Gorata Manyaapelo-McKinnon

Founder and Chief Executive Officer, SheConnects Africa

Botswana

Gorata Manyaapelo-McKinnon is the founder and chief executive officer of SheConnects Africa, an organization that advances gender-responsive procurement opportunities and inclusive supply chains for Botswana’s mining and industrial sectors as her nation’s National Gender Commission’s Strategic Partner. During her tenure as Deputy Chairperson of Women In Mining Botswana Organization, she initiated and facilitated the first ever gender-responsive procurement diagnostic study and workshop in Botswana’s mining industry, while delivering dust-suppression and innovative solutions to national mining firms to drive growth and pipeline development. Gorata has helped create real pathways for women to move from the sidelines into high-value industries and opportunities, and leadership ensures that inclusive procurement becomes a standard institutional practice rather than the exception. Gorata prioritizes long-term systemic change over immediate gains and has spent years making her way through one of Botswana’s most male-dominated industries.