From Access to Impact: How AWIS Alumnae Are Thriving in Africa’s Scientific Marketplace

Across Africa, women remain significantly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers—a gap widely documented in regional and global gender statistics.

Limited access to training, mentorship, and professional networks continues to restrict how many women enter and advance within scientific fields.

The African Women in Science (AWIS) program of African Center for Aquatic Research and Education (ACARE) was created to confront this imbalance by widening access to opportunity, strengthening practical scientific skills, and preparing women to compete successfully within the professional marketplace.

The experiences of alumnae across the African Great Lakes region reveal a shared journey shaped by discovery, learning, application, and advocacy.

For many beneficiaries, awareness of AWIS began through trusted professional and academic networks, where colleagues, friends, and mentors shared the opportunity and opened the door to participation—highlighting the critical role information pathways play in shaping access to scientific advancement as revealed by Diane Umutoni from Rwanda, Yordanos K. Getachew from Ethiopia, Namakau Muyumbana from Zambia, and Mary Nyantongo from Uganda during an interview with TOP AFRICA NEWS.

Once enrolled, participants encountered intensive training focused on leadership, communication, scientific writing, mentorship, and collaboration—competencies directly linked to professional mobility.

Diane said the program strengthened essential workplace abilities, noting that “From the program itself, I learned… I improved my leadership skills, my writing skills, but also my networking.”

Similarly, Yordanos explained that the training shaped her both personally and professionally, emphasizing that “Having different sessions about communication skills and research paper writing skills contributed to my growth across multiple dimensions of my scientific career.”

These competencies have translated into measurable professional outcomes across the region.

Mary Nantongo highlighted the program’s direct economic impact, explaining that, thanks to the program, she was able to successfully secure funded research.

She said “I was able to be mentored by a senior scientist in communication skills and scientific writing, where I was able to come up with a proposal and it’s actually being funded now.”

Beyond securing a funding, Mary attests that the program assisted her to get out of comfort zone to take on more responsibilities and leadership roles at work.

Meanwhile, Zambia’s Namakau pointed to long-term academic benefits, noting that connections formed through AWIS opened the pathway for further study.

“Through this mentorship and collaboration that the platform has offered I have met my PhD supervisor. So this has also been an opportunity that has been opened and has given me a chance to actually further my studies.

Thanks to the confidence and exposure gained through the program, Diane got the courage to apply and secured a position to become AWIS Program coordinator, where she is now helping her fellow women scientists.

“We are seeing the program’s impact in different ways.” Diane said “I’ve seen people coming from one point to another, coming from an early career to a higher position at work with improved salaries.”

A message to fellow women scientists

Across their collective voices emerges a unified call: women in science should pursue opportunities boldly, remain active in professional spaces, and fully use the mentorship, networks, and skills available to them because persistence, openness to collaboration, and confidence in their potential, participation in transformative programs can expand career horizons.

Public information from ACARE indicates that the program has continued to grow across multiple cohorts in the African Great Lakes region, reaching an expanding network of women scientists each year.

While precise cumulative participation figures vary by reporting period, the trajectory is clear: more women are entering scientific careers with the preparation and professional capital needed to succeed.

About AWIS

The African Women in Science program is a joint program through the International Institute of Sustainable Development and the African Center for Aquatic Research and Education. The program aims to build capacity and offer mentorship opportunities for African women scientists who are actively engaged in African Great Lakes and freshwater research.

Once enrolled, participants take part to a 11-month cohort of African women scientists and become the next generation of African women scientists catalyzing positive change in the African Great Lakes.