Meet the Women Shaping the Ghanaian Production of PPEs

The coronavirus has posed some problems for our nation, including closing of borders, limited supply of protective wear etc. But just as they say there’s a silver lining in every cloud, this pandemic has brought to the fore the creativity of some Ghanaian women; four of them being selected by government to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for frontline health workers amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

These women are:

Nora Bannerman, founder of Sleek Garments Export Ltd and MD of the Africa Sleek Institute of Creativity and Technology; whose businesses have employed over 120 people to produce quality clothes to be sold internationally.
Adjo Asare, CEO of Alfie Designs, who makes use of manufacturing and ethical fashion as a means of creating job opportunities and improving the lives of women and girls in her community.
Linda Ampah, a Ghanaian fashion designer who through her passion has shared Africa’s prints with the world and has a desire to help empower women throughout Ghana.
Madam Salma Salifu, a Ghanaian businesswoman and the Managing Director of Dignity DTRT, a garment factory in Ghana which employs over 1500 workers and is located in capital city Accra, Ghana.

The amazing thing about the stories of these women is how they turned their factories into a production house for Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs), to meet the demand for frontline health workers who are overwhelmed with fighting the virus and need as much basic protective gear as possible.

Let’s get to know these women, shall we?

Nora Bannerman

With a background in fashion, Nora is passionate about local businesses and has played a key role in the Ghanaian clothing and textile industry. Her company, Sleek Garments Export Ltd, is popularly known for exporting about 75,000 men’s shirts to the US under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) and has been described as one of the success stories of this Act established in the US in 2000. Her business has promoted the beauty of items Made-in-Ghana and she has had the opportunity to showcase her works on fashion platforms in different countries such as France and the US.

Every success story of course has a beginning, and Nora’s began with her mother’s sewing machine. As her passion grew over the years, she worked with determination to develop her gift to make an impact and become a solid business, which she now runs with her daughter.

She loves to organize skill development courses for young and especially needy women, to equip them with skills to thrive in the fashion industry or go a step further to start their own businesses. She played a pivotal role in placing Ghana on the AGOA map to enable the nation export over 6,000 products to the US without duties.

Her business, Sleek Garments, now manufactures PPEs for Ghana including surgical gowns, 2 ply masks for medical personnel, scrubs, doctors’ coats, and reusable masks for public use, approved by the FDA. Locate Sleek Garments inside 47 Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, Ghana. Visit their website on www.sleekgarments.com

Adjo Asare

Adjo Asare is the face behind the brand Alfie Designs, based in Accra, Ghana. Through the manufacturing of clothes and fashion, Alfie designs has created employment and has helped to improve the livelihoods of women and girls whilst putting Ghana on the map in terms of African fashion.

According to Adjo, her mother started Alfie Designs and through her hard work, put her children through school all the way to the tertiary level. Adjo started the fashion school in 2016 to enable her support other young women so they can also make a difference in the lives of of their families.

Adjo believes every individual needs to do what their passionate about, so that during times when it seems like things are not working out, one knows what’s motivating them to push ahead in order to suceed and realize their dreams. Alfie Designs is located at Awudome Estate Kaneshie – Accra and can be contacted on +233 244 208778.

Linda Ampah

Cadling Fashions started with Linda Ampah, a Ghanaian based fashion designer who had a passion to share the African print with the world and the passion to empower women throughout Ghana. Overtime she has transformed her small tailoring shop into a global brand which is still known for producing quality and one of a kind garments.

Her clothing line offers a wide range of unique outfits to suit both the sophisticated and modest woman’s taste and provides custom-made clothing. The fashion house has also expanded their production capacity in order to mass produce for other designers and companies.

Their clothing line gained more popularity after one of its masterpieces was worn by former United States’ First Lady, Michelle Obama when she visited South Africa.

To learn more about Cadling Fashions call or WhatsApp:+233272460825 Call:+13013321931 or visit their website www.cadlingfashions.com

Salma Salifu

Salma Salifu is a Ghanaian businesswoman and the Managing Director of Dignity DTRT, a garment factory in Ghana which employs over 1500 workers and is located in the capital city Accra, Ghana.

The fashion house bridges the gap between what global buyers need and what Africa has to offer. They also offer customers a one-stop solution, delivering high quality products at extremely competitive pricing.

For more details on Dignity DTRT visit their website http www.dtrtapparel.com

Its encouraging to see how these women have nurtured their companies and contributing to the growth of the country through employment of staff and also coming through for us as a country during these times.

We say Ayeeko!

References

http://www.dtrtapparel.com/contact

https://www.usadf.gov/blog/2019/10/8/meet-the-young-woman-making-ethical-manufacturing-fashionable-in-ghana