Podcasts about cocoa360

In this episode, we speak with Shadrack Frimpong, a global leader and academic, on his remarkable journey in impact and community development in Africa. Shadrack founded Cocoa360, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to facilitate access to education and improve health care through cocoa farming revenue. Shadrack has a PhD, an honorary doctorate, and two master's degrees and is currently in medical school training to be a physician.Shadrack's story begins in Tarkwa Breman, Ghana, where he was born to a peasant cocoa farmer and a charcoal seller. Despite his economic background, Shadrack has always shown remarkable leadership. From co-founding a Scholarship and Talents Club in high to guiding dozens of students in accessing global educational opportunities to Students for a Healthy Africa and the African Research Academies for Women, Shadrack is deeply committed to addressing crucial issues like health care and education in Africa. Our conversation centres on his unique approach to poverty alleviation. He challenges prevalent misconceptions and emphasizes the centrality of healthcare in addressing poverty. His critique extends to the inefficiencies in current resource allocation and the often misguided focus of development programs. Shadrack believes financial aid alone does not suffice in poverty alleviation; health and well-being are equally critical.Cocoa360, his nonprofit, is a testament to Shadrack's innovative approach. This model ingeniously integrates healthcare, education, and cocoa farming, enabling communities to sustain their health and educational needs through agricultural activity. This self-sustaining model departs from traditional aid systems, promoting community-driven development and empowerment.Shadrack expounds on issues in the cocoa value chain, such as child labour and underpayment and how their model keeps children in school and brings parents to the farm. He also discusses the complexities of policy and advocacy in improving the lives of cocoa farmers.With Cocoa360 as a template and armed with research in medicine and development, Shdrack wants to create a scalable blueprint for sustainable community development in Africa. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Some conversations are hard to have for immigrants especially when it comes to racism and sexism. They could be easily misunderstood for lack of communication skills or cultural differences. They might be unaware of ways to respond when racist comments are made. That’s why I invited Maame Afon Yelbert-Sai who is an internationally recognized thought leader, passionate activist on anti-racism and anti-sexism work. As an immigrant, she is sharing with us -Ways to educate ourselves and increase our awareness. -How to define the boundaries between ignorance and racism/sexism. -How to have race-related conversations in our personal and professional lives. her bio: Exuberantly embracing her calling as a consummate connector and networker, Maame Afon enjoys her work as an activist, facilitator, executive/life coach, and mentor, supporting leaders internationally. She is an internationally recognized thought leader, passionate advocate for women and girls and a leadership development enthusiast. She is also a recording artist who uses music to promote social change and philanthropy. Maame Afon currently serves as the board chair of African Women’s Development Fund, USA and We Care Solar, and sits on the board and advisory council of other international organizations including Cocoa360, Ghana Bamboo Bikes, Days for Girls-Ghana, Moremi Initiative, Street Business School, Women Leaders for the World, and Nurturing Minds/SEGA among others. She holds a B.A. in French and Spanish and an M.A. in human rights, gender, and international development. She was named among 100 African Women in Development by Donors for Africa (2020) and has been recognized as one of the 18 African Feminists to know by For Harriet (2015). She has also been featured in AfroElle Magazine (2015) and the #Pretty-Period Campaign that celebrates black women. In 2019 she was featured in Leading Ladies Africa (LLA) as part of the release of her #RightNowAfrica single. Maame Afon is the recipient of several fellowships namely, 2020 Perennial Fellow, 2019 Rise Up Leader, 2017 Hive Global Leader, 2016 Cordes Fellow, and 2009 Woman Leader for the World. Furthermore, Maame Afon contributed her story to We Will Lead Africa - Volume Two: Women (African Everyday Leadership Stories) – 32 stories by 36 contributors, available now on Amazon. She is currently working on a full chapter titled “Steward Transformation” as part of her contribution to “The Palgrave Handbook of Learning for Transformation.” As a Whole Woman, she brings all of who she is to her work as Chief Steward of MILT (Management for Impact Leadership and Transformation), the organization she founded in 2017. She also enjoys her calling as mother and wife, raising her three children with her husband. Social Media Handles Website: www.themiltedge.com | www.maameafon.com FB: Maame Alice Yelbert-Sai; @themiltedge IG: @MaameAfon @themiltedge T: @Maameafon @themiltedge Subscribe to Empowering conversationZ podcast on your favorite app: https://www.mehrans.com/empowering-conversationz follow us on Instagram: @mehran.sorourian or FB https://www.facebook.com/Empowering.conversationZ.podcast

Maame Afon is an internationally recognized thought leader, passionate advocate for women and girls and a leadership enthusiast. She is also a recording artist who uses music to promote social change and philanthropy.   Maame Currently serves as the board chair of African Women’s Development Fund, USA and We Care Solar, and sits on the boards of other international organizations including Cocoa360, Ghana Bamboo Bikes, Days for Girls-Ghana, Moremi Initiative, Street Business School, Women Leaders for the World, and Nurturing Minds/SEGA among others. She holds a B.A. in French and Spanish and an M.A. in human rights, gender, and international development. Maame is a connector and a consummate networker, and enjoys her work as an activist, facilitator, executive and life coach, and mentor, supporting leaders internationally. She was recently named among 100 African Women in Development by Donors for Africa and has been recognized as one of the 18 African Feminists to know by For Harriet.  She is a 2019 Rise Up Leader, 2016 Cordes Fellow, 2017 Hive Global Leader, 2009 Woman Leader for the World Fellow, and a 2020 Perennial Fellow.   As a Whole Woman, she brings all of who she is to her work as Chief Steward of MILT (Management for Impact Leadership and Transformation), the organization she founded in 2017. She also enjoys her calling as mother and wife, raising her three children with her husband. Social Media Handles Website: www.themiltedge.com  www.maameafon.com Maame's music is available on several online outlets - iTunes, cdbaby.com, Google, Amazon, Spotify, Pandora, last.fm and Simfy. RISE is also available at Challenge Bookstores and the Vision Bookshop(Qodesh) in Ghana. You can learn more about RISE and follow this journey on Facebook Artist Page (Maame Afon).

On July 26th of 2019, I (Tony Kwame Ansah, Jr or T.A.) had the pleasure of interviewing Shadrack Frimpong (S.F.). A Ghanaian young man who is the founder and C.E.O. of Cocoa360, a community-based initiative in Ghana that uses proceeds from cocoa farms to run health clinic and tuition free schools for girls. He is the winner of the following accolades: President's Engagement Prize Winner 2015, YACE Award 2016, CocaCola Young Achiever 2017, Queen's Young Leader Award Winner 2018, Forbes 30 Under 30 2018, Richard J. Estes Global Citizenship Award 2019, Muhammad Ali Award 2019, and many more. The purpose of our conversation was to talk about his personal development as an entrepreneur. Although there’s a saying “to not mix business with pleasure,” our persona influences risk we take as humans, especially for those willing to create a social enterprise that helps farmers, families, and females to live a prosperous, healthy and literate life like Shadrack Frimpong. Without any further or due, the following is the short summary of our full interview. Read now and be inspired! T.A.: What would you do without getting anything in return for it, such as money? S.F.: Already doing it via Cocoa360. I’m currently not on salary. T.A.: What gives you tremendous joy in life? S.F.: To live for the glory of God. T.A.: What is something you would do every day if you could or something you can’t survive without doing it every day? S.F.: Prayer! Pray 3 times a day. Relationship with God allows me to lead. The rest takes care of itself. T.A.: What is your strong Why for the passions you have? S.F.: My upbringing from living on the cocoa farm and experiencing poverty first-hand as a child has been the driving force behind everything that I do. T.A.: What is your special gift or talent that people compliment you on? S.F.: I’m a good communicator & convincer. That is, I possess exceptional communication skills. T.A.: What’s 1 strength and 1 weakness that you have? S.F.: Lack of patience is a weakness of mine. Micromanagement is another weakness because leadership requires an understanding that people work at their own speed. My strength is being apologetic to others. T.A.: What is 1 future goal or 1 upcoming goal that you have right now? S.F.: I try to take it 1 day at a time. I’m currently studying public health to lead the next phase of Cocoa360. T.A.: What are your action plans to make these goals possible? S.F.: The major plan is to work hard at school. To soak in enough knowledge as possible. T.A.: Do you believe in accountability? S.F.: Yes, it’s very huge. T.A.: How will you assess your progress? S.F.: As I look back over the years, we’ve made a lot of amazing progress within 2 years as a team at Cocoa360. It was great having a conversation with you brother. Until we speak again, stay blessed, stay strong, peace be unto you, later. This episode 17 and article was originally posted at tonyansah.com/2019/08/14/inner-views-from-the-multi-award-winning-shadrack-frimpong/ on August 14, 2019.

Hosts Sandi Hunt and Nick Ashburn talk with Shadrack Frimpong, Founder and CEO of Cocoa 360. Shadrack grew up without running water and electricity in rural Ghana and became the first person in his village to attend college in the US, where he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2015 and is currently enrolled to complete his master's degree in NonProfit Leadership. Frimpong founded Cocoa360 and pioneered the "farm-for-impact” health equity model; a tuition-free girls' school and community hospital sustained by proceeds from a cocoa plantation. He leads a team of over 35 full-time staff members who have cared for 3000 patients, serve 8 communities, reach over 35,000 farmers and currently educate 120 young girls. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Shadrack Frimpong, Founder and CEO of Cocoa360, joins hosts Nick Ashburn and Sandi Hunt to discuss how he took the experience and skills he gained at Penn to push for change in Ghana. Cocoa360 aims to improve access to education and healthcare for Ghana’s cocoa farmers. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

“Start with the who, the people you want to help and from there you will find your why” In our second episode, Asanga Seneviratne chats to Shadrack Frimpong, Co-Founder and CEO of Cocoa360, on revamping international development, tackling corruption, finding your motivation, getting started on your idea and the importance of self-care in impact work. Show Notes: John Wooden (Author) Start With Why (Book) The Effects of an NGO Development Project on the Rural Community of Tarkwa Bremen in Western Ghana (Report) You can learn more about Cocoa360's work and how you can support their mission to transform farming communities and facilitate access to education and healthcare in rural Ghana here. Correction: It was previously reported that Shadrack was Co-Founder and CEO of Cocoa360 when he was in fact the sole Founder and CEO of Cocoa360. We apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused.  Follow the journey on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Our Website.