From nearly dropping out of school due to financial constraints and taking up petty jobs to survive, Yvonne Enyonam Afare has turned her struggles into hardwork to be­come an inspiration to young people in society.

The Manager­ess at the Nuru Lounge, one of Accra’s busiest, exclusive and exot­ic restaurants, has vowed to become one of the richest person’s to ever lived and impact the lives of the needy in society.

Born in a family of six, life was rosy from the beginning till she turned 15 when the family had few challenges and she nearly gave up her Senior High School education for her younger siblings due to financial constraints.

“It was at that moment that I had an encounter with God and made a vow never to be poor but do whatever it takes rightfully to become rich,” she told the Spectator.

She had since developed a thick skin which helped her to go through the rough patches of life to become a successful business woman.

Ms Afare, a Hotelier, Business Consultant and Entrepreneur had carved a niche for herself in the hospitality industry and working towards becom­ing one of the biggest brands in Africa and the world at large.

At age 18, young Yvonne took up a job at Metalex, a roofing company in Accra in order to fend for herself as well as save money for her education.

After few years, she moved to other companies before finally gaining admission at the Marshalls University College where she read Banking and Finance and graduated with distinc­tion.

“I later realised I was a people’s person and love to be in the service space, hence I could do better in the hospitality industry,” she said.

To become better in the industry, she enrolled at the Ghana Institute of Journalism for a certificate programme course in Events Management and Public Relations.

She had also coordinated the presti­gious Ghana Movie Awards since 2013 till date as well as managing grand weddings and parties.

Her strength she explained, lied in her ability to multi-task as a woman and able to handle businesses to be­come successful.

“Women generally attach a lot of passion and drive towards their work. Though there will be struggles, I per­sonally change them into my strength and not weakness,” she said.

“I become consistent towards things that I recognise as my struggles and work towards making them benefi­cial,” she stressed.

“I want to be known as an Encourag­er; someone who managed to surpass all challenges, rose through the storms to become successful,” she said.

Growing up at Dansoman in Accra, she said, she never thought of travel­ling abroad but through hard work and determination, she had travelled to abroad several times for businesses.

She advised young people to be truthful in everything they did to become successful adding that loyalty and honesty were important keys to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

“I am an Entrepreneur and I turn ev­erything around me to make money. I see opportunities at where there seem to be none. Where people see prob­lems, I see solutions and possibilities,” she stated.

Describing herself as the definition of beauty with brains, she said her stock-in-trade had been finding ideas and improving upon her surroundings at all times.

“My hobbies are to interact with people, read and acquire new knowl­edge to shape her mind. I hate poverty with passion and my greatest motiva­tion is never to be poor. I intend to be a very wealthy person,” she said.

“I have not gotten to where I want to but I want to be famous as an inspiration to others especially young girls,” she added.

She advised young girls to desist from illicit activities to acquire wealth and become famous since it would have dire consequences on their fu­ture.

“Currently, young girls think it is all about ‘twerking’ on social media to make money but sincerely there are other avenues to earn a living without going naked. Girls need not to sell their pride enrich themselves. There are other genuine means of making money without being a scammer, fraudster or sleeping with men for money.” She stated.

She said young people must engage in some level of self-evaluation before venturing into any kind of business to ensure it succeeds.

Hear her :young people needed to improve upon themselves by looking around their environment and see what they could do to promote their environment.

“Once you do that, you end up being rich. It is not always about the money but doing what you want, then the money follows. When there is passion, consistency becomes a hallmark,” she said.

Aside managing Nuru Lounge, Ms Afare deals in clothes as well as Iiquid soaps and detergents which she manu­factured.

She described her journey managing Nuru Lounge as amazing and working towards improving upon their services.

“I learnt along the journey to im­prove the place to become a hub for workers. It should be a place for net­working and sharing business ideas,” she said.

Last Thursday, she hosted a profes­sional networking hangout at Nuru, where they engaged professionals from different sectors of the economy to interact and share ideas in a very relaxed atmosphere.

“The idea is to make Nuru a pro­fessional networking zone. A place where young people who might not be employed could meet employers,” she added.

Over the years, as part of her birth­day celebrations, she has been donat­ing items worth thousands of Ghana cedis to street children and persons with special needs across the country.

“I would like to share my wealth with the needy in society and Nuru Lounge would be engaged in various Corporate Social Responsibilities,” she disclosed.

 By Michael D. Abayateye