The special award was introduced by FanMilk in partnership with the award organizers to honour an individual who operates a small business and uses the business to make a positive impact in the community.

As a result, the winner of the category, Teni Agana, a visionary social entrepreneur, project manager, youth advocate, a teacher and founder and Managing Director of Loozeele Initiative – educational programme targeted at the youth in the northern parts of Ghana– would undergo a six month mentorship deal with the MD of FanMilk.

In addition to mentoring, Loozele Initiative will also receive Fanmilk product support for their activities.

Speaking after the introductory session of the mentorship programme, Mr. Yeo expressed his willingness to share his experience to groom and support Ms. Agana and her business.

“She will learn a lot and I know I will as well learn a lot. People say in mentorship, what you put in is what you get and by the look of things, she is someone who is eager to see other perspectives. So, I am open minded and willing to share as much as I can from my personal story because I believe what you live in life is worth sharing for others to learn from.

Also, the many years’ experience of business and leadership we have, she can be assured that we will share such experiences as much as possible with her. But what is important is for me to have an ear to listen to her ambition, joy and challenges and through constructive questioning help her find solutions. I believe that it’s the best help and I am prepared to do that,” he said.

For Teni Agana, a young lady who paid her way through high school by working as a kayayoo and now a university graduate and an entrepreneur, this award and mentorship means a lot to her Loozeele Initiative of empowering other young girls in the north.

“This award tells us that people actually see the work we do, the impact on the girls and they appreciate us. It gave us a big platform to sell ourselves to the world. The interesting part is that it also empowered our girls and tells us that everything is possible, especially being one of them and how far I’ve come,” she said.

She added that her team is expecting to learn a lot from Mr. Yeo and that they believe this opportunity will give them the platform to better improve their business and impact as many lives as possible.

“We have a lot of things to do next year, and we expect that we will share some of our ideas and seek his guidance because it has been a roller coaster and this is the first time we are getting someone to mentor us. I believe with his guidance we will further make better decisions as we envisage subsequent years to be great. This is not just for me, it is an opportunity for the about 50 ‘Kayayos’ and 20 girls we are working with now. And in the next five years you will be touching many lives and not just me,” she told the management of Fan Milk Ghana.

She noted that currently there are about 200,000 Kayayos in Ghana and the Loozeele Initiative is passionate about reducing the numbers and tackling rural-urban migration.

Loozeele Initiative

Loozeele Initiative is an initiative to reverse rural-urban migration targeted at the youth in the northern parts of Ghana. It comprises a literacy module, entrepreneurship module, and reproductive health module and youth empowerment.

Loozeele seeks to empower young people to learn basic speaking, reading, writing skills, computer literacy, identify entrepreneurial opportunities, and empower them to be leaders as well as educating them on the various available career opportunities whilst mitigating teenage pregnancies and its negative impact. Overall, Loozeele hopes to improve the lives of the youth, empower them and even better reduce the rate of urban migration.

About Teni Agana

Teni Agana is a visionary social entrepreneur, project manager, youth advocate, motivator and a teacher. She is the founder and Managing Director of Loozeele Initiative. She is a young lady who worked as a kayayoo to pay her way through high school and later admitted to Ashesi as a Mastercard scholar in 2014. She seeks to ensure that underprivileged children, especially girls with backgrounds like hers, have a support system to keep them from veering from their goal.

Ms. Agana is passionate about minimizing the increasing number of girls from Northern Ghana who migrate to the streets of Southern Ghana out of poverty by helping get a source of income in the north. She also believes that it is very critical for children to have a stronger foundation irrespective of who they are or where they come from.

About Fanmilk

FanMilk has been in existence since 1962. The company is currently engaged in the production and distribution of top-quality refreshing and nutritious milk-based and fruit-based products. The company is well known for beloved brands like FanYogo, FanIce, FanChoco, SuperYogo and recent products like GoSlo and NutriDay fortified yoghurt.