Ghanaian social entrepreneur and girl-child activist, Winnifred Kyei Selby, has been selected for the Queen’s Young Leaders award in recognition of her outstanding work in transforming the lives of young people especially the girl child.
Winnifred who has been a social entrepreneur since age 15 co-founded the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative and serve as the President of the EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative a non-profit that has helped break cycles of poverty for girls.
She does this through the SHE Scholarship Fund that provides educational scholarships, mentoring and psychosocial support for needy girls from families that are financially challenged by diverse circumstances.
Her organization makes eco-responsible sanitary pads to keep girls in school and curb the high rates of menstruation-related absenteeism among adolescent girls from deprived communities in Ghana.
“It is an honor to be selected as a Queen’s Young Leader and represent Ghana, and I believe this prestigious award will help me to empower more young girls.
She promised to undertake more girl child empowerment initiatives by introducing after school club activities with the existing girl-child clubs and teach them how to operate a smart phone and use the internet.
Winnifred will be felicitated with the award by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth (II), at a ceremony in Buckingham Palace in June next year, over the course of a week-long residential programme in the United Kingdom.
The winners will also undergo a year-long mentoring and online learning by the University of Cambridge to build leadership capabilities and better their work towards the communities.
Established in 2014, the award is presented by Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust to recognize young people from across the 53 countries of the Commonwealth who are “taking the lead in transforming the lives of others and making a lasting difference in their communities.”
Winnifred was also named winner of the 2016 New African Woman in Science, Technology & Innovation award and was recently featured in Forbes as one of the social entrepreneurs in Africa to watch in 2015.
She was also adjudged as the ‘Student of the Year 2016 and Most Influential Student in Engineering at the recent Ghana Tertiary Awards organized by United Merchant Bank.
She sits on the boards of the Dawadawa Impact Investment Fund and the Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative, an initiative she co-founded at a young age.
.
Winnifred Kyei Selby, Girl-child Activist
