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Leaving bank to drive Uber was tough; Mavis Kafui Ohene
She planned exiting the corporate world before her retirement, but little did she know that her exit would be sooner than expected — against her will.
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For 13 years, she worked with the defunct UT Bank but was asked to go home in 2018 after the bank collapsed and was taken over by the state-owned GCB Bank.
She recounts that when the new management took over, they were assured that they would be absorbed into the GCB Bank, only to be handed letters of termination of appointments a few months later.
She told The Mirror in an interview in Accra last Wednesday that the news was a big blow and she immediately had to think of an alternative job to support herself and her family.
Ms Ohene with friends after she was ordained as a minister at the Solid Rock Chapel, City of Hope, Kwabenya in Accra
Her first move was to start her cooking business which she had planned for a later date, but that could not make her enough money to support her family.
She also got a job offer at one of the government agencies but the salary was not enough to support her.
“It wasn’t an easy period but I had to look for another source of income immediately. I started cooking on contract basis for events and cooking for individuals in their home. After sometime, I realised I couldn’t depend solely on that so the idea of using my vehicle for Uber came up,” she said.
Ms Ohene, who had spent years in the bank working on cheques, contracts and other financial documents, was now considering becoming a commercial driver.
“I’m a single parent, I lost my husband in 2014. I also take care of my late sister’s son and other family members depend on me, so I couldn’t let them down. I discussed the idea with some close friends and relatives and while some thought it was okay to start, others thought I would be ridiculed as a woman driving Uber. Thankfully, the people who encouraged me were more so I decided to go ahead,” she said.
In July 2019, Ms Ohene signed up with the ride-hailing service as a driver after going through the requirement by the company.
She said she learnt how to drive at age 19 and so if she didn’t have a personal vehicle to use, she would have taken someone’s car on a work-and-pay basis till she was able to buy her own.
Not an easy start
Ms Ohene admits that starting her Uber journey was tough as most of her customers were eager to know why she was driving on commercial basis.
On most of her trips, she had to explain her decision to her curious customers.
Ms Ohene with Cyril, one of her sons
“Most of the time when I get to the pickup point, the person or people I’m picking are shocked it’s a woman picking them. On the journey, they ask many questions. There was an instance when an elderly man kept cancelling the request after he realised it was a woman driving the car.
“Unfortunately for him, I was the only driver in the area at that time so the request kept coming back to me. Finally, he confirmed pickup and when I got to him, he asked several questions. I think he was finding a way to reject the trip again so he even asked if my air conditioner worked. When I said yes, he agreed and we set off. That day, he was so comfortable he kept updating the trip to different locations. Finally, when he was done with his errands, he paid the charges and added a tip for my service.
“Another challenge which we still encounter is pickup points; some users do not understand how the app works so they will make a request, you drive there only to realise they are at a different location,” she explained.
She has completed close to 2,000 trips
Adjustment to new situation
Almost two years after signing on to Uber, Ms Ohene said she had adjusted to some of the challenges and was enjoying her work.
“I understand the benefits I derive from this job currently so I’m not bothered about negative or ridiculing comments. I still have my cooking business in mind. I want to save enough to set up my own place so I can cook on a large scale. Hopefully by the end of this year, I would have saved enough to start. Both of my children are in their final year in Senior High School (SHS), so I’m also saving towards their tertiary education. I want to make sure I have put things in order before they start next year hopefully,” she added.
Women in commercial driving business
Ms Ohene said since she started, she had interacted with a number of women who drove commercial vehicles and most of them were driven by the need to support their families.
For instance, there was a woman who was currently driving her husband’s car after he died.
She said most people were excited to ride with women as women were more careful in driving.
“The compliments I receive from my customers are encouraging. Users of the app are able to rate the driver after the service. The highest rating is “five stars” and currently I have “4.86”, which is commendable,” she noted.
There have been a lot of news related to attacks on drivers of commercial vehicles, and when asked if she wasn’t scared of such attacks, Ms Ohene answered: “If I suspect that a passenger wants to take me to a place far from town or isolated areas, I talk to him/her nicely and end the trip. Some of them refuse to pay but I ignore them and move on. I also don’t work late in the night to prevent possible attacks.”
Personal life
Ms Ohene was born at Wudome, Peki in the Volta Region where she had her primary school education at the E.P. Junior High School (JHS) and later moved to the Modern Preparatory School.
She completed her JHS education at Peki Dzogbati L.A. JSS and moved to Ola Girls’ SHS where she completed in 1996.
After secondary school, she moved to Accra to help her auntie and later started a professional course at then Accra Polytechnic.
It was during that period that she got an opportunity to work with Metropolitan and Allied Bank before moving to UT Bank.
At UT Bank, she furthered her education at the Wisconsin University in Accra where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Studies (Banking and Finance).
Mavis always looks cheerful
In 2019, she was ordained a minister at the Solid Rock Chapel, City of Hope, Kwabenya in Accra.
To women who have suffered similar situations or currently in such a situation, she advised, “I had so much hope that I would be retained at GCB Bank, but I was asked to go home.
It was a difficult situation, I cried but I couldn’t continue crying forever.
I had to adjust and look at what I could do to get out of my situation.
My plans were completely changed but I have found something to keep me going till I’m able to set up my catering business.
If you are faced with such a situation, try to adjust and with God’s help, you will succeed.
I also look at the positive sides of driving Uber.
I know the peak days which are Fridays to Sundays so within the week, I’m able to take sometime off to attend to personal errands and rest.
At the bank, I worked from Monday to Saturday and it was very stressful.
I had no social life,” she stated.
