Leaders and leadership styles not only set the tone for individual organisations and for the sector, they can revolutionise the very idea of what leadership should be. Saranel Benjamin and Happy Mwende Kinyili, the co-executive directors of Mama Cash explain the genesis of their leadership model in conversation with guest editors Tendisai Chigwedere and Sufina Ahmad.

Sufina Ahmad: To begin with, can you tell us a bit about Mama Cash and why it was set up?

Saranel Benjamin and Happy Mwende Kinyili, Mama Cash

Saranel Benjamin: Mama Cash was set up in 1983. One of our founders inherited money from someone in her family and felt very uncomfortable about this wealth and brought together four other women who collectively decided to distribute the money to feminist movements and women’s organisations globally. No-one else in the Netherlands was doing this at the time, so our roots are radical and I feel like Mama Cash has continued that legacy. We are the oldest global feminist fund that is funding women, girls and trans and intersex-led groups and individuals through five funds, all of which became fully participatory as of 2021.