Elsie Addo Awadzi
Telecel Ghana has hosted its inaugural Women 100 Power Connect, a gathering of accomplished and influential women across the country, to climax its Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Month celebration.
Telecel organised the exclusive evening event to serve as a platform for igniting insights, inspiration, connection and collaboration among the women.
Held under the theme ‘Imperfect Courage’ in Accra, the interactive event featured resilient and inspiring life stories from speakers, engaging poetry and comedy performances, and ample opportunities for networking.
Chief Executive of Telecel Ghana, Ing. Patricia Obo-Nai, shared her challenges in the first year as the first Ghanaian woman to lead Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited (GTCL) and the strategies she embraced to help the telco stay afloat despite opposition from skeptics.
“I decided to be bold, brave and resolute, irrespective of naysayers. The worst you can do is to self-doubt. You have to keep going,” Ing. Obo-Nai said.
Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Elsie Addo Awadzi, who was the special guest of honour, shared her story of the difficult transition from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to serve as a Deputy Governor of BoG because she believed that the call of national duty was stronger.
“Despite the banking sector crisis and pandemic, I had to work through it to restore confidence and ensure our banks were liquid and well-financed,” Mrs. Awadzi said. “I let courage lead even in circumstances that look imperfect. More women must take up public positions because too many generational decisions are being taken that does not have women at the table.”
Two additional business leaders who shared their stories on imperfect courage were Valerie Larbi, a sustainable transport entrepreneur who is co-founder and CEO of Wahu Mobilty and Esther Aidoo Dwamena, CEO of Witties Ghana, a sanitation and hygiene business.
By Samuel Boadi