Esther Afua Ocloo (born Esther Afua Nkulenu, 18 April 1919 - 8 February 2002) was a Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending, a program of creating little loans so as to stimulate businesses.
Esther Afua Ocloo began as a street vendor of homemade orange marmalade and step by step expanded her business to make Nkulenu (Esther Afua Ocloo) Industries. She studied in Accra and later visited the U.K. to review agriculture, food technology, and helpful handicrafts.
On her come to Ghana, she used this coaching and profits from her company to produce different women with money - and business-management skills. In 1990 Esther Afua Ocloo was corecipient (with Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria) of the $100,000 Africa Prize.
Esther Afua Ocloo supported her first company with but a dollar to her name, selling conserve as a teenager within the 1930s. It had been the beginning of a career that will lead the Ghanaian entrepreneur to empower several different women to achieve business, and for her to become an inspiration around the world.
On April 18, 2017, which might have marked Esther Afua Ocloo 98th birthday, Google honoured her with a Google doodle for her achievements. Despite all of her achievements, many of us did not know much concerning Esther Afua Ocloo till her Google Doodle.
As a high school graduate with only many African nation shillings given to her by an aunt, she bought sugar, oranges and 12 jars to create marmalade jam.
Esther Afua Ocloo sold them at a profit, despite the ridicule of her former classmates, who saw her as an "uneducated street vendor".
Soon she won a contract to provide her high school with marmalade jam and orange juice, and later managed to secure a deal to supply the military along with her goods.
On the premise of that contract, she took out a bank loan.
In 1942, she established a business under her last name, "Nkulenu".
Esther Afua Ocloo then travelled to England to require a course in Food Science and modern process Techniques at Bristol University.
In 1953, determined to grow her business along with her recently acquired data in food process and preservation, she came back to her homeland with a mission to help Ghana become self - sufficient.
In 1953, determined to grow her business along with her recently acquired data in food process and preservation, she came back to her homeland with a mission to help Ghana become self - sufficient.
In 1962, the company relocated to its present location at Medina, a residential area of the capital city, Accra.
1956: On attachment of Metal Box Co. West Action. London England for development of recipes for business canning with emphasis on West African Dishes.
Has been an industrialist. Food scientist and human resource development specialist since 1942 after we started the primary food process and preservation factory in Ghana under the name Nkulenu (Esther Afua Ocloo) Industries restricted. This factory was started with six shillings within the year 1942. we are presently the chairperson/Managing Director of Nkulenu (Esther Afua Ocloo) Industries restricted.
We also supported the property end of hunger foundation (SEHUF) Ghana, a non-Governmental Organization supported in 1991 from a part of the award she received from the African Leadership Prize for property finish of hunger. That aims at encouraging and supporting native initiative in food production, process and preservation. The targets teams are women and also the young.
Esther Afua Ocloo married Stephen Ocloo and that they had four kids together: daughter Vincentia Canacco, and 3 sons, Vincent Malm, Christian Bassey and Steven Ocloo jr.
Unlike many women of her time, Esther Afua Ocloo was able to visit school. She attended Achimota school, one of Ghana’s most prestigious boarding schools. She did not return from a loaded family like her classmates.
Like most ladies within the space, she grew up in a very lifetime of poverty within the Volta Region of Ghana. Her father was a smith, and her mother was a potter. She was intelligent and won a scholarship to attend Achimota faculty, wherever several outstanding African leaders were educated, from 1936-41.
When she graduated high school in 1941, Esther Afua Ocloo was gifted 10 Ghanaian shillings, that is less than one yanked dollar. Rather than using that cash to shop for something idle, she set to start out a business.
With the 10 shillings, Esther Afua Ocloo purchased sugar, oranges and a dozen jars so as to create some conserves. In spite of her schoolmates’ ridicule, she sold all her conserves and with success created a profit of 2 shillings. That success excited her and planted the seed for her to become a productive businesswoman.
Her very little business did thus well that her school awarded her a contract to produce her former faculty with conserves and orange juice. A year once graduation, Esther Afua Ocloo secured bank loans and established a juice and conserves business below her maiden name, Nkulenu (Esther Afua Ocloo). Nkulenu (Esther Afua Ocloo) Industries still makes and exports jams and alternative food things round the world these days.
Achimota faculty was affected by Esther Afua Ocloo’s entrepreneurial skills. They sponsored her for a preparation certification from the nice housekeeping Institute in London. Esther Afua Ocloo visited England in 1949 to start out her studies. She became the primary somebody to receive a certification from the nice housework Institute. She furthered her studies in Food Preservation at Long ash ton research Station at Bristol University.
After her studies in England, Esther Afua Ocloo dedicated her time and life to empowering alternative women to become self-sufficing. She used her new skills and information to grow her company even any. In 1953, she affected back to Ghana and established a farm-based program to assist teach women regarding business, food production, agriculture and craft-making.
In addition to teaching women business skills, Esther Afua Ocloo used her profits to lend women entrepreneurs little amounts of cash to assist them establish their own business. She wanted the ladies in her country and every one of West Africa to be recognized from their contributions to the economic success of the region.
In west Africa, women turn out over eighty percent of the region’s food - from growing, to producing, to distributing. Esther Afua Ocloo wished women to be self-sufficing and equipped to assist their kids and family. She was known among her community as "AuntieEsther Afua Ocloo," because of however she generously gave her time and finances.
Due to business success and high esteem in her community, Esther Afua Ocloo was elected because the first President of what became the Federation of Ghana Industries from 1959 to 1961. Later, she became the chief Chairman of the National Food and Nutrition Board of Ghana. within the 1960s her business branched out into textiles and dyes.
Esther Afua Ocloo gained a world name for her women authorization add Ghana. In 1964 she was the primary lady to be appointed because the government Chairman of the National Food and Nutrition Board of Ghana. In 1975 she received an appointment as an advisor to the primary World Conference on girls in United Mexican States.
Over the course of her lifetime, Esther Afua Ocloo supported eight non-profit organizations, together with the property finish of Hunger Foundation and Women’s World Banking. supported in 1976, the Women’s World Banking (WWB) could be a microlending organization that offers tiny loans to female business homeowners who are unable to secure traditional bank loans. Esther Afua Ocloo served because the initial chairman of the Board of directors of the WWB. Today, the WWB serves 24 million micro-entrepreneurs in twenty-eight countries worldwide, of that the majority are women.
Esther Afua Ocloo passed away on Feb 8, 2002, at the age of 82. She spent her life promoting property, agriculture and empowering scores of girls through business. Esther Afua Ocloo received a state funeral in Accra, Ghana’s capital. She is survived by her husband and 4 children. Her business sense and legacy continue through the Women’s World Banking and through all the women she helped to start out successful businesses within the world.
Esther Afua Ocloo married author Ocloo and along they had four children. She was an ardent Christian and was deeply concerned in several church activities and comes. She was an institution member of the Evangelical Presbyterian church in Medina, Accra and the Unity group of sensible Christianity.
She additionally instructed many women groups within the church, teaching each Bible lessons and residential management skills. Esther Afua Ocloo died of pneumonia on 8 Feb 2002 and a state funeral was control in Accra in her honour. Her remains were buried at her hometown, Peki Dzake.
Esther Afua Ocloo co-founded World Women’s Banking and from the 1970s forward, she commenced to assist women get the small loans that were necessary to launch their small businesses. The bank was a not-for-profit organization. The organization was successful in serving to thousands of Ghana women to vary their lives and it had been because of the little loans that were created attainable by the foresight and generosity of Esther Afua Ocloo.
Google extended a new Doodle Tuesday in honour of Ghanaian entrepreneur Esther Afua Ocloo, who was instrumental in serving to millions of low-income women secure loans.
The Doodle depicts Esther Afua Ocloo "empowering the women of Ghana with the tools to enhance their lives and communities," said Google. April 18 would are her 98th birthday.
According to Google, "Auntie Esther Afua Ocloo" had simply six shillings - but one dollar - once she began creating and selling marmalade as a miss within the 1930s. Once eventually securing a loan, she grew her business and travelled to the U.K. to find out additional regarding food process. On her come, she shared with different Ghanaian women the technical information and skills of a way to begin and run a business. Because of her success she was invited to the first U.N. World Conference on women in 1975.
Throughout her life, Esther Afua Ocloo helped improve women’s lives in Ghana and advocated for his or her success in business. She saw the importance of credit in serving to women achieve higher health and prosperity, however poor black women were usually ignored by the banks. Therefore, she helped establish Women’s World Banking, a global non-profit that provided low-income women with microloans to assist begin their own businesses.
Esther Afua Ocloo launched her entrepreneurial career as a teenager within the 1930s on but a dollar.
She quickly became one amongst Ghana’s leading entrepreneurs and a source of inspiration round the world. Today, on what would had been her 98th birthday, Google dedicated to her a "doodle" illustration.
In addition to her own business, she educated skills to other women and co-founded Women’s World Banking (WWB), a global micro-lending organisation.
On its web site, the WWB microlending network says it lends to 16,4 million women round the world, managing a loans portfolio of over $9bn.
Known as "Auntie Esther Afua Ocloo", Esther Afua Ocloo dedicated her life to serving to others like her succeed.
"Women should know that the strongest power within the world is economic power," she said during a speech in 1990.
"You cannot go and be begging to your husband for each very little thing, however at the moment, that’s what the majority of our women do."