Ms Grace Momo Tagoe • A trailblazer in luxury events logistics

Twenty years ago, Ms Grace Momo Tagoe was a Foreign Service officer working in China for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, now Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration.

Like most of the other countries she had served in earlier, her mission was to deliver her best. However, few weeks into her stay, something struck her eyes.

She had seen some of these things in the United States of America, where she was first posted to, Italy and other African countries, but it was in China that she started paying attention to the details on events set-up and decor.

Part of her duties involved attending diplomatic functions and receptions. And at these events, she took notice of the sophisticated pieces put together, something she had not seen in Ghana.

“I had always thought of doing something after I retire from active service, but I had not settled on anything until my move to China. I realised their pieces were unique and of high quality. At events, I will lift table clothes to check what was beneath. I will examine crockery, centrepieces and any other piece that drew my attention,” she told The Mirror in an interview last Tuesday.

Then, she had no plans of being actively involved in the event business, as her initial plan was to try and change the phase of events in Ghana.

As part of her birthday celebration, she donated 50 gift baskets to mothers at the maternity ward of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital on Wednesday morning

She said at the time, she realised there were only few people in the industry in Ghana, but the pieces she saw on her international assignments were of higher quality than what was at home, so she decided to focus on providing unique and classy logistics for events.

Today, there is no event planner or stylist who does not know or hasn’t heard of Nelly’s Unique Rental, the baby born out of Ms Tagoe’s search two decades ago.

 Ms Tagoe turned 70 on Wednesday, October 19, 2022

She is the go-to person for the classiest and uncommon event logistics ranging from luxury/rustic chairs and tables, table linens and napkins, air cooling fans, crockery and many others.

It is also not surprising that today, most players in the event industry see her as their mother and role model. On Wednesday, October 19, when she turned 70, her “children” in the events industry celebrated her, with many sharing the impact she has had on their journeys.

To most of them, she is the trailblazer who has supported them and directed their respective careers.

Building and sustaining a business
Ms Tagoe’s rental company is a leader in the event space, but she says the journey of building it to what it has become today has not been easy.

Aside the huge capital needed to set up and run such a business, she said it also took a lot of time and dedication to stay in business and be on top for this long period.

She recounted that back in China, when she finally settled on what to do, she took trips to different provinces in search of the finest pieces.

Some family members join Ms Tagoe (middle) to cut a birthday cake at a lunch reception organised in her honour

“In the beginning, I just brought in the basic items needed for events, then I realised it was catching on so fast. By then, I had returned home for reposting from the Foreign Service. It was then that I registered the business and started, with the support of my sister,” she explained.

She named the business after her first child, Eleanor (pet name Nelly), who is her only daughter.

Throwback: Ms Tagoe with her children Eleanor, Ted (middle), Derek (second from right) and Carl

She said luckily for her, when she started the business, all her four children were independent and had joined their father in the United States of America.

The difficulty was combining her official role with her new business and this meant staying up long hours after work to take inventory of items and ensure that the business was run well.

“It was rough. I thought I had people to take on this mantle so that I could concentrate on my official duties, but the norm here and attitude towards work was bad. Most of the people were just lackadaisical. After work every day, I had to pass by the business to coordinate activities there,” she said.

Another challenge was the high capital needed to run that kind of business, as trends kept changing. To stay on top of the game, she monitored trends on the Internet and made sure that she was able to provide similar pieces here and that did not come cheap.

She was happy, however, that all the financial investments she made into the business were reinvestments from the business, saying: “I always reinvest in the form of adding on or bringing in new things, and that is what kept me relevant all these years.”

Her former colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs join her to cut her 70th birthday cake

For young people who want to be successful in the event industry and other careers, her advice is to find someone who has been through the mill and learn from him/her, as that will make the journey much easier.

Humble beginnings
Ms Tagoe, the fourth of six children, recounted her early years in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, where her father worked with the Post Office while her mother was a trader.

Her father was posted to Accra when she was 10 years and she was enrolled at the La Anglican School and then to La Presby Girls, before attending the Labone Secondary School, where she was a science student.

She “abandoned” her interest in science and enrolled at the Government Secretarial School. It was after completion that she was employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Barely two years after joining the ministry, she was posted to the permanent mission of the United Nations in New York.

She has also worked with the Ghana Embassy in Rome, Sierra Leone, China and Liberia.

Appreciation
Ms Tagoe was full of praises for a number of people, particularly the young crop of event planners and vendors who continue to celebrate and support her in diverse ways and also recommend her for business and recognition.

Ms Tagoe (middle) with some of her “children” in the events industry

“Sometimes, when I am alone, I shed tears out of the love they show me. Aside the business, they are concerned about my health and well-being and are constantly in touch to make sure I am well.”

Writer's email: efiaamoakoa2@gmail.com