Invest in Africa has named Mrs. Georgette Barnes Sakyi-Addo, Founder and Executive Director of Georgette Barnes Limited, as the Woman Entreprenuer of the Year at its SME Excellence Awards.

The awards ceremony held late last month recognized the role played by Mrs. Sakyi-Addo in establishing an astute owned Mine Support Service business, which provides key exploration and drilling supplies to mining clients in West Africa and represents six (6) internationally known sector brands.

The Executive Director of Georgette Barnes Limited described the recognition as an “exciting experience.”

“We have been working since 2009 and we are a bit secluded from mainstream general business, and so I was also very surprised that our business was chosen being a female owned business working in the male mining dominated sector,” she said.

A citation in honour of Mrs. Sakyi-Addo said she has been able to rise from the position of Administrative Assistant to various director-level positions in her illustrious career before establishing her own firm.

While she remains grateful to Invest in Africa for the Award, she opined that this award would not necessary give her company any special boost regarding its clients.

“What matters is that you deliver what you are supposed to deliver in the manner it was approved to deliver. Having said that, it is a great for building our corporate brand and also a validation of what our clients have always believed and seen in a company as small as ours,” she stated.

On her advice to young people seeking a career in the extractives sector, she argued that there are a lot of opportunities for young people in the sector and they need to explore the subject area and disciplines that would give them the competitive advantage to work in the sector.

“Along the mining value chain, we have all the regular jobs that are available in general industry and then we have specialised roles as well. I would encourage them to explore all these opportunities.

A lot of the large scale mines are looking for top notch requisite skills and talent and I believe Ghana has them but young people have to be prepared to learn, acquire skills, be prepared to be inconvenienced, be patient and grow over time,” she added.