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As a subsistence farmer and a middle school certificate holder, there was no end in sight for her but now she has  become a successful entrepreneur operating under the business name Add fort. Proud Madam Comfort Adjei, a mother of two, says she and her husband are fulfilled since support she received from the Mine has enabled her  create a business and is able to offer employment to people in her community.

She reveals that Add fort was formed in 2012 through the Mine’s Local Empowerment Initiative. Madam comfort Adjei says with support  from the Mine and the Municipal Branch of the National Business for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) series of workshops was organized for them on business management that enabled her moot the idea to form her company and since then, it has been beneficial. Starting with two employees, she now employs twenty people.  She landed her first cleaning services contract on the Mine from 2011-2012 which saw her employ people from her community to help execute the contract.

From the experience she gained, she now understands contract procedures such as tendering, filling tender application forms and meeting timelines on submission of tender, tender opening, negotiation and award of contract. Through this, she was able to secure additional contracts. “Through the contracts won from Iduapriem Mine as well as training in financial management, I am able to turn proceeds around and this has helped me see my two children up to the tertiary level of education”. She quickly adds that had it not being for initiatives rolled by the Mine in Women empowerment, she hitherto might not be able to establish herself.

Comfort hinted that it is an honor to see her young business of the past grow into a company, a phenomenon she says is evident because her business has empowered others to take care of their families by enabling them earn an income. “Now I can make ends meet and create employment for the youth in my community through the initiatives Iduapriem Mine has rolled out”. Madam Comfort happily said. 

A lot of women, her daughters and young girls in the Mine’s host communities especially Mile 7 look up to her since she is a success story they are proud of, a spectacle she notes is fulfilling and the joy of every mother since she feels empowered and happy to support her home and by extension her community. “It is my wish that more women in the Mine’s host communities will avail themselves for the local Empowerment Initiatives  initiated by the Mine since they stand to gain positively from it as I have been”. Says Proud Comfort.  As a value of leaving our communities with a sustainable future, AngloGold Ashanti ensures that Comfort Adjei and other host community contractors have their skills regularly evaluated and developed to enable them be more competitive.

“I am appreciative of the contributions of Iduapriem Mine towards women empowerment in our host communities since more women are now running their own business which complements the efforts of husbands in their respective homes” An employee of Madam Comfort remarked.

Iduapriem Mine has positively impacted the lives of Comfort Adjei and her employees. She encouraged other community members especially females to take advantage of opportunities the Mine presents. The AngloGold Ashanti Iduapriem Mine’s Local Economic Development Initiative programme seeks to build capacities of local contractors to enable them participate in the supply chain process. It is implemented in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Business.