RISING WOMAN 2025: Tenda breaks glass ceilings to elevate women in legal profession

Dar es Salaam.  It is not uncommon for a woman to feel unseen at home or in her career. I have been through that. Therefore, I need to ensure that young women feel seen in everything that they do and especially in their careers.

These are words of Ms Tenda Msinjili, a Partner at Clyde and Co Tanzania believes that this International Women’s Day Accelerate Her Impact” is a great theme. For her, this means giving her responsibilities, supervising her through those responsibilities, providing constructive criticism, praising her when she excels, bringing her achievements up in conversations with other leaders, and doing it all over again. If we are not ‘accelerating her impact,’ it will be difficult for her to break any glass ceilings.

Ms Msinjili has advised various local and international companies on local laws and regulatory issues relating to a wide range of sectors, including Banking and Debt Finance, Foreign Investments, Data Protection, Intellectual Property and Mining.

Always wanted to become a lawyer. Advocating for people’s rights was her dream. Her journey, however, was not short. After attaining a first-class honours degree at the University of Alberta (Augustana Campus) in Canada.

She went on to pursue a Senior Status Law Degree at the University of Hull in the United Kingdom and came back to Tanzania after that and completed Law School of Tanzania. Although my education journey took around 12 years to complete, because she had to work for most of it to pay her way through school, I can now say that it was worth every bit of it and will never take those long sleepless nights for granted.

She leads the Banking & Debt Finance and Regulatory & Compliance departments at Clyde & Co. Tenda and has experience advising banks and investors around the globe across a full spectrum of financing transactions ranging from straightforward commercial lending to more complex project financing transactions involving multiple sources of financing and credit support.

Ms Msinjili also provides advice to local and foreign investors on banking regulatory and compliance matters.

Ms Msinjili received the ‘individual recommendation’ ranking in the Legal 500 EMEA 2023 and Legal 500 EMEA 2024. Tenda has also been ranked as ‘Rising Star’ by IFLR1000 and Chambers for Banking and Debt Finance in 2024 and as ‘Up and Coming’ for Tanzania, General Business Law by Chambers Global 2025.

She is an alumnus of the University of Alberta in Canada, the University of Hull in the United Kingdom, and the Law School of Tanzania. She is a member of the Tanganyika Law Society and the East African Law Society.

She has been working in the legal sector for 13 years. She started as an intern at Clyde & Co in 2012 and was promoted to Associate within two months. She was then promoted to Senior Associate in 2017 and Partner in 2019.

According to her, career guidance is extremely important to her. She spent close to 10 years at Clyde & Co supervising interns and junior associates. It is her to see young talent blossom into great advocates within the legal fraternity. The interns she supervised are now Associates and Senior Associates within Clyde & Co and in other leading law firms in Tanzania.

She has been actively mentoring women in the legal sector, aiming to increase female representation and empower more women to pursue careers in this field.

Through her dedicated efforts, she provides guidance, support, and valuable insights to help women navigate the challenges often associated with the legal profession. Her mentorship focuses on building confidence, enhancing professional skills, and encouraging women to take on leadership roles within the sector.

Currently, she is mentoring six women, each at different stages of their careers. She tailors her approach to meet their individual needs, whether it’s providing advice on career advancement, improving legal expertise, or balancing professional and personal responsibilities. By sharing her experiences and offering continuous encouragement, she not only helps these women grow but also fosters a sense of community among them.

Her mentorship extends beyond professional development, as she emphasises the importance of resilience, integrity, and collaboration. The impact of her work is evident, as her mentees gain the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the legal field. Through her continued dedication, she is contributing to a more inclusive and diverse legal sector, inspiring more women to pursue their ambitions and break barriers.

Ms Msinjili noted that women often face challenges such as not being taken seriously, having their potential overlooked, lacking constructive criticism to aid their growth, and simply being ignored because of their gender. These experiences can significantly undermine one’s self-confidence.

Having witnessed this repeatedly, she emphasised that, as a leader, it is her responsibility to inspire women to embrace their full potential and remain resilient, regardless of societal perceptions.

She advised women to take up space. Put yourself in situations you would not ordinarily ever see yourself in and make yourself known to others. You may need to do this several times before you are seen and before you are even considered for that leadership role. Some may call you aggressive or difficult, but that should never deter you. Take up space until you are the space. Explaining her role model: “My mother and my sisters are my role models. As a young girl, I saw how hard my mother worked for all of us to have a great future. I see this strength and determination in my sisters now, and I am very proud of all of them, but most importantly, I am thankful to have received the guidance, strength, and courage that I did from my mother, especially when things were tough and I was close to giving up.

With over 13 years of experience in the legal and investment consultancy sectors, she believes in supporting other women in entering and thriving in this field by mentoring them, pushing them to fight for their dreams, and ensuring they are taking up space in places they would not ordinarily see themselves in. I also have an open-door policy where I am open to having discussions, with anyone who would like to, about careers, career progression, and any difficulties they’re facing.

Supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation