The 4th edition of the Zee Women’s Banking Awards saw the recognition of 13 women in various categories who have made a positive impact in their area of expertise and their communities. From the call for public nominations in December 2026, the winners were selected through a panel of three judges; Ipsos Country Manager, Anne Kaluba; CEO Bankers Association of Zambia, Leonard Mwanza, and Everyday Lusaka gallery Curator, Sana Ginwalla, with the results verified by the awards audit partner HLB Zambia.
Zee Woman in Sport: Sarah Chungu
Sarah the goalkeeper coach for the Zambia women U20 national team and U15 girls schools national team. In 2023 Sarah was the head coach for the U17 girls schools national team that participated in Zimbabwe at the COSASA tournament where she was voted as best coach of the tournament. She also coached the U20 women national team goalkeepers who participated in the 2024 COSAFA tournament in South Africa.
Apart from National duties, coach Sarah Chungu is a goalkeeper coach for Zanaco ladies football team, a soldier in the Zambia army and a secondary school teacher at Arakan girls secondary school.
Zee Woman in Health: Dr Chiseba Sekeleti
Dr. Chibesa Sekeleti is a General Practitioner – Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with over 12 years of dedicated service in healthcare, and founder of Womb Care Clinic which, at the time of its registration in 2023, became Zambia’s second and only specialist women’s clinic.
Based in Solwezi, under her visionary leadership this centre has become an important institution in addressing the unique and often overlooked issues affecting women. Dr. Sekeleti has deliberately created a safe, exclusive space where women’s needs come first, and where they are met with dignity, compassion, and expert care. Her mission is clear: to provide holistic, comprehensive care for women.
Zee Woman in Education: Muketoi Sibusiku
Muketoi founded a Non Governmental Organisation called the Hustle of a Woman Foundation in 2019, that focuses on enhancing literacy Education for the marginalized and underserved Women in Chisankane rural of the Kafue District and beyond. With about 1500 women under this umbrella, Muketoi has sessions in various literacy classes with emphasis on financial literacy and the rights of the women in the villages. She has enrolled other volunteer women teachers in the communities who work with her to expand this cause in the rural areas for the benefit of having a Zambia that will have every woman be literate.
Zee Woman in Agriculture: Inota Cheta
Inota is a trailblazing entrepreneur in Zambia’s agriculture sector, demonstrating exceptional consistency and resilience. She is the founder of Wattles and Combs Limited, a wholly Zambian-owned animal feed manufacturing company established in 2019. Her products are now sold by leading agro-dealers across the country. In 2021, she started the Women in Agribusiness Conference, now Zambia’s largest gathering of women in agriculture, celebrating its 5th year. Through the network, women access free membership opportunities for mentorship in sustainable agricultural practices.
Zee Woman Catalyst for Change: Mwanza Changala
Mwanza is a passionate advocate for sickle cell disease (SCD)awareness and founder of the Lukumo Ntambo Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting families affected by SCD across Zambia. Through her foundation, she organizes annual workshops in Lusaka and other provinces, bridging the gap between communities, healthcare professionals and policy makers. Her work has improved access to lifesaving information and created a safe space for families to learn, connect and heal. Mwanza is also an accomplished author of multiple books, including I Am a Warrior and the Chronicles of sickle cell which document the realities, challenges and triumphs of living with and caring for individuals with SCD.
Zee Woman Creative of the Year: Tisa Phiri
Tisa Phiri is a writer and author who has worked on a number of projects including working as a head writer for the Zambian hit series, Mpali. This year, she produced a feature film- The Special Patient, creating jobs for more than 100 people both on and off set. The film is being distributed by Circuitstv, a streaming platform in Nigeria. It also won 2 awards at the 2025 Ngoma Awards.
Zee Woman in Media: Mary Mwikisa
Mary is a Climate Change Specialist, award-winning climate journalist, and communications strategist with a strong focus on climate resilience, sustainable development, and community-led solutions. She has built her professional media image in broadcast media, both television and radio from 2008 when she joined ZNBC. Mary has worked as an assistant Executive Producer, talk show host and News Anchor for the national broadcaster. She has created, managed live and recorded TV Programs including national and special event live coverage and commentary, both local and international reporting.
Zee Woman in Sustainability: Agatha Mumba Mwansa
Agatha, Founder of Flame Innovations Limited, is championing one of Zambia’s most urgent climate challenges, the overdependence on charcoal and firewood. From Lusaka, her enterprise is driving climate-smart energy alternatives designed to protect forests, reduce emissions, and promote sustainable living. Through her Inkuni product line, Agatha transforms everyday waste paper into clean, affordable, and eco-friendly fire blocks, braziers, firelighters, scouring powder, and agricultural products made from upcycled ash. Her zero-waste model promotes a circular economy while creating opportunities for women and youth. Flame Innovations is proving that a local, female-led enterprise can deliver powerful solutions to environmental degradation.
Zee Woman in Youth Impact: Ruth Kay Kangwa Ndhlovu
Ruth Kay Kangwa Ndhlovu is the Founder of Girls Gone Political (GGP), a grassroots civic movement that has reached and empowered over 50,000 young people across Zambia through civic education, voter engagement, and leadership mentorship. Through initiatives such as She Votes, She Leads, a book she co-authored, Ruth has helped young women find their voice, understand their rights, and believe that leadership is possible for them, regardless of background or social status. As a result of her consistent advocacy and technical work, she successfully petitioned Parliament to repeal outdated youth legislation, contributing to the adoption of Zambia’s Revised 2024 National Youth Policy.
Zee Woman in STEM: Sandi Chimpala
Sandi Chimpala is a technology blogger and digital marketing strategist, with over 6 years’ experience creating and curating online content for businesses ranging from e-commerce to NGOs. She is the CEO of Techtrends Zambia, an online technology publication, that keeps readers up to date with the latest digital products and tech offerings in Zambia and the rest of the world.
She is also a digital rights activist who believes that women and girls, often marginalized in digital spaces, must have affordable access to the internet and its products, to help improve their skills and have access to information first, before any major digital transformation can happen.
Zee Woman Entrepreneur of the Year: Mwiche Mukoma
Mwiche Mukoma is the Founder and CEO of Green Giraffe Zambia Limited, a growing enterprise that links smallholder farmers to formal markets through value addition, technology, and sustainable sourcing. She has built an integrated business model that combines farmer aggregation, climate-smart sourcing, agro-processing, and branded consumer products. She has demonstrated that an agribusiness can be financially disciplined and deliver social and environmental value while creating jobs, and strengthening rural supply chains.
Zee Woman in Finance: Vwanganji Bowa
Vwanganji Bowa is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mighty Finance Solution Limited, an integrated digital lending and embedded finance model that directly addresses financial exclusion among underserved SMEs, particularly women and youth-led enterprises. Under her leadership, Mighty Fin has grown its active customer base to over 2,000 SMEs, driven by technology-enabled credit assessment tools and automated lending processes that reduce the cost and time required to access finance. Her strategy targets structural barriers in the market by leveraging data, mobile technology, and credible risk-assessment systems to support entrepreneurs lacking collateral, financial history, or credit scores.
Zee Woman CEO of the Year: Susan Chibanga
Susan Chibanga is the Chief Executive Officer of Agora Microfinance Zambia, a role she assumed in 2019. Since then, the organisation has grown more than 5 fold to become the largest rural enterprise microfinance operation. Agora serves its more than 140000 clients, through its 40 branches and 8 satellites. Its flagship group lending model has fuelled financial inclusion especially for women who form 60% of its portfolio.
In additional to traditional credit and savings products, under her leadership, AGORA has diversified its offering to include agriculture equipment lease, motorbike leasing, and microinsurance, all tailored to address the unique needs of the smallholder farmers and small traders. As a leader, Susan is driving vision 2030 as Agora aims to “deliver value beyond the transaction”. She believes in building strong teams that deliver balanced outcomes for all stakeholders.