First Lady of Namibia

Monica Kalondo, First Lady of Namibia (since Mar 2015)

Monica Kalondo is a founding shareholder and Managing Director of Stimulus Private Equity, Namibia’s first and largest private equity fund.This role provides Monica with valuable deal making and corporate expertise. Monica is also a shareholder and Director of Pointbreak Group Holdings and also holds direct equity in e-Bank, a technology driven, branchless Bank of which she is also Chairperson. In addition to Chairing the Association of Unlisted Investment Managers, Monica is also the Chairperson of several Boards in the private sector, including her public sector role as the Deputy Chairperson of the Public Office Bearers Remuneration Commission which sets the remuneration and benefits of all Namibian public office bearers. She serves on numerous Bodies with the mandate to provide high-level advice on national policy formulation and implementation ranging from the Swapo (Namibia’s ruling party) Party’s Think Tank to the National Council of the Namibian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and was recently re-appointed to the nine member Presidents Economic Advisory Council (Deputy Chair). Monica has received numerous merit awards, including, the Namibia Chamber of Commerce award as the ‘Namibian Business Personality of the Year’, the ‘Most Innovative Entrepreneur” award from the University of Potchefstroom (South Africa) and Polytechnic of Namibia. Monica has also been inducted in the Namibian Business Hall of Fame.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/monica-kalondo/55/a63/ab8

Penexupifo Pohamba, Former First Lady of Namibia

Her Excellency Mrs. Penehupifo Pohamba has been First Lady of Namibia since her husband President Hifikepunye Pohamba took office in March 2005. In her tenure as First Lady, she has advocated for the empowerment of women to enable them to make a meaningful contribution to the development of society and has fought for the eradication of violence and other forms of injustice against women. She has also been active in supporting maternal and child health-care, and also in the fight against HIV/AIDS. In July 2006, she was elected Vice-President for the Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC). Mrs. Pohamba was trained in midwifery both in Tanzania and Jamaica and practiced as a midwife and as a registered nurse up until she became First Lady.