Edwina Ama Assan

Brief ProfileEdwina Assan is a Textile designer by profession. As a social entrepreneur, researcher and advocate who has been involved in skill training, mentoring and providing advisory services especially to young business persons.·Having received her entrepreneurial training with Empretec Business Forum 23 years ago, she has since developed many social entrepreneurs in the field of handicraft production with a specific focus on textiles. Her business Edtex designs and exports mainly fabrics to fashion designers and and fashion wholesalers throughout the world.She has over 25 years of experience  in business and provided skills to several women through “Trainer of Trainers” workshops with support from institutions such as GiZ, Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR).Through Vital Voices Community, Empretec Business Women’s Forum and Vocational Training for Females (Presbyterian Church), she is mentoring a number of young business women who are local entrepreneurs such as Winamzua, Naa Adoley Fashions and Double D Fashions Enterprises.She has been the lead researcher on a number of projects. Through the African Women Development Fund, she was able to facilitate skills training with support of other members of Spinnet Textile and Garment Cluster. As leader  for Empretec Business Women’s Forum, she successfully completed an advocacy on “Gender and the Business Environment by the Business Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) pioneered by DFID and sustained by DANIDA.       She was recently involved in skill training and advocacy in the setting up of small women businesses for the ECOWAS sub-          region sponsored by ECOWAS, the Ministry of Women, Gender and Social Protection and the National Board for Small Scale      Industries.She has been the lead researcher on a number of projects. Through the African Women Development Fund, she was able to facilitate skills training with support of other members of Spinnet Textile and Garment Cluster. As leader of Empretec Business Women’s Forum, she successfully completed an advocacy on “Gender and the Business Environment by the Business Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) pioneered by DFID and sustained by DANIDA.Her future plans is to provide skills training for youth of her adopted community, Ekumfi Dunkwa in Central Region of Ghana and also to expand her  textile business within a rural community with best practices for environmental sustainability.