Wilhemina A. Anang-Addo

Congratulations to Wilhemina A. Anang-Addo, one of our 2020 Pass It On Award Winners.

Wilhemina A. Anang-Addo is the Founder and Executive Director of Mothers Alliance Network-BusiMoms (MAN).  Her passion for STEM took root when she was 10 years old.

Growing up I had a natural interest in gadgets. Then, at age 10, my daddy took me to visit his friend who had bought a desktop computer for his kids. I sat behind the computer the whole day and when it was time for us to go home I refused. That grew my passion for technology and after school I pursued Information Technology from IPMC Ghana.”

Wilhelmina was inspired to create this organization after realizing that 9 million Ghanaian women face the challenge of sacrificing their job for the care of their children. And over 1 million of which stay or work from home for the rest of their lives, in order to provide care for their children. If not tackled over, 10 million Ghanaian women would not have the opportunity to become financially independent.

I am very passionate about women’s empowerment and financial independence having had a personal experience as a young mother myself. Inspired by my own experience of having to balance my career aspirations in IT technology, with marriage and having to raise four children at age 25, I started MAN to provide the needed support and network for mothers to build successful careers and children upbringing at the same time.

Based in the capital of Ghana, Accra, the organization uses training and a digital platform to provide a marketplace for teenage and middle aged mothers to promote their businesses as well as offer their skills for recruitment into flexible jobs which enable them time to pursue both career and children upbringing. MAN is collaborating with relevant stakeholders and partners across sub-saharan Africa to empower working mothers to pursue both their aspirations of motherhood and successful careers. 

Motherhood should not be a career killer for women across Ghana and the world.

The organization is also working on building a permanent training center that provides courses in coding, graphic design, computing, entrepreneurship and vocational training for teenage mothers. The center would have a day care service where mothers can leave their children and also provide micro-loans for working mothers.

Her advice for others is short and sweet.

Go all out with your passion.

Congrats again to Wilhemina and all our 2020 Pass-it-On Award winners!