Diana Wilson

Diana Wilson is the visionary Founder and CEO of Yielding Accomplished African Women (YaaW), a groundbreaking non-profit organization dedicated to empowering African women in finance and technology. Under her leadership, YaaW has trained over 710 young African women in just 2.5 years, providing them with the skills and opportunities to excel in STEM fields.citeturn0search0 n recognition of her innovative contributions, Diana was honoured as the Female Innovator of the Year at the Africa Tech Festival Awards in 2021.citeturn0search1 er commitment to fostering talent and bridging gender gaps in STEM continues to inspire and drive change across the continent. In this episode we discuss the building blocks that led Diana to this point.

THE YAAW STORY

Coming from a quintessential background, Nana is a firm believer of “If you are going to do it, do it well” and as a stunt disciplinarian who likes to get things done on time, he prioritizes working hard and being intentional and committed to the work. After graduating from Prempeh College, Nana proceeded to Calvin University despite gaining admission into some Ivy League schools. Nana's intentionality at Calvin University brought him great success and a pioneer of some achievements, which included becoming the first black student body president in a predominately white school, graduating as the best student in both Computer Science and Information Systems among others.Following graduation, he landed a job on Wall Street, an opportunity that few could match. But Nana, driven to make significant strides in his home country, took the daring step of returning home, not knowing what Ghana had in store for him. After working for his dad for an irregular salary of 700 cedis, Nana started his own real estate business. A business that began as helping a friend acquire a home, became a fully fledged business that has undertaken numerous projects like building schools.Despite his two unsuccessful agricultural ventures, Nana was in for a discovery, a discovery that rekindled his love for agriculture.&nbsp;One day on a usual site-seeing as a realtor, Nana was given&nbsp; some rice by the Chief of the town. The high quality and delicious taste of the rice prompted a return for more, and when the taste was not the same, Nana sought to invest in farmers growing the rice to achieve the earlier quality. Something that began as his little way of getting quality made in Ghana rice to eat became a career-revolving moment when he tried commercializing the product. Today, Nana’s Rice is making significant strides in Ghana and internationally. Aside from being known for Nana’s Rice, Nana Owusu-Achau leads several successful businesses including Rakata Tech, Fashion Nest, and Daachi NGO, all under the group company, Kings Innovation.&nbsp;In our conversation with Nana Owusu-Achau, we delved into his life and his entrepreneurial journey.

THE NANA'S RICE STORY

By ARESE UGWU

Arese has started a movement for African millennial women which has them excited about making smart money decisions. Following her background in wealth management and her interest in storytelling, she has created media products which spark conversations about investment, wealth, entrepreneurship and employment. After two Best Selling Books and a wildly successful Pan African book tour, Arese went on to Produce the Hit Netflix Series, The Smart Money Woman. Through her work, she has built strong relatable characters which depict the daily financial struggles of the modern African woman and practical strategies for building wealth in an African Context. She is the host of the Smart Money Tribe Podcast which went to number one, in the first week of its release, on Apple’s Top Shows Podcast List. Arese has also spoken at and been featured on premium international platforms such as CNN.com, Bloomberg and Forbes Africa. In 2021, she was recognised as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD). Arese is an independent director for Africa’s Largest Indigenous Make-up Brand- House of Tara International and an Advisory Board Member for TW Magazine. She holds an MSc in Economic Development from University College London (UCL) and a BSc in Business and Management from Aston Business School, Birmingham. She is also an alumna of the Lagos Business School, INSEAD Abu Dhabi, and The London School of Business executive education programs. Arese remains focused on creating TV shows and media products that break down financial barriers for African Women.

THE SMART MONEY WOMAN STORY

Selorm, a German-born Ghanaian, was quite unsettled about life in his early years, having had to deal with diverse cultural expectations and lifestyles.At the age of 11, things took a turn as he discovered himself and gained more confidence. He unearthed that his natural talent was more geared toward the creative side, which led to one of his first achievements, winning a Gold medal in the 27th Children's World Art Exhibition in South Korea. Since then, he has amassed numerous accomplishments like running successful businesses as a college student, working with top companies like AT&amp;T, and HP. He is currently the CEO of MTN Ghana, Ghana's leading telecom company. Selorm believes that opportunism should not be viewed negatively but as simply taking advantage of what is available. His story preaches toughness, resilience and defying the odds no matter what! Follow through this episode to learn about his story.

THE SELORM ADADEVOH STORY

Selling make-up in department stores as a teenager, Stephanie developed a passion for make-up and was fascinated by the artistry in the beauty industry. This passion was rekindled after Stephanie learned about the concerns of women of diverse backgrounds in finding the right beauty products while working in Africa.&nbsp; After researching and putting money aside to pursue this opportunity and passion in the African beauty industry, she returned home to Ghana from the UK and quit her full-time job as an investment Banker at Morgan Stanley. In 2014, the Colorbox Cosmetics was officially birthed.&nbsp;&nbsp; Today, Colorbox Cosmetics is an award-winning brand that focuses on providing quality yet affordable made-in-Ghana beauty products to women from diverse backgrounds. The company has expanded to Nigeria and envisions expanding to other African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp; Follow us as we unpack Stephanie's journey in this podcast. <a href="https://colorboxcosmetics.com.gh/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Colorbox Website</a>, <a href="www.idsconsultingservices.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ABR Website</a>

The Colorbox Cosmetics Story

In 1998 a man birthed a vision: to build leaders who are not afraid to question the status quo. In 2002 this seed was sowed on three pillars: leadership, citizenship and entrepreneurship. With the sole mission to train Ethical and Entrepreneurial leaders for Africa, Patrick Awuah founded the Ashesi University. Today, the liberal arts university enrols about 1300+ students from over 25 countries, majorly African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;20 years after, Ashesi university blossoms beautifully on the hills of Berekuso, shaping thousands of youths into impact-driven leaders. In this frank conversation, we delve deep into the life of this man and his journey to Ashesi University

The Ashesi University Story

The Eric Adjepong Story

The Spelling Bee Ghana Story

The expressPay Story

The stories of successful Africans.

A show that shares the stories of successful Africans in business, and how they did it. It's our story, told our way, to inspire our people. This podcast is sponsored by <a href="http://idsconsultingservices.com" target="_blank">IDS Consulting Ghana</a>. A company dedicated to serving small and medium sized enterprises with accounting and advisory services.

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