Blending music with entrepreneurship…The story of Abena Ruthy

 Most people are often motivated by the success story of others and try to follow their passion with the hope of excelling in their selected fields.

That was the path Mrs Ruth Bennywood popularly known as Abena Ruthy, treaded after 15 years of banking.

Describing the entrepreneurial journey she embarked uponto The Spectator, Mrs Bennywood said she decided to set up Incredible Cleaning and Trading Services, an office cleaning, laundry and gardening company because she loved cleanliness which was next to godliness.

“Every quarter of the month, I use to invite people to come and clean my home or my husband’s church, especially, when we have programmes,” she said.

According to Mrs Bennywood, the reason for establishing her company was to provide services to women who were always busy and had little or no time to clean their homes and surroundings.

Interestingly, she said that, her husband, Mr Prince Bennywood and the family supported in making her dream of becoming an entrepreneur a reality.

The business was registered in 2015, and began operations in 2017 with positive feedback from her clientele.

The mother of four said, “Even though we are not the only business in that industry, our affordable pricing, efficiency and timeliness make us different from the rest”.

Corporate life

Mrs  Bennywood recounted that in  2003, she worked at the Graphic Communications Group Limited, specifically the Mirror Department as a reporter, then she moved to SG-SSB now Societe General for her National Service.

And in  2006, she worked at  the Zenith Bank until 2008, when she was  ‘poached’ by  Unibank, where she worked in various capacities as the  Business Development Manageress, Corporate Sales Manageress, Head of Communications, and Head of Business Development within a space of nine years.

The old student of Achimota Secondary School said she was later laid off at Unibank Ghana on February 2017.

 “I got an appointment with Heritage Bank as Head of Public Sector and Financial Institutions but I resigned after four months to engage in entrepreneurship which has now given birth to a janitorial services company,” she said.

 Challenges

Entrepreneurship, she said, has many challenges; notable amongst them is capital mobilisation to set up a business.

She, therefore, commended the government’s efforts for supporting start-ups and hoped taxes would be reduced drastically.

 “Of late, the current government has been supporting start- up businesses and this is a very good initiative. The government and civil society organisations should train individuals on modern ways of operating business,” she appealed.

Mrs Bennywood, who is a musician in addition to her janitorial services, added that combining music and entrepreneurship had not been easy but the Lord had been good to her in all her dealings with the people she had come into contact with.

Future

“The future of entrepreneurship is very bright, not only does it bring self-dependence, it also reduces the rate of unemployment in the country,” she emphasised.

Music

Mrs Bennywood, who hails from Dunkwaw- on- Offin in the Central Region said lack of funds to push “our music is the major challenge in the music industry”.

She said it was easy for secular musicians to put songs together and promote their songs unlike gospel artistes who could not do so easily.

Mrs Bennywood, who doubles as a gospel artiste, said she started singing at a tender age at church and decided to take music serious when she was at the University of Ghana.

She undoubtedly came into the music scene in 2013 with an album ‘My Thought’and in 2016 ‘Higher Praise’ which made her stand tall in the music industry.

She is currently promoting her single ‘Waye ade3’, which talks about her life, and how far the Lord has brought her, for which she is so grateful.

“I personally wanted to start my own business even when I was doing a corporate work. It is not easy to leave a lucrative job and risk doing your own business,” she said.

Marriage

She is married to Reverend Prince Bennywood, Head Pastor of Leadership Chapel International and they are blessed with four children.

She said that her role as a pastor’s wife was a ‘calling’ from God because; it is very demanding but she is ready to support him as well.

“My husband spends most of his time in the church and I need to also engage myself in other things to keep me busy,” she said.

Abena Ruthy was born at Kanda in Accra to Madam Catherine Ntrakwah, a retired teacher, and Mr Paul Amankwah-Gyamfi, a retired broadcaster.

Advice

She advised the youth to fear God and allow Him to direct their path in whatever they do.

Her favourite food is fufu and light soup. She likes listening to gospel music and spending quality time with her family.

By Linda Abrefi Wadie