Ghana Returnee Leaves Tech Career to Become Wedding Entrepreneur

Ghana: The Bride and The Dress from VickieRemoe on Vimeo.

Recently, close to one hundred retailers gathered at Accra's International Conference Center for a bridal fair. It was all cakes, decorations, hair, and wedding gowns. Young women turned up in droves, but not all were there looking to buy. One of the busiest stalls at the fair sold wedding dresses and accessories. Emelia Yamson, the owner of the stall and a returnee, let me in on how she built a bridal business in Ghana's capital city.

Yamson studied Computer Science in the United States and continued in that field when she returned home to Ghana. She worked as head of IT at the local Barclay's Bank office, and later joined UNICEF's regional operations in West Africa. But three years ago, she gave up that lifestyle to join a growing class of African female returnee entrepreneurs. 

Women Cloth Dyers of Mali

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The Republic of Mali in Western Africa, with a population of roughly 14.5 million, is bordered by Algeria on the north, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire to the south, Niger on the east, Senegal and Mauritania to the west and Guinea on the southwest.

Internationally, Mali has established a reputation of being an exporter of high-quality fiber. However, despite being Africa's second largest cotton fiber producer (Egypt is the first), globalization and competition with players like China, the United States, Pakistan, India and Uzbekistan has made it difficult for the country to capitalize on its natural wealth both locally and internationally.

As a land-locked country, these obstacles are furthered complicated due to insecure roads, ports, and an inefficient rail system, all of which create high prices for air freight because it is the only means for delivering products.

Carving a Niche with Tradition

Mali's rich textile and leather heritage includes spinning and hand-weaving as well as dyeing, garment design, and tailoring along with embroidery.

In the early 1970's, a group of Malian women dyers re-ignited the hand-dyed cloth industry throughout West Africa with innovative designs and use of vibrant colors.

Tapping into their creative spirit and inspired by beauty and economic survival, these self-empowered African women turned traditional hand-dyed bazin, which is an imported polished cotton, into a lucrative economy.

A Changing Mindset on Childbirth in Western Africa

Americans are a bit fascinated with polygamy. Big Love, Sister Wives – it seems men with multiple spouses are getting quite the media foothold in the United States.

In Senegal, polygamy is a daily, accepted reality. But ask a Senegalese person why it’s so commonly practiced here, and the most common answer you’ll receive is that it’s done for one primary reason: for procreation.

Children are revered here in West Africa. Having a huge brood is smiled upon, regardless of the resources one has to provide for a plethora of offspring. If there isn’t enough food to go around, extended family members have no problem pitching in. In general, the more kids, the better.

That’s why I’m curious to see how Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade’s recent statements on family planning will resonate – if at all – with the public.

“We cannot impose on our people contraceptive methods, but should explain to convince them that they are responsible for the number of children they give birth to in terms of providing them with quality education, health, shelter and all the necessary basic needs in life,” President Wade said at a recent International Conference on Family Planning in Dakar.

My outsider’s viewpoint is that it’s going to take much more than just education and availability of contraceptives for family planning in Senegal to change or happen at all. It’s going to take a true cultural and mental shift, especially in rural places far outside the capital city.

The United Nations is determined to make it happen, though. The U.N.’s Population Fund is getting a grant-funded boost that will give underprivileged women in Africa contraceptive implants. The U.N. estimates the project will help prevent some two million unwanted pregnancies. But in Senegal, the pregnancies often aren’t unwanted (and despite the poverty, the quality of life isn’t nearly as bad here as in other African nations).

Do you think family-planning initiatives will have success in Africa? Why or why not?