Eight inspiring women – all leading and or working within a pioneering green business and being incubated by the  the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC)– are part of GCIC’s Women Entrepreneurs Transformation Programme (WETP), an initiative of GCIC with the objective of supporting women entrepreneurs within the incubator to elevate their entrepreneurial adventure and become extraordinary. When they signed up to the programme in February, many of them didn’t know what to expect. GCIC together with leadership transformation facilitator and coach, Rachel Allan, invited them on a transformative leadership journey.

The women of the WETP are united through their passion for environmental issues and the ambition to make this world a better place through how they lead and operate their businesses. During the programme they have explored themes such as self-awareness, personal responsibility, overcoming challenges, resilience, and speaking up.

Recapping their experiences so far, four of the women entrepreneurs shared insights into their very personal journey:

“I got an idea of what success really means for me, and what the essential things are for me. Life doesn’t end when I don’t do everything. I learned to take care of myself. I’m not competing with anyone, I get where I need to go in my own time. The results might only show later, but I will get there.” Esther Laryea, Farmable World.

“I learned that what I perceive as failure is not necessarily true. Life is a beautiful painting, so everything contributes to the big picture. I learned how to ask, shout, cry for help. I lost some friend down the line. But I learned: What is true to me is important if I want to move forward and grow.” Marigold Adu, Global Bamboo Products Limited.

“The WETP came at the right time. My family and my business had been going through a lot of challenges. The biggest success came from discovering the ‘quiet’: the belief that everything is possible, really made things happen for me. That small, ‘still’ moment is the spark for me to create my future. When I met my future self, I loved her: she was calm and at ease and found a way to love and accept everyone, which is something that I need to be able to do in order to lead a truly authentic business. And maybe I am already growing into her.” Sefa Gohoho-Boatin, Arela Chemicals.

“I was pregnant when I joined the WETP. It came at a good time in my life, and an opportunity given to me. There was a part in me that was locked, and that I had to unlock. I know I have arrived. This is me, who I am. I have helped a lot of people, I shared with people what I learned. I have created courage. Courage opens doors. I am alive, I live a whole life, this is me.” Priscilla Morny, Moringa Connect.

The 6-months Women Entrepreneur Transformation Programme aims to unleash the untapped potential of female entrepreneurs. It guides the participants to transform their leadership to a more authentic one. The process encourages them to speak up, speak their truth, and, as authentic leaders, have an increased impact in the world.

This transformation happens when women discover and uncover their life purpose, and start committing to bold leadership action. From experience, leadership coach Rachel Allen knows that the biggest results often manifest months after the programme and is therefore curious to follow the development of the participants, both on a personal and a professional level, beyond the programme.

Coming toward the end of the programme, the WETP participants have established a new community of like-minded women, a support system. What’s more, they have started acting as role-models to other female entrepreneurs by sharing their experiences. Ultimately, leading from the inside out, they will guide their businesses purposefully, authentically and consciously. With their clear visions for themselves, their families, communities and businesses, they are ambitious and confident to tackle some of Ghana’s most pressing climate change mitigation and adaptation  challenges.

The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) is a pioneering business incubator whose objective is to support entrepreneurs and ventures involved in developing profitable and locally appropriate solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ghana. The Centre’s key focus is on building businesses operating within the areas of energy efficiency, domestic waste management, solar energy, water supply management and purification and climate-smart agriculture. GCIC is part of the World Bank Group’s infoDev Climate Technology Program. Supported by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, the Centre is managed by a consortium led by the Ashesi University College and including Ernst & Young, SNV Ghana, and the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.

 The GCIC Women Entrepreneurs’ Transformation Programme (WETP) is one of the mentoring and coaching programmes created by the GCIC on the belief that inner leadership creates outer impact, and aims to unleash the untapped potential of female entrepreneurs. The 2018 programme is created in partnership with global leadership transformation facilitator and coach Rachel Allan.