My name is Beatrice Adu and I am happy to share my journey on the SAAP (Star Alternative Access Program) Cohort 1 with Star Women. I hope my story inspires a young lady and gives hope to many. I joined the program in order to have more ideas and knowledge in entrepreneurship, leadership and digital skills which will build me up.

I have been able to bring out my leadership skills which I have developed a startup from my learning and I have really seen changes and made me focus. One of my highlights for the program was building my emotional intelligence skills. This topic was one of my favorite and has really helped me and it’s still helping me. I learnt how to relate with people knowing and understanding their state of mind.

After completing the core component of the Program, STAR Women helped me get an opportunity at Ghana Tech Lab. That opportunity helped me sharpen my digital skills, bring out my creativity and build problem solving skills. One thing that stood out to me was when I learnt about empathy trip which is going out to your customers finding solutions to your business and also how you will see or set a business if you were in their shoes. I also got to work on a real startup project which led to the creation of a social enterprise that I cofounded, Bra Africa.

Africa is home to many beautiful places and people with diverse cultures and lifestyles and is blessed with many mineral resources but it is often the negative side of the continent that is seen and heard in the media. This impacts investment for instance, in Africa negatively. My enterprise exists to visually tell African stories focused on areas of creativity, innovation, arts & culture, places and other human interests.

As part of our start up strategy, we researched, captured, and distributed African content in the form of documentaries, stock photos, and articles, mainly to Diasporas and non-Africans. We also partnered with local markets to produce and sell African-branded products such as kente shirts, beads, caps, among many others. It’s not an easy task when you want to make it in life and I want to say with the help of STAR Women, I’ve mastered courage to bring out my best and I am very grateful for the help!