News
Diplomat calls for promotion of Ghana’s untapped potential to boost GDP
THE Barbados High Commissioner to Ghana, Madam Juliete Bynoe-Sutherland, has called for the promotion of Ghana’s excess untapped potentials within its private sector to boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
She said since the real growth in a country’s economy stems from the private sector, it was imperative for the country to invest in its young entrepreneurs in order to elevate its economy, internationally.
Ms Bynoe-Sutherland made the call at the ‘Entrepreneurship with Bola Ray’ closing dinner for its third cohort in Accra last Friday.
The programme, organised by the Bola Ray Institute, was a comprehensive five-month start-up support initiative for 15 deserving entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35.
Ms Bynoe-Sutherland who was the grand mentor for the training expressed gratitude to the institute for giving her the opportunity to engage and learn with the mentees.
The High Commissioner, who made a pledge to avail herself as a faculty member for the next cohort, highlighted the contributions of Bola Ray towards the development and growth of the country and needed recognition.
The Chairman for the institute, Mr Nathan Kwabena Anokye Adisi, known as Bola Ray, acknowledged the High Commissioner and other mentors for believing in his dream.
Bola Ray who is one of Ghana’s most renowned, pioneering radio and television personalities, also congratulated the entrepreneurs for their resilience, creativity and determination throughout the journey.
He charged the mentees to be audacious in charting new territories with their enterprises.
Touting achievements of the participants, the Team Lead of the BR Institute, Mr Alex Brown, announced that six of them have been selected to pitch their business ideas in the BOMA Africa Prize Award taking place in the subsequent weeks ahead.
Out of the 15 participants, two were disqualified based on consistently flouting the business process.
The 13 qualified mentees who were presented with certificates of participation were Shadrack Kofi Ansah, Sylvia Andzie-Quainoo, Alberta Nana Ama Awuku, Agnes Agyemang, Kwabena Owusu, and Hannah Appiah.
The others were Joshua Kobina Baah, Solomon Bentum Mensah, Keziah Naa Odorkor Daniels, Aboagye Theophilus, Yvonne Nuoriyee, Queenstar Nsakie and Sarah Lartey.
The CEO of AGE Industries, Mr Theophilus Aboagye, was adjudged the overall winner of the cohort with a cash prize of GH₵20,000 and the Jeff Sowah Award of GH₵20,000. He was also honoured with the Most Innovative Business Idea Award.
Founder of Crochel, Mrs Alberta Awuku, came second with a cash prize of GH₵10,000 whiles the Founder of Hibitea and Beverages, Mrs Agnes Agyemang won GH₵5,000 as the third runner up.
Most Promising Female Entrepreneur Award went to Mrs Yvonne Nuoriyee and Best Bootstrapped Business Award, given to Mr Shadrack Kofi Ansah.
By Spectator Reporter
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
Hundreds of street children received a special treat during the Christmas festivities as a result of a collaboration between the management of the La Beach Hotel and the Street Academy in Accra.
It was part of the Hotel’s current arrangement to provide lunch for the children of the Academy every Friday.
Courtesy that partnership, management of the La Beach Hotel feted hundreds of street children housed by the Street Academy, creating a partying moment for the children.
According to officials of the Hotel, the gesture was to let the children feel part of the festivities and not left out.
The children enjoyed delicious meals and snack after which they danced as they enjoyed the moment.
According to the Hotel officials, “the season represents one that every parent gathers their children and shower them with gifts and others to make them happy but sadly, these unfortunate children are left on their own, having no one to care for them.”
“This is an event we intend to make an annual one. Through this, we hope to put some smiles on their faces. It is not proper to leave them on their own.”
The Executive Director of the Academy, Ataa Lartey, expressed gratitude to the management of the hotel, saying that, “this has gone a long way to excite the children and make them feel part of the celebration.”
He said due to the number of children that join around this time of the year, it becomes difficult for the Academy alone to shoulder this responsibility.
“It is not easy to organise such activities alone because it draws a lot of children, that is, those in the Academy and their friends that follow them but with such cooperate supports, we are able to bring them together to share in moments like this,” he told The Spectator.
By Spectator Reporter
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
A 30-year-old surrogate mother has delivered a set of quadruplets at The Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, in a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
The babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average 2.5 kilograms each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
IUI stands for Intrauterine Insemination, a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a lab, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
Speaking to The Spectator after the surgery, the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, said the pregnancy was achieved through Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) and was not planned to result in multiple births.
“With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
“Unlike IVF, where embryos are formed outside the body and the number transferred can be controlled, this outcome was left entirely to nature,” Dr Osei explained.
He said unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He revealed that the surrogacy arrangement was necessary because the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
“She had no womb of her own, through no fault of hers,” Dr Osei said, adding that “Surrogacy was the only option available for her to have a biological child.”
When scans later showed that the surrogate was carrying four fetuses, the medical team considered fetal reduction, a procedure sometimes used to reduce risks in multiple pregnancies. However, the option was rejected.
“As a strong Christian, fetal reduction is abortion to me,” Dr Osei said. “After discussions with the intended parents and the surrogate, we all agreed to continue with the pregnancy.”
Despite concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth. Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
He urged the public to engage the subject with greater understanding.
“Surrogacy is not about convenience,” he said. “It is about restoring hope to people who have lost the ability to carry a child.”
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Join our WhatsApp Channel now!
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
