London, United Kingdom – [April 2025] – At the grand stage of the 2025 Global Power Women Awards (GPW Awards) held in London, Engr. Ziria Tibalwa Waako, Chief Executive Officer of Uganda’s Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA), received the African Female Leadership Impact Award, in recognition of her trailblazing impact on energy regulation, sustainable development, and women’s empowerment across the African continent.

The GPW Awards honor women whose visionary leadership transforms lives and drives systemic change. Engr. Ziria Tibalwa Waako was celebrated for her outstanding contribution to expanding Uganda’s energy access, diversifying the power sector, and inspiring a generation of women leaders in STEM and energy.

Since taking office as CEO of ERA in 2017, Engr. Ziria has led a national energy revolution. Under her guidance, Uganda’s electricity generation capacity increased from 895.5 MW in 2016 to over 2,050 MW by 2024, while electricity access rose to an impressive 60%. She has also championed diversification of the country’s energy mix to include solar, bagasse, wind, and geothermal sources, ensuring long-term sustainability and resilience.

Beyond technical excellence, Engr. Ziria is a passionate gender inclusion advocate, spearheading the Women in Energy initiative, which nurtures young women’s participation in STEM fields and the energy sector. Her commitment to gender equity is rooted in both mentorship and policy reform, making her a standout leader in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

ERA, under her stewardship, has consistently been ranked Africa’s top electricity regulatory authority by the African Development Bank’s Electricity Regulatory Index, further solidifying her reputation as a transformative leader. Her contributions have earned her numerous honors, including the Crested Crane Medal, the Excellent Performance Engineer Award.

The GPW Awards are presented by the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD)—a United Nations ECOSOC-accredited organization—recognizing global female leaders who are shaping the future with resilience, innovation, and inclusive impact.

An Inspiring Night of Global Recognition

The 2025 GPW Awards gathered distinguished dignitaries, diplomats, CEOs, and female trailblazers from around the world. Other notable honorees included:

Diplomatic Prestige on the Global Stage

The event welcomed a distinguished delegation of Ambassadors, Diplomats, and Global Leaders from across the world. In attendance were H.E. Ignacio Higueras Hare, Ambassador of the Embassy of Peru in London; H.E. Mrs. Manorie Mallikaratchy, Acting High Commissioner of the Sri Lanka High Commission in London; H.E. Christiane Aquino Bonomo, Deputy Consul-General of the Brazil Embassy in London and Mr. Ivan Romero-Martinez, Ambassador of the Embassy of Honduras in London. Representing grassroots empowerment, Delyth Panneth, UK Country Coordinator for Days For Girls, joined as a key Resilient Voices Project Partner, championing dignity, health, and opportunity for girls everywhere.

About the Global Power Women Awards

Organized by the Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD), in special consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC, the GPW Awards is a signature initiative celebrating the extraordinary achievements of women in leadership. This platform ignites dialogue, honors changemakers, and champions the mission of gender equity on a global scale.

About Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD)

Centre for Economic and Leadership Development (CELD) is a leading human capacity, gender empowerment and development-based organisation that sees itself as a catalyst and thought leader in developing the theory and practice of leadership, social, educational and economic empowerment particularly in Africa, and also the developing countries of the Middle East and Asia. As an organisation currently in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) since 2012, we strive to advance our partnership with public and private sector organisations at different stages to develop, refine and effectively execute strategies that deliver superior corporate/institutional excellence. We empower the men and women folk for peak performance.