MTN Y’ello Ladies Network marks first anniversary

The MTN Y’ello Ladies Network (YLN), an all-female employee group, has marked its first anniversary with a renewed commitment to mentorship, leadership development and collective empowerment for women within MTN Ghana.

The anniversary reflected the network’s focus on creating opportunities for women in the organisation to connect, build leadership capacity and support one another in their professional and personal development.

The anniversary, held on the theme “Give to Gain: For When Women Thrive, We All Rise,” highlighted the importance of mentorship, collaboration and shared growth among women in the workplace.

Safe space for women

Speaking at the anniversary   last Wednesday, the Chairperson of the Y’ello Ladies Network and Chief Finance Officer of MTN Ghana, Antoinette Kwofie, said the first year of the network had been fulfilling and had created a safe space for women within the organisation to interact and discuss issues that affect them.

“It’s the first anniversary of the Y’ello Ladies Network and it has been a fulfilling year. In that year, we’ve been able to create a safe space for women to interact, to talk about issues that pertain only to women, that only women will understand,” she said.

Mrs Kwofie explained that one of the initiatives introduced by the network was a programme called “Ladies Talk”, which created a platform for open discussions on women’s issues.

“We did something called Ladies Talk and it’s a programme which is about a safe space where we discuss women’s issues, and that for me has created a bond, it has created a sense of unity and it’s also educated the women on certain health issues and other issues that they would not otherwise have had a chance to,” she said.

Health, community initiatives

Mrs Kwofie said the network undertook initiatives that were aimed at supporting women’s health and community awareness.

She added that the network had raised about GH¢200,000 for breast cancer awareness.

She explained that out of the amount raised, GH¢150,000 was donated to the Breast Cancer Unit at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital to support patients, while GH¢50,000 was given to Breast Care International to support breast cancer awareness campaigns.

Delivering the keynote address, a Ghanaian business leader and the Founder and CEO of Brainwave Tech Africa, Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh, said meaningful success was defined by contribution rather than accumulation.

“The most meaningful success is not what we accumulate, but what we contribute,” she said.

For his part, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, Stephen Blewett, emphasised the importance of mentorship and inclusion in building strong organisations.

He said women had played a significant role in shaping his life and career, citing the influence of his mother.

“I had a very strong mother who taught her three boys lots of good lessons.

Her influence on my life was massive,” he said.

Mr Blewett acknowledged the contributions of women to MTN Ghana’s performance.

“It is not by chance that MTN is performing the way it is. It is the result of the contribution of passionate people throughout our organisation,” he said.

He urged women leaders to support and mentor others within the organisation.

“Too many women leaders I’ve seen are not pulling up the other women.

It’s like, ‘I got here, you stay there.’

There’s space for everyone; you have a unique responsibility to pull up the person below you,” he added.