Ewuraba - Professional African Women with Class and Style

Managing Collaborators

Richard Boateng, Ph.D.

Richard is the Director of Research and Operations at the International Center for Information Technology and Development (ICITD), Southern University, USA. He holds postgraduate and doctorate degrees from the University of Manchester, UK. His current research interests have New media and gender development; Mobile commerce; Web 2.0 and learning; Open development and Electronic business. His research has been published in conference proceedings, books and journals including Third World Quarterly, Internet Research, and Development and Learning in Organizations. Richard is the founder of Pearl Richards Foundation (www.pearlrichards.org), an initiative that turns research ideas and concepts into sustainable development projects and business enterprises. One of the projects of PRF is www.ewuraba.com, a gender development project which gives African women the opportunity to share their profiles and creative ventures to enhance collaboration and empowerment among African women. Richard’s research work and education has received funding from the National Science Foundation (USA), Dorothy Hodgkin’s Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme (UK) and British Chevening Award (UK). Richard co-chairs the planning committee in organizing the annual International Conference on ICT for Africa (www.ictforafrica.org); chairs the Ghana Graduates Conference (www.ghanagraduatesconference.com) and Ewuraba's Fashion and Technology workshop (fashTECH 2009).

Phoebe R. Apeayei

Phoebe gained a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from The University of Greenwich in London and a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Clothing Product Development from The Manchester Metropolitan University. She is currently a lecturer in the department of Clothing Design & Technology at the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK, where she supervises postgraduate research and is a board member of their Research Centre Management Group. Her current research interests include Gender, fashion and the Internet, body cathexis, anthropometrics and sizing, virtual fit, new body scanning technology and mass customisation. Phoebe’s research has been published in conference proceedings and journals including Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management and International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education. Phoebe volunteers on the gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) in an advisory role in fashion design and marketing, technology and gender empowerment and as a reviewer of women profiles. Phoebe is the co-workshop chair for Ewuraba's Fashion and Technology workshop (fashTECH 2009).

Jerome Tabiri

Jerome is a Co-Founder of the Ewuraba.com and the Projects Coordinator of Cirrus Group (a Consortium of Companies that is involved in the Oil, Logistics and Property Sector in Ghana) since 2003. Jerome is also a partner in Neju Limited, a business entity that is involved in commodity trading in Ghana. He holds a Masters Degree in Engineering for Development from University of Southampton in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor degree in  Agricultural Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He also holds a certificate in Fundamental Finance for the Technical Executive from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jerome has been involved with Richard Boateng in developing ideas and starting projects since 2000. Jerome volunteers on the gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) in an advisory role in business development and as a reviewer of women profiles.

Key Contributors

Beatrice “Bee” Arthur

Beatrice is the Proprietor and Designer of B'ExotiQ. The nature of business: Fashion Designing and manufacturers of garments, interior decorators. She is of Ghanaian and Russian heritage. She studied art in Ukraine, and then acquired a BA in Sociology & Spanish, University of Ghana.

Bee speaks fluently in Spanish, French, Russian and English. She loves reading and gardening. Her penchant for fashion started at an early age but she became a professional designer by chance. Notable achievements include winning the 2001 KORA Fashion award, designs photographed by the international fashion photographer, Dean Zulich and featured by Studio 53, MNET, South Africa. Beatrice volunteers on the gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) as a mentor and an inspiration to young African fashion designers and African women in general. She has  been associated with the project in an advisory role as an African Fashion Consultant since its inception 2006. She was one of the first five African fashion designers profiled by the project.

Sheena Loiva Okai

Sheena Lovia Okai volunteers on the PearlRichards gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) in an advisory role in leadership training and contribute to developing leadership and marketing skills programs for young women and girls in Universities and High schools in Ghana.She has a bachelor of science degree in marketing from of University of Ghana Business School.

Sheena also works as a research assistant at the University of Ghana Business School. Her research activities included proposal writing, supporting literature review and referencing for articles on e-banking, e-marketing and customer service. In 2009, Sheena won a year abroad scholarship to study Advanced Marketing for a year at the Harstad University College, under the sponsorship of the Norwegian government. In Norway, She applied practical problem-based learning techniques to study major marketing principles in the areas of Electronic Commerce (e-commerce), Business-to-Business marketing, Consumer behavior and Branding, with an introductory course into International marketing. Her final individual project was on affiliate marketing, a commission- based arrangement where referring sites and individuals collectively known as publishers received a commission on sales or leads they generated, by advertisers. After a year of hard work, her group research project on the “influence of colour on consumer purchase intention” was presented with the University’s best thesis award.

Irene Naa Korkoi Armah

Irene is an aspiring Ghanaian fashion accessories designer, who specializes in beaded accessories including necklaces, bracelets, and ear-rings. The label is known as Plurale by INKA (www.inkaplurale.wordpress.com). Irene placed third in the 2008 International Young Fashion Entrepreneur (IYFEY) event. INKA started making beaded jewellery 10 years ago and has since improved and incorporated new methods and trendy ways of fusing different stones together. Her creations are all about incorporating beads into all forms of accessories. Each item is custom made to suit the customer and making a unique connection. She has been associated with the project in an advisory role as an African Fashion Consultant and relationships manager since its inception 2006.

Vera Ngoma

Vera is a communications specialist, a leadership facilitator and mentoring coach. She has over 13 years experience in communications includes roles in the print media, Corporate communications, PR and international communications across public, private and Global organisations. Vera has strong experience in leadership programme design and delivery. She has worked in a variety of industries giving her unique perspectives on the application of leadership in different environments and contexts.

Vera's professional life mission is to:

1. Promoting leadership and personal accountability
2. Developing young people to think big and make meaningful and measurable contribution to society
3. Seeding inspiration and powering ambition
4. To reach annually up to 5,000 people through face to face professional development events and 10,000  with message, and audio and media products in above areas.

She works for the Department of International department in Malawi as Education Adviser. Vera volunteers on the gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) in an advisory role in career development and contributes to the career development section. Read More...

Isabalija Robert Stephen

Robert is the Head of the Institute of Change Management and Public Policy at the International Center for Information Technology and Development (ICITD), Southern University, USA. He is also a lecturer at Makerere University Business School, where he lectures and researches change management, innovation and organizational behavior.

Stephen Robert Isabalija is a Finance and Management Specialist with Post-Graduate Training and considerable field  experience in Specialized Financial Management and Project Management Skills in Donor and Government Accounting in  areas of Budgeting, Value-for-Money Audits, Project Accounting, Contract Accounting and Management, Treasury  Management, Credit Management, Project Management and Evaluation, and Financial Manual Writing. He has participated in the management, design and implementation of a number of consultancies with public and private  sector institutions including the Uganda Government, World Bank, The Royal Danish Embassy, Catholic Relief Services, International Foundation for Election Systems and Ecumenical Church Loan Fund. Robert volunteers on the gender development project (www.ewuraba.com) in an advisory role in leadership training and contributes to the developing leadership programs.