One Acre Fund is bringing our popular SOCIAL ENTERPRISE HAPPY HOUR to Accra on JANUARY 29th at iSpace in Osu. Come join us for a night of learning and networking with some of the most interesting social entrepreneurs in Ghana.

THEME: Ghana for Ghana: Harnessing Local Strengths for Social Good

For our kick-off panel, we are featuring three social entrepreneurs who have harnessed the resources, skills, and communities of Ghana in innovative ways to build sustainable businesses and bring real prosperity to their partners, producers, and suppliers.

Our Panelists:

Renae Adam - Co-founder, Global Mamas

Kwami Williams - Co-founder, MoringaConnect

Stuart Gold - Founder and Managing Director, TrashyBags

 Come at 6:45 PROMPT for a FREE DRINK (Club, Star, or Minerals). Panel discussion to begin at 7 PM. Networking after until 9 PM. Free admission, all are welcome!

About Global Mama's and Renae Adam

Founded by 6 ‘mamas’ in 2003 with the help of two Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, Global Mamas today works with over 600 producers in seven communities handcrafting high quality products in Ghana for sales worldwide. At their Osu shop they sell batiks, beads, shea butter soaps and other Fair Trade products. Global Mamas’ producers earn on average 75% more than minimum wage and 30% more than other producers in the craft industry. Through a truly global community of producers, staff, volunteers and consumers Global Mamas works to bring prosperity to Ghanaian women and their families.

During her Peace Corps service in a village near Cape Coast in the 1990s, Renae Adam met the Mamas who would become her business partners. She lived there for three years and worked on projects to improve the lives of the women in she met – including a women’s based credit union and a water pipeline (both still active today). She left Ghana determined to come back. After earning an MBA from Arizona State University (W. P. Carey School of Business) and working as a manager for a tech company she returned to Ghana in 2003 to begin what would become Global Mamas.  Renae makes her home in Accra with her husband Dave and her two children.

About MoringaConnect and Kwami Williams

MoringaConnect works with over 500 smallholder farmers throughout Ghana to provide a stable source of income and nutrition. With a comprehensive program including inputs on credit, nutrition training, technical support and a guaranteed market, MoringaConnect uses the power of Moringa to make real impact on its network of farmers. Their line of True Moringa products are made in Ghana and sold worldwide in a growing number of stores and on their e-commerce platform.

Kwami Williams was born and raised in Ghana and immigrated to the United States at the age of eight. His passion for science and innate curiosity led him to pursue a degree in Aerospace Engineering at MIT and to work with NASA. He has since applied his engineering skills to the international development sphere. In partnership with MIT's D-Lab, he has co-designed an award-winning human powered centrifuge, a low-cost heat sealer, cell phone chargers for off-grid communities, and led the research and development of MoringaConnect's human-powered Moringa processing technologies. Kwami has relocated permanently to Ghana to build MoringaConnect's commercial processing center and farmer networks.

About TrashyBags and Stuart Gold

Trashy Bags is a social enterprise based in Accra, Ghana that makes recycled eco-friendly bags and gifts from plastic trash. They employ over sixty Ghanaians to collect, clean, and stitch the plastic sachets into fashionable bags and useful products. Trashy Bags has recycled more than 20 million plastic sachets since they started in 2007 – approximately 200,000 a month. Their product list includes laptop bags, messenger bags, totebags, purses, hats, wallets, and shopping bags among others. They also make unique designer products including handbags and laptop sleeves.

A founder member of Trashy Bags Project, Stuart’s background was in architecture where he qualified in the UK in 1980 and practiced for seven years before specializing in computer database applications.  In the 90’s he began working on the development of Internet software technology in both the UK and USA.

Stuart’s believes that solutions to many of Africa’s problems can be found in Africa by Africans. However one of the major problems is their lack of confidence in their own ability to innovate and make products that the world wants to buy.

He believes that Trashy Bags is a potent example of what can be achieved by applying a deeper understanding of the issues at stake and then “thinking out of the box” without the requirement for large investment.

About One Acre Fund:

Most of the world's poor are farmers, representing the largest and most uniform group of poor people in the world. One Acre Fund is a growing social enterprise in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania that is innovating invests in farmers to generate a permanent gain in farm income. We provide farmers with a complete solution that includes education, finance, seed and fertilizer, and market facilitation. Our program is proven impactful – every year, we weigh thousands of harvests and measure 50-100% average gain in farm income per acre. We have laser-like focus on generating better lives for the people that we serve.

About Spencer Campbell – your host:

Spencer is One Acre Fund’s West Africa Recruiter and has lived in Ghana since 2011. For two years he volunteered in the Peace Corps - working as a math teacher in a village middle school outside of Kumasi. After his service, Spencer ran a small education social enterprise in Kumasi. Spencer is excited to meet the best and brightest social entrepreneurs in Ghana and highlight some of the great job opportunities available at One Acre Fund.

About the Social Enterprise Happy Hour Series:

 Launched in Nairobi in 2013 One Acre Fund's monthly Social Enterprise Happy Hours are equal parts lecture series (with engaging speakers) and happy hour (with a free drink for punctual attendees.) Social Entrepreneurs from all sectors have been featured including speakers from Kiva, Acumen, Gardens for Health, Living Goods and, of course, One Acre Fund.