GEPA LEADERSHIP
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare
Dr. Afua Asabea Asare is a Strategy Enthusiast known for her extensive knowledge in Integrated Communications and Organisational Development.
With 28 years’ worth management experience working in a variety of corporate environments and having a knack for entrepreneurial ventures, she brings an in-depth wealth of experience to her role as Chief Executive of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA).
She was appointed CEO of GEPA in 2018 by H.E the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo.
During her time as CEO she has and continues to develop and implement projects that all feed into the improvement Ghana’s export sector.
In 2018, GEPA under her leadership won the bid to host the World Trade Promotion Organization’s Annual Conference and Awards in Ghana. This would be the first time the internationally renowned and acknowledged event would be held south of the Sahara.
Under her tenure of leadership, she again spearheaded the completion of the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), a 10 year road map designed to build, modernize and diversify Ghana’s export base. The Strategy is expected to provide a clear vision of the desired evolution of Ghana’s non-traditional export sector a decade from now, and a roadmap for attaining the vision, forging a national consensus on how best to approach industrial export development that is inclusive and beneficial to all Ghanaians.
The NEDS had the input of over one hundred experts in the export ecosystem and was launched by the Hon. Alan Kyerematen in the last quarter of 2020 with an objective to achieve Usd25.3billion by the year 2029.
Dr. Asare is strongly committed to people development, offering training, coaching, mentoring and custom solutions to business leaders, entrepreneurs, consultants, speakers and trainers.
Two initiatives targeted at youth development – the Youth in Export Competition and Youth in Export Projects both aim to encourage young men and women to venture into exports as fulltime careers and offers assistance to individuals who have an interest in agriculture or other fields that have potential for export.
As an ardent advocate of the arts, Dr. Asare believes there is a lot more that can be done to nurture the industry. This involves empowering communities involved with industrial art and craft with opportunities of exposure to showcase their handiwork on a commercial scale.
This commitment informed the basis of strategic interventions such as upgrading Art & Craft Villages/Centres into exhibition standard facilities in four regions of Ghana and promoting a premium Art exhibition “Sound Out” to showcase fine art on an international level.
Dr. Asare further sits on a number of academic and corporate boards such as the African Leadership Academy, South Africa, IE Advisory Board for IE University in Madrid, Spain, Ghana Telecom University College, Ghana, World Business Angels Investment Forum (WBAF) Ghana, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ghana, Advisory Board on Trade & Investment Support Institution of ITC, Ghana Exim Bank, Venture Capital Trust Fund and the Data Protection Agency, Ghana.
She is also a well acknowledged and awarded personality. She is the recipient of the 2019 Women in Transformational Leadership Award (Governance category), has been inducted into the 2019 West African Nobles Hall of Fame and was an award recipient at the 2020 Ghana Women Excellence Awards, being recognized for her outstanding achievements in exports. She also received the Distinguished Service Award at the Ghana Agric and Agro Processing Awards for her remarkable achievements in the export of agricultural produce and was also recognized as an Honouree of Excellence in Public Service at the 5th Glitz Ghana Women of the Year Awards 2020.
Dr. Asare has an MA in Positive Leadership and Strategy from IE University in Madrid, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from KNUST, Ghana, MSc, Organisational Development from the University of Cape-Coast and MBA International Business from Ecole Superieur de Gestion, Paris. She also has an Advance Leadership Training Certificate, Strategic Marketing Management from the Harvard Business School, Boston, a Post-Graduate degree in Communications Studies, School of Comm. Studies, University of Ghana, Diploma, Public Relations and a Doctorate in Business Management, Swiss Business School and NIBS Ghana.
She considers herself a student of the world and has authored various industry and business articles, on coaching, leadership development, and diversity of thought and inclusion. She also writes for the Business and Financial Times (BF&T) on Positive Leadership and Strategy.
Dr. Asare is also an adjunct Lecturer of Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Supply Chain Management and Strategic Marketing at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) the Presbyterian University College and a Visiting Lecturer and Speaker at the China Europe International Business School’s (CEIBS) Women in Entrepreneurship and Leadership in Africa (WELA) programme.
In the past, she worked as Special Advisor, Ministry of Business Development, General Manager and Head of Corporate Communications, Ghana Telecom, Public Relations and Training Departments of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, various advertising agencies, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation’s TV Newsroom and Nippon Tetrapod Co. Ltd of Japan.
Dr. Asare’s consulting and training experience spans many organisations, including: Volta River Authority, Coca-Cola Company (GH), United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), MTN, TIGO, Star Assurance, Beige Capital, Ghana Ports & Harbours Authority etc.
Her love for art keeps her busy in her studio at home where she paints on canvas, creates mosaic work and interesting art pieces using recycled household items.
Deputy CEO, Finance and Operations, GEPA
A Fellow of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants, UK with 12 years post-qualification experience, Samuel has considerable experience across many areas of finance including Financial Control, Financial reporting, Financial planning & Analysis, Business strategy formulation, Budgeting and Forecasting, Financial Risk Management and Control.
Samuel is currently the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (Finance and Operations) for Ghana Export Promotion Authority
He is also a board member of TTL Investment Capital, a private investment banking firm and a board member of the Financial Intelligence Center of Ghana, under the Ministry of Finance of Ghana.
Samuel, until 31 August 2017, was the Head of Finance for West Africa Retail Chain Limited, the owners of Shop N Save Supermarkets. He left West Africa Retail Chain on the 31st August 2017 to pursue personal business Interest.
From 2005 to date, Samuel has been working in senior management roles across different industries, managing different teams for superior performance.
Prior to joining West Africa Retail Chain Limited, Samuel worked with many multinational organizations including British America Tobacco as the Cluster Head of Finance of markets made up of Ghana, Benin, Niger and Togo which later expanded to a cluster of 7 markets (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone), Zain Communications/Airtel Communication as the Head of Business Planning and Analysis Manager, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited( subsidiary of Diageo Plc.) as the Financial Reporting Manager.
Samuel has special interest in setting up and building finance departments of new businesses and ensuring all the processes, procedures and controls are in place and working to drive business performance. He has also been involved in profitable turnaround of many SMEs in Ghana. He is an expert in business performance measurement and reporting to both internal and external stakeholders. His strengths in the finance and accounting includes Financial Controls.
He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (B.com) Degree from the University of Cape Coast and an MBA Finance from Institute of International Finance, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Samuel is married with two girls and one boy.
Deputy CEO, Human Resource & Administration
Albert Kassim Diwura
As an enthusiast in organizational development, management and strengthening, Mr Diwura has worked in the field of human resource management for more than a decade.
Currently, he is the Deputy CEO overseeing Human Resource and Administration issues at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), having been appointed by the President of the land in 2018 to assist with the forward march of the National TPO.
Prior to his joining GEPA, he was the Principal Human Resource Manager for West Gonja Hospital in Damongo, Northern Region, now Savannah Region. He was also a member of the Northern Regional 10 Member Committee in charge of Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Programme (IPEP).
Politically, Mr Diwura stood as the parliamentary candidate for the Damango Constituency in 2012 as well 2016.
Mr. Diwura holds Master of Commerce Degree in Human Resources Management.
The Management Team
DCEO DIWURA
DCEO DENTU