Monica Geingos

Monica Geingos thumb|right|Monica Geingos(born Monica Kalondo on 15 November 1976) is a Namibian lawyer, businesswoman and social development advocate. She served as First Lady of Namibia from 2015 to 2024, during the presidency of her husband, Hage Geingob. She holds B.Juris and Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degrees from the University of Namibia and has extensive experience in investment banking, private equity, corporate governance and business leadership. Before becoming First Lady, Geingos was a managing director and co-shareholder of Stimulus, a Namibian private equity firm. She also helped establish eBank Namibia, serving as its founding chairperson, and held board positions in public and private sector companies. Her contributions to business and national development earned her Namibia's Most Distinguished Order of Namibia, and she was inducted into the Namibian Business Hall of Fame. Geingos founded the One Economy Foundation in 2016 to address inequality and expand opportunities for young people in Namibia. She has also worked on HIV prevention, youth empowerment, gender equality and women's leadership through her role as a UNAIDS Special Advocate for Young Women and Adolescent Girls. From 2022 to 2024, she served as president of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD). Her subsequent roles have included serving as Chancellor of Kepler College in Rwanda and as an advocate for sustainable development and youth leadership. Quotes Youth and leadership Young people should not have to suffer in silence, but find someone they can speak to about what they are going through. Young people must be free to make informed decisions about their lives. First Lady of Namibia takes part in conversations with young people at Windhoek nightclub, UNAIDS, 19 November 2016. Education is the most powerful weapon we can wield to reshape our future, the future isn’t coming – it is already here, and it demands a new kind of African leader. Source: Geingos calls for new generation of African leaders, The Namibian, 2 April 2025. When there’s a problem, you are the first to volunteer. The spirit of volunteerism, that’s leadership. Leadership does not need a title – Geingos, The Namibian, 14 September 2026. We must have some tolerance for failure of youth organisations. Give young people room to fail, Geingos says, The Namibian, 12 September 2026. We must give you another chance. Give young people room to fail, Geingos says, The Namibian, 12 September 2026. Women and equality You cannot exclude half of your population, or a significant part of that half, and expect to perform at capacity. Africa Rising: The Change that Should Happen, George W. Bush Presidential Center, Summer 2017. The only way we can manage stereotypes is to be accountable, to be transparent, and we must accept that somebody’s going to ask a question. Africa Rising: The Change that Should Happen, George W. Bush Presidential Center, Summer 2017. I’ve decided that enough is enough... I will not be silenced anymore. Source: Namibia’s First Lady Stands Up to Misogynist Internet Trolls in Powerful Viral Video, Global Citizen, 11 March 2021. Disrespecting women is an important enabler of gender-based violence as it reduces women to objects. Namibia’s First Lady Stands Up to Misogynist Internet Trolls in Powerful Viral Video, Global Citizen, 11 March 2021. Power does not concede without a demand, and neither does patriarchy. Namibia’s First Lady Stands Up to Misogynist Internet Trolls in Powerful Viral Video, Global Citizen, 11 March 2021. Africa and inequality The same way you feel about your country, we feel about ours. Source: African First Ladies Share Thoughts Ahead of Melania Trump’s Trip, Voice of America, 2018. I strongly believe that inheritance is one of the biggest drivers of inequality. Source: First Lady of Namibia Vows to Donate Wealth to Charity After Death, Global Citizen, 14 February 2020; interview originally reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Of all my achievements, the title of first lady resonates the least with me because it's the one title that I have really done nothing to deserve, that I got by virtue of marriage. First Lady of Namibia Vows to Donate Wealth to Charity After Death, Global Citizen, 14 February 2020; interview originally reported by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. African leadership and development Africa must stop exporting talent. Africa must stop exporting talent — Monica Geingos at Leadership Lab Yetu launch, The Namibian, 1 February 2026. Opportunity tends to favour the urban, the educated elite, leaving behind rural youth and linguistic minorities. We must fix this. Africa must stop exporting talent — Monica Geingos at Leadership Lab Yetu launch, The Namibian, 1 February 2026. We don’t believe the work we do or you do, changes anything overnight. It takes a long time. Geingos urges young journalists to embrace long-term impact of storytelling, The Namibian, 11 June 2026. At a time of profound global transition, the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights, must be treated not as peripheral concerns, but as defining measures of whether societies are just, resilient and future-ready. PMNCH appoints Monica Geingos as Board Chair to champion a new era of leadership for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health, PMNCH, 13 May 2026.