Roberta Annan
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has officially designated Ghanaian creative, Roberta Annan, as a ‘UNEP Supporter on Creative Economy’ in Africa in a ceremony at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York.
“The fashion industry employs over 75 million people worldwide and is worth $2.4 trillion a month,” Satya S Tripathi, UN Assistant Secretary-General & UNEP Director for the New York Office, said.
“The big elephant in the room as far the fashion industry is concerned is $500 billion it loses every year because most of it is not recycled. Imagine if we recycle it every year, 100 per cent, that is the saving of $500 billion not just for the industry but for mother earth,” she added.
Ms. Annan is an avid philanthropist and is passionate about women’s development opportunities across Africa. She started the African Fashion Fund in 2014. The fund is an incubator to support talented designers from Africa.
“Fashion is the second largest polluter of the environment. As part of my role, I look forward to support international fashion brands to adhere to the right and sustainable practices in their manufacturing and production,” she disclosed.
Roberta is also the recipient of several leadership awards such as ‘20 under 40 Influential Business Leaders in Ghana’, ‘Feminine Ghana Achievement Award’ and ‘Woman 2.1 Summit Award’.
She was the youngest African to be inducted into the African Leadership Hall of Fame in 2019.
Roberta holds a Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Georgetown University. She graduated with Highest Honours from Carleton University in Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
The UN Environment Programme is the leading global voice on the environment. It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and people to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.