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FortyUnder40 Awards: Meet some of the nominees ‘battling it out’
This year’s FortyUnder40 Awards has been scheduled for Saturday October, 1, 2022 in Accra. Ahead of the main event, here is a summary profile of some of the nominees ‘battling’ for the ultimate in some of the categories, as announced by the organisers.
MS SELINA ASHIAGBOR
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Designer of ‘Steplineklodin’ is one of the nominees in the Fashion Category. Originally a trained Nursing Assistant , she was motivated to hone her skills in sewing while waiting to secure a permanent nursing position.
After enrolling in a fashion school for a year, she registered her company and began working in the commercial fashion industry. Currently, she has clients in America and Europe and has created three distinctive ladies’ outfits, each with a name that suddenly became popular.
After only five years in the industry, she relocated to her own fashion plaza, where she has now employed many people and hosts interns from some Technical Universities in this country.
She donated about 1,200 pieces of cloth nose masks during the lockdown to residents, churches, and mosques within and beyond her catchment area. She has about 11 apprentices some of whom she provides free training and accommodation.
MR AMINU IDDRISU
Mr Iddrisu Aminu, CEO and founder of the Abuya Group of Companies, is in the Family Business Category. He has been an entrepreneur for over 20 years and has employed about 200 people.
The Abuya Group provides services to corporate and private clients in the fields of road construction, architectural design and building contracts, cleaning services, facility management, and real estate development.
Mr Aminu began his entrepreneurial career with Abuya Corporate Wardrobe in the Northern Region. Since then, the business had expanded to include several branches in Tamale and two branches at East Legon and Kokomlemle in Accra.
Due to his passion and dedication to his businesses, he has received different honours such as the Most Promising Entrepreneur of the Year at the 4th Edition of the Most Prestigious Northern Excellence Awards.
MR CATHERINE SAKYI
Ms Cathering Sakyi is the Event Management and Planning Category. Her company was started by her passion for “bringing light to people’s hearts through events or other aspects of decorations.”
With the combination of its in-house event specialist, the company has been able to exceed clients’ expectations. Right from conceptualising, coordination, design, she and her team are able to take charge of events and deliver the best experience for clients.
The company has over the years grown to become one of the most-promising outlets in the event planning and decoration industry. Catherine is married with two children. The company offers full services event planning, coordination, consultancies, indoor and outdoor stylings for weddings and any other social and corporate events.
DR. LOUISE CAROL SERWAA DONKOR
Dr. Louise Carol Serwaa Donkor holds a BA in Political Science and Psychology and a Ph.D in Communications and Media with specialisation in Politics and Gender. She is one of the candidates in the Environmental & Climate Sustainability Category.
She has been affiliated with a number of Universities such as Howard University, Washington DC and McGill University, Montreal (Canada). As a Visiting Junior Scholar, she has Certificate in United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) at the University of Toronto. She has taught and conducted research at the University of Liverpool, UK, Birmingham City University International College, (BCUIC, UK) and Ghana Institute of Journalism.
Dr. Carol Serwaa Donkor has always worked to advance the cause of the environment and people’s potential. While serving as a Policy and Communications Analyst at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advisory Unit at the Office of the President, she spearheaded advocacy initiatives on the SDGs in communities, particularly on energy preservation in households.
She also gave technical support to the President in his roles as co-Chair of the UN Eminent Group of Advocates on the SDGs and as a member of the High-Level Panel on Sustainable Ocean Economy.
DR. NAOMI ADJEPONG
Dr. Naomi Adjepong, nominated in the Education Category, is the School Director at Alpha Beta Education Centres, a 35-year-old family-owned school based in Accra.
She has 15 years of managerial experience and prior to becoming School Director, she served as Director of Operations and Head of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Department at Alpha Beta.
With the support of a dedicated team, she designed and implemented an entrepreneurial leadership track called the ‘Adinkrahene’ Leadership Programme which has been running successfully at Alpha Beta for eight years.
The programme for young people aged six to 18 years runs parallel to the academic British National Curriculum. It provides an enriched educational experience ensuring that students gain exposure and develop Christian values, attitude and skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century.
Based on the success of the programme, Alpha Beta was recognised in 2016 as an ‘Ashoka Changemaker’ School.
She is the co-founder and a Board Member of Emerge Leadership Ltd, which designs and runs leadership development programmes for teenagers in Ghana and the United Kingdom.
She serves as a Board Member in a number of organisations including, Arkfund – Databank Group and Alpha Beta Charitable Trust, a charitable organisation that works to improve the quality of life for people in disadvantaged communities in Ghana.
MR FELIX ATSRIM
He is a Certified Project Manager with almost two decades of expertise in Project Financing and Civil Engineering. He is a member of several professional organisations, including the Ghana Institution of Engineers, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Association of Project Management.
He is the Director of Projects and Chief Executive Officer of the ‘FeDems Group.’ Between 2008 and 2011, he worked as a Geodetic Engineer with Associated Consultants on the construction of the Achimota Transport Terminal Extension for the World Bank’s Urban Environmental & Sanitation Project.
He is one of the candidates in the Consultancy and Professional Services Category.
Madam Sandra Seyram Kpedor, the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Anloga in the Volta Region, has emphasised the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, stating that education is free, but parents need to do more to support their children.
She said parents, teachers, and students must be involved in addressing the challenges facing the district’s education sector, particularly the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results.
Madam Kpedor outlined some key roles parents should play to promote their children’s education, including providing a conducive learning environment, monitoring their children’s progress, and supporting teachers.
The DCE highlighted some challenges the district faced such as inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of teachers, which have also contributed to the poor BECE results and called on well-to-do parent to help solve the situation through and other supports.
To address the issues, she also announced that plans have been taken to utilise the district’s common fund to implement educational projects, such as constructing school blocks and teachers’ bungalows at Sodzi community, and 2-unit classroom blocks each at Akplorwutorkor and Tegbi-Afedome respectively, among others.
Madam Kpedor also noted that her office had earlier notified the Ministry of Education to deploy more teachers to the area to improve teaching and learning, and encouraged students to work hard and strive for excellence, and work beyond their limit to succeed.
“To my wonderful and beautiful girls, you have to know it clear that women and girls have equal opportunities to compete with men for greater achievements,” she indicated.
The DCE cited her own achievement as a testament to the fact that women can excel in leadership positions, alongside Vice President Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, and stressed that girls were no longer limited to domestic roles but can pursue their dreams and become leaders.
Additionally, she mentioned that a meeting was held earlier with assembly members, and other stakeholders to address the district’s educational challenges and improve academic performance.
She promised that the district’s education oversight committee and stakeholders would work together to address the challenges and improve the district’s BECE results and called for parental involvement and support to boost the district’s education sector for children to chase their dreams to become future leaders for the success of the district and the nation.
She urged parents not to leave everything to the government but rather help in the provision of some necessary materials such as textbooks, exercise books, pens, pencils, food, and guidance to children for the successes of young learners. –GNA
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The spokesperson for Dr. Bawumia, Dennis Miracles Aboagye, has criticised the implementation of the NDC government’s No Fee Stress policy, arguing that the programme has failed to deliver on its core promise.
According to him on Starr fm, the policy, which was introduced to ensure stress free payment of fees for level 100 tertiary students, has rather turned into what he described as post stress support.
He explained that students are required to pay their fees first before applying for reimbursement, a situation he believes defeats the purpose of the policy.
He questioned claims by government officials that the policy has been successful and that citizens are happy.
In his view, such claims do not reflect the lived realities of many Ghanaians. He stressed that while some people may appear satisfied, many others continue to struggle.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye pointed to the situation of trained teachers and nurses who have been picketing for nearly six months, demanding employment.
He noted that government responses suggesting it cannot accommodate all of them contradict claims of economic stability.
He further argued that economic indicators such as a stable currency mean little to people who are unable to secure jobs or access promised support.
He observed that telling an unemployed teacher or a struggling student that the cedi has strengthened does not address their immediate challenges.
On the issue of tertiary education, he maintained that no level 100 student benefited from stress free fees in 2025, despite the policy being announced.
He added that in 2026, students have already reported to school without receiving the promised support.
He insisted that asking students to pay fees first and seek reimbursement later amounts to support after hardship, not stress free education.
According to him, this approach goes against what was promised during the policy announcement.
Dennis Miracles Aboagye questioned why a government that presents the economy as strong is unable to fulfil what he described as simple and clear promises.
He added that there is a fundamental problem with the way the economy is being managed and indicated that he is prepared to explain his position further.
By: Jacob Aggrey
