world have stepped up their act and are slowly catching up with their male counterparts both in business as well as politics.  However, even in the 21^st Century, women are still lagging behind their male counterparts. Families and communities are generally supportive of female entrepreneurs in Africa.  However, it is not a secret that women in general, be it in Africa or elsewhere, still face particular obstacles in getting their businesses off the ground, more so with the common problem of convincing (male) bank managers who still dominate the industry, to take them seriously.

 Q. What were some particular challenges and benefits to start your business as an African woman?

The greatest challenge is to have people believe in your dream.  The benefits are that you get to live your dream. When I left full time employment to start my own venture, a lot of people thought I was biting off more than I could chew.  Women's apparent success at setting up their own businesses is still considered to be at odds with the continued exclusion from big corporate boardrooms. However being my own boss makes me master (or mistress!) of that boardroom.

Q. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of having your own venture?

In most cases having your own venture means following your passion. While many people separate their interests from their work and therefore find their work to be a burden that encroaches on their free time, my hobbies are intertwined with my work and therefore I find that because my work gives me so much pleasure, I always find the time to do the things that I do. In my work, I meet the most amazing and beautiful people. I travel to the most amazing places on earth and do the most amazing things - I practically party to work! I must say the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. 

Q. What has been key to your success?

I strongly believe that when one is focused on getting the job done and not on the rewards that come with it, there is no limit to how far one can go. The motivation for doing what I do comes directly from the heart and this has helped me get to where I am today.

Q. What are some of the main activities you’ve created and or organized?

As a PR Maven and Event Management Consultant, I have created, organized, co-organized and managed so many events and activities around the world that if I were to list all of them down for you that would be all that we would be talking about in this interview!

For purposes of this interview, I will just list a few.  Among several other activities; I am the creator of POSITIVE RUNWAY: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread. I am also the co-creator of the FFMTT Awards, which recognizes and rewards excellence in Fashion, Film, Music, Television, Theatre and Sporting industries.

My team and I are currently organizing the IF Campaign FASHION AGAINST HUNGER CATWALK Show in London, which forms part of the ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IF Campaign, a coalition of over 100 leading UK development organizations, which includes my organization POSITIVE RUNWAY, who are campaigning to end world hunger. 

As part of the activities of POSITIVE RUNWAY, my team and I preparing to host the “VICTORIA FALLS GLOBAL CATWALK” aimed at raising HIV/AIDS awareness during the 20^th Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly to be held in my country Zambia in August 2013.

I am also the creator of the “Miss Zambia UK Beauty Pageant”, a PR Campaign to profile my country Zambia and its people on a global arena.  As part of the Miss Zambia UK activities I created and organized the “Staying Alive for Zambia: Inspire a Child” Campaign to raise awareness and funds for the welfare of HIV/AIDS orphans in Zambia, who are the beneficiaries of the Miss Zambia UK Beauty Pageant.

I have co-organized the “African Ambassadors Diaspora Interactive Forum” to bring together African Ambassadors in the UK and Europe to interact with their African Diaspora communities. I have also co-organized the “Diaspora African Women in Leadership” Conference aimed demonstrating the role of Diaspora African women as agents for sustainable transformation and development. On several occasions I have helped organize numerous charitable and fundraising events for different African Diaspora organizations and communities in the UK and overseas, including the “Association of Spouses of African Ambassadors” to celebrate AFRICA DAY in UK and Europe.

The list is endless! 

Q. What have you based your choices on and when do you know you're making the right decision?

I am a very spiritual and religious person.  I believe in a Divine Spirit that is bigger than myself.  Some of the choices I have made have been guided by the Divine Spirit. I always tap into the energies, the light and the spirit of the Divine Spirit to guide me, and this helps me make the right choices and right decisions in life.  This is not to say that I have never made any mistakes.  Nonetheless, most of my mistakes have been stepping stones that have helped me polish up my act.

Q. Who or what has helped you succeed along the way?

I am a born go-getter and a highly ambitious person. I am also a very resilient person, which is important in this business. And this has been very beneficial to me in terms of the complexities of the industry that I work in. Once I have a vision in my head, I will do whatever it takes for that vision to become reality, despite all the obstacles that might stand in my way. 

Q. What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done professionally?

The bravest thing I have done professionally is to venture out into the world, to break the barriers and to break the borders by taking the POSITIVE RUNWAY brand to all the four corners of the world within a very short space of time.

Q. You are a founder & CEO of Positive Runway: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread, a worldwide HIV/AIDS response campaign with presence in over 50 countries, spanning 6 continents spread across the globe.  How did all of this come into existence and how did you start building your brand worldwide?

I just find it absurd and unacceptable that after more than 30 years, the world still continues to experience fresh HIV/AIDS infections, more so in the young generation under the age of 30. Ironically, this is a generation that has never known a time without effective HIV/AIDS therapy. This to me, indicates that not enough has been done to stop the spread, or perhaps that the message is not getting across to young people.  Therefore new and innovative ideas, such as POSITIVE RUNWAY are needed to help stop the spread of HIV/AIDS and to secure an AIDS free world and an AIDS free generation. Although the world has made tremendous advances in the treatment of HIV/AIDS with lifesaving medicines, the fact, however still remains that prevention is better than cure. 

To build my brand worldwide, I tapped into all the networks that I had made during the time that I travelled around the globe working with the Commonwealth Secretariat and taking the Miss Zambia UK representatives to different beauty pageants and competitions around the world. My experience as a PR Maven was also fundamental to building my brand. As you know, we now live in a globalised and borderless world.  With the ease of travel and technological advances it is very easy to cross borders and reach the whole world in “80 days!”

Q. Tell us a little about Positive Runway’s other services. What exciting projects are you working on at the moment?

POSITIVE RUNWAY: Global Catwalk to Stop the Spread® is an award-winning worldwide HIV/AIDS response Campaign.  It is a social responsibility and community development initiative that aims to bridge the gap in the global efforts to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. 

The Campaign aims to “walk the HIV/AIDS virus out of our globe” by utilising select mediums that grab and hold the attention of the 21^st Century youth people. We tour the world working with celebrities from fashion, film, music, television, sport and other arts, as our influential advocates in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS, and other scourges affecting today’s young generation and society at large.

As part of our activities, we have been filming a documentary titled: “Celebrity Million Voices against the Spread of HIV/AIDS” which features celebrity endorsement in our fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.  We also have our own signature RED RIBBON MODELS who are our ‘soldiers’ in delivering the message to the young generation through the GLOBAL CATWALK.

I have already mentioned FASHION AGAINST HUNGER CATWALK Show, which my team and I will host in London on June 1^st 2013, as part of the ENOUGH FOOD FOR EVERYONE IF Campaign to end global hunger.  We have also been invited to stage the VICTORIA FALLS GLOBAL CATWALK  during the 20^th Session of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly, which will be held in my home country Zambia in August 2013. 

In addition, POSITIVE RUNWAY was selected as an official affiliated event of the XIX World International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) held in Washington DC in July 2012.  We were also selected as a spotlight social responsibility campaign at the 54^th and 55^th Pre-Grammy Awards Parties held in Hollywood and Bel Air in Los Angeles, California in February 2012 and February 2013.  We have previously staged and continue to stage the GLOBAL CATWALKs in London and several other cities around the world to mark World AIDS Day.

At the moment we are working in collaboration with BGE (Build, Grow and Enjoy) of Atlanta and the National Congress of Black Women, Los Angeles Chapter to host the Philanthropy Concierge 2014 World AIDS Summit in Atlanta GA in the USA.

 

Q. Briefly describe your history in raising investment for your company.

As a non-profit organization, we raise most of our investment from funding organizations as well as corporate sponsorship. I must say we have a brilliant fund-raising team who are well versed in fundraising for non-profit and charitable organizations. Their expertise and services have been invaluable in raising investment for our organization.

Q. How do you achieve your goals?

As I said before, I am a very ambitious person. My determination and focus for reaching and achieving my goals are some of the qualities that have driven me to be the person that I am today and to accomplish what I have thus far accomplished.

Q. What are your hopes and aspirations for in the future, both personally and for Positive Runway?

I am a strong believer in the adage that “the children we leave to the world depend on the world we leave the children”. My hope and aspiration for the future is to be able to help prevent the spread HIV/AIDS as well as other diseases and forms of human suffering from going into future generations. It is therefore, my sincerest hope that my small contributions to humanity, through POSITIVE RUNWAY and some of my other activities can one day serve humanity and bring dignity to each and every human on the planet ... or at least to those that cross my path in life!

Q. You also run other businesses. Tell us about that.

 I run a PR & Business Intelligence Consultancy, under which I have worked around the world on various high profile international PR campaigns in music; film; fashion; entertainment; business; arts and politics. As a PR Maven, I provide consultancies to a variety of clients, ranging from individual personalities to international organizations and multinational corporations across the globe.

We also have created an Award Ceremony, which I have already mentioned above to honor outstanding personalities from Film Fashion Music Television Theatre and Sport. In addition, I am Vice-President of International Styles Inc which is based in Atlanta GA in the USA and incorporates Intstyles Model & Artist Management and Intstyles Celebrity TV Chat Show aimed at getting African-American celebrities to reconnect with the motherland and contribute to the development of Africa.

Q. You work a lot with charity’s, foundations and humanitarian projects. What moves you to give back to society?

Compared to other people, I can confidently say that I have had a fairly privileged life. Not that I have not had my fare share of challenges.  However, when I was very young, I wanted to be a Catholic nun, because in my young mind I thought being a nun and serving God would be the greatest service to humanity.  When I grew up I realized there are so many ways to be of service to God and to humanity, and that I did not necessarily need to be a nun to do so. Working with charities, foundations and humanitarian projects makes me fulfill my childhood dream.

Q. As an organizer of successful beauty pageants, you’ve worked with many beauty queens and even models. What are your tips for those aspiring to become beauty queens and professional models?

In recent years, the focus in the fashion and beauty industry has been shifting - no longer is it enough for a model or Beauty Queen to just look beautiful and strut her stuff on the catwalk.  To be successful as a model or Beauty Queen one needs to be creative, innovative and pro-active. While the life of a Beauty Queen or model appears to be filled with glitz and glamour, there is a serious and work-demanding side to it because being a top model or Beauty Queen is a full time job on its own.

Q. How do you manage to find time to do all these different type of works?

As mention above, my motivation for what I do comes directly from the heart. I am very lucky and privileged in that I work in an industry for which I have a passion and enjoy every bit of my work.  I believe when one is presented with an opportunity to do something that one absolutely loves and enjoys, time is not an issue. I work in the most amazing industry and I love what I do. Therefore I do not consider my work to be a burden on my time.

Q. You have been called the most influential and inspirational women of African origin, Female Personality of the Year; Business Woman of the Year; Best Beauty Pageant Director; and Best Event Promoter, among many others. You were also nominated for the UK Sunday Times’ Change Makers Award for the most inspirational Social Entrepreneur in the UK. How do all these titles make you feel?

I have received many awards, accolades and honors on many different platforms around the world.  I work in a very complex and demanding industry, one which is not for the faint-hearted.  It is a very humbling feeling and experience to see that my contributions are appreciated and recognized around the globe.

Q. Is it ever too late to start pursuing your dreams?

I believe that life is an ongoing process and we have to keep on looking for and developing new talents even as we grow older. I believe that for as long as one is alive, there is always room for improvement and there is a lot more to be done and to learn in life. I also believe it is important to refresh oneself to maintain physical and spiritual strength.  I therefore believe it is never too late to pursue ones dreams, as it is never too late to learn a new trade and to reach for ones dreams regardless of what age one might be. As Earl Nightingale said, “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it ... the time will pass anyway!”

Q. What advice do you have for other female entrepreneurs?

I would advise other female entrepreneurs that it is important to have a passion for the work that you do. Without passion, one will not survive. When one is focused on getting the job done and not on the rewards that come with it, there is no limit to how far one can go.  I also believe that the 21^st century presents incredible opportunities for women to reassert their position in the gender dynamics and to hold legitimate positions of authority to influence others and to influence the direction of the global agenda from the boardroom, to politics and on the social arena. I believe the 21^st Century is the time for women to get up and make their mark.  Like Maya Angelou once said, “Life’s a bitch, you have got to kick ass!”

Life’s a bitch, you have got to kick ass!”!! You said that right!!!! Thanks Justina Mutale!

For more information:

http://justinamutale.com/interviewspress/

http://www.justinamutale.com

http://www.positiverunway.org

http://www.ffmttawards.com