UE/R: SOCO PROJECT FACILITATORS URGED TO WORK HARD FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT – DCE NABDAM
By – Prosper Adankai
GrowAfrica For Me, a youth and women-focused social innovation and enterprise support organization headquartered in Bolgatanga in Ghana’s Upper East Region, successfully hosted its inaugural Group Coaching Clinic and Peer-to-Peer Learning Session for participants of the Bead-Making Cohort 1st August 2026
The session forms a key component of the organization’s Skills-to-Enterprise (S2E) Model, which integrates hands-on technical training with practical business development support, equipping young entrepreneurs with the knowledge, confidence, and entrepreneurial skills needed to transform their craft into sustainable livelihoods and thriving enterprises
The day’s coaching was led by Albert Shiebila Mali, Executive Director of GrowAfrica For Me, who facilitated a session on Attraction and Sales Strategies. His message to the cohort was direct: making a beautiful product is only half the business
“It costs far less to keep a happy customer buying again than to keep searching for new ones,” he told participants, urging them to think beyond the first sale. He challenged the group to sharpen their sense of who they’re actually selling to: “You cannot attract everyone. Get specific about your ideal customer”, and to take their products to where buyers already gather rather than waiting for customers to find them: “Go where your customers already are” such as Markets & Fairs, WhatsApp Groups, Community Networks, Schools & Events, Referrals and social media
He also pushed the cohort to think about presentation and story as part of the product itself: “The same product sells for more, and sells faster, when it looks professional and carries a story customers connect with.” And he closed the session with a reminder that a sale isn’t the finish line: “The sale isn’t over at checkout; what you do after the sale decides whether a customer ever returns.”
Alongside the sales coaching, trainer Elizabeth Awuni led a Practical Technical Coaching session, working directly with participants on product design and product innovation. For Elizabeth, the technical work is inseparable from mindset. “Bead making is a simple skill to learn, but it demands focus and seriousness. Once you acquire the right skills and receive proper training, you can build a successful business,” she told the cohort, describing bead making as “a viable business opportunity capable of transforming the lives of young people through entrepreneurship.” Success in the industry, she added, comes down to “patience, dedication, creativity, and commitment”, qualities she says separate a hobby from a business
In a Success Stories and Peer Learning session, participants shared what has actually worked for them, not theory, but tactics tested in their own small businesses
One participant described a simple discipline behind her sales: “What works well for me is that I always go along with my products everywhere I go.” Another spoke about tailoring items to individual buyers: “I customize my products to customers’ needs; that makes me sell more.” Others pointed to community events as an untapped sales channel: “I make good use of social events such as school culture days and other social events to sell more.”
Design choices came up too, with one participant noting, “I make good use of color and bead selection and combination to make my bead look beautiful.” And in a moment that visibly energized the room, one participant shared that she now earns an average of GH¢700 a week from her bead business, a figure that gave the rest of the cohort a concrete target to work toward
Among those putting these lessons into practice is Azebire Joyce, a resident of Bolgatanga Estate at Abule Junction, whose journey shows what the S2E model looks like over time. Before enrolling in the programme, Joyce was unemployed and depended entirely on her mother for financial support, until a friend told her about the opportunity. Through the training, she learned to produce bracelets, necklaces, waistbands, and other beaded products, skills that have since become a source of income and independence. “Before the training, I relied on my mother for everything. Today, I earn something small from my bead-making business, and it helps me support myself,” she said
What made today’s session powerful wasn’t a single expert lecture; it was young entrepreneurs teaching each other what already works, backed by structured coaching on the fundamentals of attracting and keeping customers. That combination is the engine of GrowAfrica For Me’s S2E model: technical skill and craft discipline from trainers like Elizabeth Awuni, business strategy from facilitators like Albert Shiebila Mali, and peer accountability from the cohort itself
For participants like Joyce, who joined the programme unemployed and now runs her own bead business, today’s session added new tools to an already-growing enterprise, sharper targeting, smarter presentation, and a stronger sense of what her peers are doing to make GH¢700 a week and beyond
In his concluding remarks, Albert Shiebila Mali advised the cohort to partner and collaborate on gigs so they can deliver on time to customers. He further encouraged them to always dock at the doors of GrowAfrica For Me, stating that the cohort’s success is the organization’s success
He lastly challenged the cohort to find innovative ways to raise funding to expand and scale up their businesses
