Turn beauty skills into viable businesses — GHABA
The Ghana Hairdressers and Beauticians Association (GHABA) yesterday held the maiden national edition of its Hair and Beauty Festival in Accra, with a call on practitioners to turn their skills and creativity into viable businesses.
The move, industry leaders said, would enable practitioners to create jobs, generate wealth and contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
Held on the theme, “Transforming the Beauty Industry Through Skills, Creativity and Enterprise Development,” the festival brought together hairdressers, beauticians, trainees, industry professionals, exhibitors, sponsors and other stakeholders to showcase skills, products, techniques and innovations in Ghana’s beauty industry.
Representing the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) Ghana at the event, Dr Emmanuel Baah Benimah urged practitioners to transform their skills and creativity into sustainable enterprises that could generate income and create employment.
He advised them not to wait until they had enough resources to establish large businesses but to start small with modest spaces and basic cosmetology equipment and gradually expand their operations.
“Let the skills and creativity you have acquired evolve into a viable and sustainable enterprise that will create wealth and opportunity for yourself, your family and future generations,” he said.
Dr Baah Benimah also urged practitioners to use the festival to build professional networks, attract clients and promote their services through quality work and excellent customer service.
He described the festival as an important milestone in the development of GHABA and the wider beauty industry, noting that ICU Ghana had supported the association since its formative years in the 1970s.
He attributed the association’s progress to the commitment and competence of successive national and regional leaders, as well as members who had applied knowledge and skills acquired through training.
Dr Baah Benimah said ICU Ghana had previously provided opportunities for GHABA trainees to benefit from international cosmetology training and exposure, enabling them to transfer new knowledge, skills and international best practices to others in the industry.
The President of GHABA, Ms Tina Offei Yirenkyi, said the decision to transform the festival from a regional event into a national platform marked a significant development for the association.
She said the festival had been organised at the regional level for about 25 years following its introduction by former national president, Mrs Joyce Appiah.
Ms Yirenkyi said the national festival was designed to bring together talents, ideas, skills, products and innovations from across the country while highlighting the industry’s contribution to employment, entrepreneurship and national development.
She identified skills development, creativity and enterprise development as key pillars for advancing the sector, stressing that continuous training was necessary as techniques, technologies, products and customer expectations continued to evolve.
She said GHABA remained committed to skills upgrading, professional certification and knowledge sharing, while encouraging practitioners to develop services that combined modern trends with Ghanaian and African identity.
BY HILDA NSAMI
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