Charity Maame Ekua Adupong
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Internationally EnterprisingGhana
Charity Maame Ekua Adupong is the founder and CEO of Meannan Foods. She is a food processing entrepreneur who employs 32 direct employees and hundreds of indirect employees on the farm fields. She is also a trainer in the agro-business enterprise and an advocate for women's economic empowerment. As an award-winning self-taught food processor with more than 30 products under the Meannan brand, Charity has been featured in agro-industry journals, newspapers, TV and radio shows. She is also an advocate for Ghana's poultry industry, championing the Ghana Egg Campaign in 2018 and helping build Ghana's egg standards. Charity is a mother, a wife, a sister, an aunt and an entrepreneur poised to make a difference in her society for positive change.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Internationally Enterprising
An Entrepreneurship Club was created to provide students with insights from established businesspeople on the path to success. Approximately 80 students participated from SWESCO high school, located within the catchment area of the Swedru Township in the central region of Ghana, along with 11 other youth from the same region. Sessions focused on practical skill building, stories shared by successful entrepreneurs, soft skills training and team building activities. With the skills they learned in the club, several student members went on to open their own businesses.
"I have noticed a boost in the confidence of the club members and want more students participating." - SWESCO High School Headmistress
IVLP Exchange Experience
Charity participated in the IVLP Project Women and Entrepreneurship, organized by the U.S. Department of State and CRDF Global.
Charity's exchange experience led to the development of her IVLP Impact Award Project: "No matter how high you go as an entrepreneur; our challenges are the same. All you need to do is to master the solutions and build the systems through them."
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
Huntsville, AL; Sacramento, CA; Washington, DC; Charlotte, NC; Akron, OH; Cleveland, OH