Link to Dr. Rasha Kelej’s Mentorship and Leadership Platform: https://open.substack.com/pub/rashakelej
I am excited to launch “Beyond Power: Leadership, Global Influence and Impact”, my first virtual Mentorship and Leadership Platform through Substack, creating an accessible resource designed to inspire, guide, and support future leaders, particularly women and young aspiring leaders. The platform is accessible to all, ensuring that aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds can benefit from valuable mentorship, leadership insights, and practical guidance.
Through the Mentorship and Leadership Platform, I will share my 32 years of knowledge and experience to support and guide aspiring individuals in unlocking their hidden potential, achieving their professional and personal goals, and becoming the leaders of tomorrow.
Beyond sharing ideas on leadership, influence, and social impact, I see this platform as a mentorship journey. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to work alongside remarkable leaders across Africa and beyond, and I believe that knowledge and experience become truly valuable when they are shared. Through these articles, I hope to support and inspire future leaders, especially women and young people, to believe in their potential, develop their skills, and lead with integrity, compassion, and courage. This is my contribution to sustainable development and capacity building: investing in people, sharing lessons learned, and helping to create a new generation of leaders who will shape a better future for their communities and countries.
Over the past 14 years, I have been working closely with more than 33 African and Asian First Ladies, who are the Ambassadors of Merck Foundation “More Than a Mother”, leading our joint programs in their respective countries, as well as with key partners including Ministries of Health, Information, Education & Gender, academia, policymakers, international fertility societies, media, and the arts sector from over 52 countries.
I am leading several impactful programs, including the “Merck Foundation Scholarships Program”, through which more than 2,600 scholarships have been provided to healthcare providers from 52 countries in 44 critical and underserved medical specialties. Alongside this, the “Merck Foundation More Than a Mother” movement, launched in 2015, has become one of the most impactful and widely recognized campaigns aiming to empower infertile and childless women through access to information, education, health, and mindset change. The campaign is building quality and equitable reproductive and fertility care capacity, breaking infertility stigma, raising awareness about infertility prevention and male infertility, and supporting girls’ education.
I am also a strong advocate for supporting girls’ education and firmly believe that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to transform communities.
Through Merck Foundation “Educating Linda” program in partnership with African First Ladies, more than 1,500 annual scholarships are awarded to African schoolgirls from 21 countries, covering school fees and other essential educational expenses, including books, uniforms and transport, enabling them to complete their education and reach their full potential.
The links of the articles can also be accessed on Merck Foundation Website. Moreover, the links will also be access through mine and Merck Foundation’s Social Media Channels.
Kind Regards
Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej (Ret.)
CEO of Merck Foundation
100 Most Influential African Women (2019–Present)
One of the Most Influential Africans 2025
One of the 100 Most Impactful Voices 2026
Member of the Egyptian Senate (2020–2025)
Doctorate of Letters (D.Litt.) – Krishna World University
