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Combining barbering and music as business …the story of Elizabeth Amponsah
Young Elizabeth Amponsah was ambitious while in secondary school but had to reconsider her options because her plans took a different turn.
She had to quit Adonten Senior High School in her final year in 2009 due to financial constraints. Her effort to attend remedial school was also challenged as she lacked the needed financial and family support to see it through.
In order not to waste her talent, she decided to venture into barbering to survive. With years of practice and consistency, she has mastered the craft and continues to attract patrons who admire and encourage her to keep doing what she does best.
Background
Elizbeth crops top artists including Yaw Berk 
Elizabeth on duty 
Elizabeth hails from Boti in the Yilo Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region Eastern. Her father is a retired public servant; her mother a petty trader. She had basic education at Boti Roman Catholic School before entering Adonten Senior Secondary School, at Aburi.
“Dropping out of school was unfortunate because I really loved to be in school and I actively took part in a lot of activities.
“When I was in school, I was able to use the blade and the barbering machine to shave my seniors and juniors and I used to do braids for other colleagues as well,” the 29-year-old told The Spectator, recounting how she found herself in a male dominated profession.
Having learnt the rudiments of barbering in school, she relocated to Koforidua to polish her skill under the apprenticeship of a male barber, without her family knowing about it.
“The barber was impressed that I was the first female to approach him so he taught me everything I was supposed to know and in three months I was perfect using the machine and people started noticing me,” she recalled.
Starting off at this barber’s shop, Elizabeth’s honesty and hardwork eventually paid off when the owner of the shop handed it over to her to operate on full-time basis. Pregnancy, however, set in after she had worked for two and half years.
“I had to quit the job to take care of my child but I soon had another job offer when my baby was five months old. I had no choice but to move to Accra,” she said.
Life in Accra was not as easy as she thought yet she managed to start working at a barber’s shop at Kwabenya and later a mini spa at Ashongman where she was offered free accommodation.
“I learnt a lot while working here though the income was not enough. I learnt how to do dreadlocks, pedicure, body massage, among others.
“After working for a while, I moved to Osu to look for other opportunities, until I found Classic Barbering Shop where I have been working for the past one and half years,” she said.
Experience
Elizabeth says she receives lots of compliment from individuals and prominent figures who come for grooming at the shop.
She uses her social media Instagram page to highlight her works and says the positive feedback from clients encourages her to keep doing more.
The industrious female barber who has passion for music, mentions musician Fameye, Jupiter, Guru and Ras Kuuku as some of the top artistes who continue to patronise her barbering and grooming services.
As a female in a male dominated profession, she has admitted the “unfriendly advances” of some male clients but says she often tries to maintain a “professional distance” at all times.
“This job gives me lots of exposure and I often meet single men and married men and some try to sway me with money but I have advised myself not to fall victim again,” she said.
She noted her family now accepts what she does and are willing to provide the needed support as she aims to establish her own multipurpose grooming shop in future.
Music
Elizabeth looks forward to combining barbering and music as a lifetime business, tour the world with her music and train other young girls when she is fully established.
She has a soft spot for Dancehall Artiste, Shatta Wale, and says she would provide free grooming services for him when the opportunity comes.
The budding musician said she had started singing and recording highlife music but had to abandon it after battling a life-threatening illness. Nonetheless, she still wants to collaborate with other musicians to release a hit album or single and also own a recording studio in future.
Elizabeth has seven other siblings and is a member of the Assemblies of God Church. Using her life as an example, she encourages teenage mothers to live responsible lives, take good advice from elders, pursue their ambition and never be discouraged in life.
“You still have life and opportunity to do something even if you drop out of school or give birth at a young age. I gave birth early but I did not give up,” she said.
By Ernest Nutsugah & Priscilla Efriyie Ankapong
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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