Gifty Kafui Kamassah crowned woman icon of Volta Region
The Business Executive Director and owner of Maphlix Trust Ghana Limited, Gifty Kafui Kamassah, was on Thursday crowned the woman icon of the Volta Region by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) at a ceremony to open a three-day exhibition of made in Ghana goods here.
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Thirty-seven -year old Mrs Kamassah has been involved in the cultivation of fresh vegetables for export to Europe and the local market for more than seven years.
She supplies vegetables and other foods to supermarkets like Melcom, ShopRite, KFC and Palace.
Her company has 70 permanent employees and 300 casual workers.
Mrs Kamassah works with out-growers to cultivate the needed quantity and quality of food stuff for both export and local market.
In an interview with The Mirror on Wednesday night, Mrs Kamassah said she was surprised when she was told about being crowned the woman icon for the region because “I did not know that anyone was watching me and the business I was doing”.
She was grateful to GEPA saying that “GEPA gave me the needed exposure to enable me reach international markets and I am doing well”.
Asked how she went into the business, Mrs Kamassah said she was a teacher but because her salary was low, she was looking for ways of improving her life.
“One day as I was travelling with my husband, we saw a lot of vegetables on the route, exposed and not being sold in a very hygienic condition. It was during our discussion about this that we decided to do something differently to make our vegetables more presentable and healthy”, she told The Mirror.
“I have undertaken many courses and attended many fairs, some in Germany aimed at getting it right to meet standards on the market”, she added.
On her plans for the future, Mrs Kamassah said “my aim is to ensure that I make healthy foods available to everyone because what we eat can cut down our visits to the hospital”.
Mrs Kamassah serves as the company's board secretary and has a background in the tourism industry (customer service and hotel management)
She holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Marketing and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Administration.
She supports women through technical agricultural training, advocates for improved working conditions for females is involved in empowerment programmes for business growth aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
During the ceremony to introduce the icon on Thursday, the Chief Executive officer of GEPA, Dr Afua Asabea Asare described Mrs Kamassah as “a shining example of a woman icon” and commended her for the role she had played in impacting society.
Dr Asare said the Women Icon Regional Exhibition was a celebration of the remarkable contributions made by women in various trades and export sectors with emphasis on made in Ghana goods and produce.
In her remarks, Madam Thywill Dordor of the Department of Gender in the region said it was important to recognise that the major driving force of the economy was manufacturing.
She described the exhibition as critical in spurring women on to achieve and improve in their various businesses especially for export and satisfying the local market.
In a speech delivered on his behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, called for support for women and the provision of more platforms to provide opportunities for women owned businesses to display their products to enable them to flourish.
So far GEPA has introduced women icons in the Greater Accra, Central, Eastern, Western, and Ashanti Regions in collaboration with Access Bank.
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