EWN marks 10 years with new leadership, entrepreneurship
THE Executive Women Network (EWN) has unveiled four flagship initiatives to strengthen women’s leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship and collaboration as it begins its second decade of impact.
The initiatives were announced at the EWN@10 Conference & Expo in Accra, held on the theme: ‘A Decade of Leadership, A Future Toward Holistic Impact: Self & Family, Career, Legacy.’
The two-day conference brought together women leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, corporate institutions and other stakeholders to discuss leadership, career advancement, influence, wealth, personal development and legacy.
Held in partnership with MTN Ghana, the conference was chaired by the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mrs Matilda Asante-Asiedu.
Mrs Asante-Asiedu stressed the need for women to continue building their capacity, using their influence and creating opportunities for others. She also called for stronger institutional support to ensure women had access to opportunities and visibility.
“Progress cannot rest on women alone. Institutions must create opportunities, visibility and access that allow talent to thrive. While mentorship provides guidance, sponsorship opens doors. We need more leaders who are willing to advocate for capable women. Platforms such as EWN are important because they create the connections, conversations and support systems that enable women to move forward and create meaningful impact,” she said.
The conference also marked the introduction of EWN 2.0, which seeks to build on the network’s first decade through targeted programmes and partnerships.
The EWN Executive Committee Chairperson, Mrs Janet Sunkwa-Mills, announced the four initiatives as ‘The Collaborative Ecosystem’, an alliance with nine strategic partners aimed at contributing to greater gender parity in decision-making positions; and the EWN Skills Catalogue, a pool of mentors and coaches providing leadership development and capacity-building expertise through the network’s website.
The other initiatives are EWN VentureHer, which supports women entrepreneurs to strengthen their capacity and access key markets, and an expanded EWN Ellevate, a mentorship programme currently engaging 500 senior high school girls in Tamale, with plans to extend it to another region.
Mrs Sunkwa-Mills said EWN had grown since its establishment on April 19, 2016, bringing together more than 200 women CEOs, managing directors, board chairs, entrepreneurs and heads of institutions across 28 industry sectors.
Between 2016 and September 2026, she said, the network had directly impacted more than 10,000 lives.
She urged participants to turn the conference discussions into action, saying: “Mentor a young woman before the year ends. Sponsor a girl’s education. Open a door for another sister. Champion the affirmative action act inside your own organisation. Lift as you rise.”
The keynote speaker, Paramount Chief of the Assin Owirenkyi Traditional Area, Ehunabobrim Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, challenged leaders to move beyond mentorship and embrace sponsorship.
He said support for women in leadership was “not a women’s issue”, but a leadership, development and economic issue.
“Mentorship says: ‘I will advise you.’ Sponsorship says: ‘I will use my influence to create an opportunity for you.’ Mentorship happens in conversation. Sponsorship happens when you are not in the room,” he said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
You can now read the *Ghanaian Times* and *The Spectator* newspapers digitally on [TimesNewsPlus](https://timesnewsplus.com/newspapers).
Follow our WhatsApp Channel now! https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAjG7g3gvWajUAEX12Q
