Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, the First Lady, has challenged women leaders to play an active role in rebranding Ghana and not leave it solely to state institutions.

She said; “One of the key challenges I have observed is that more often than not, we leave branding and positioning of our country in the hands of an entity, mostly a government parastatal, to lead this agenda whilst the rest of us focus on our individual businesses. This is one area we have mostly erred.

“I am aware of the amazing work government institutions such as the Ghana Investment Promotion Council is doing to promote Ghana to the outside world. But you see, we will not make much progress in this regard if we, as leaders, do not play an active role in how our country is positioned in the minds of the rest of the world,” she added.

The First Lady was speaking at the Executive Women Network (EWN) maiden annual conference in Accra on the theme: “Rebranding Ghana to drive business growth: the perspective of women leaders.”

This was contained in a press release issued in Accra from the office of the Executive Women Network and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday.

“As business leaders, you are in charge of growing the businesses and brands that have been entrusted to you – many of these are multinational brands that you have built and managed exceptionally well over the years.

These brands have become strong selling points for their originating countries – attracting further investment and to a large extent fuelling the tourism sector in these countries.

Yet as the experts in building global brands, we leave the work of branding solely in the hands of government parastatals? Imagine for a moment the difference we can make if we apply the same rigor, commitment and expertise you all possess into branding our dear country,” she stated.

Mrs Akufo-Addo commended EWN for the conference saying, this was an opportune call to all women in business, civil society organizations and politics to be part of a national conversation.

Mr David Ofosu-Dorte, Executive Chairman of AB &David, urged the delegates and Ghanaians to align on a compelling brand identity for Ghana.

Citing examples from several countries as well as Ghana, he challenged leadership at all levels to consciously build “A brand Ghana’ that is attractive for business, investment and tourism.

He explained that earlier attempts to brand Ghana as the gateway to Africa were not fully exploited - questioning why the country would prefer to be a gateway instead of a destination.

Mr Ofosu-Dorte therefore proposed ‘Ghana at the centre of the world for business, investment and tourism’ as a strong position to occupy in the mind of the rest of the world - tapping into the political stability, our vast human resource, rich culture and cuisines to shape the narrative about Ghana to attract business and investment into the country.

The conference, brought together over 300 women leaders from diverse backgrounds to chart the course to rebrand Ghana to attract business, local and foreign direct investment and profitable partnerships that would accelerate economic development.

Ms Freda Duplan, the Chairperson of Executive Women Network and Managing Director of Nestlé Ghana Ltd speaking at the event said; “today marks a historic day in the life of our country.

“Gathered here today, is arguably the largest assembly of women leaders in Ghana, ably supported by men who believe in the critical role women play in the socio-economic development of our dear country, for a very important national cause - to shape the narrative and lead a call to action to rebrand Ghana for growth. History is made when collective action meets momentum and we are here for a very important national assignment – to shape the narrative and lead a call to action to rebrand Ghana to drive business growth”.

The Executive Women Network (EWN) is a non-profit organization of women in senior management and executive positions in private organizations and women entrepreneurs of well established businesses in Ghana.