Dentaa Amoateng is the founder and CEO of the GUBA Enterprise consisting of the GUBA Awards, GUBA Expo, GUBA Foundation, GUBA Careers and GUBA Health through which she has positively influenced many. The GUBA Awards in particular have been recognized as a community building organization with substantial influence. Her work to improve UK African relations earned her an MBE in Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II’s 2016 Birthday Honours. More about her work at www.gubaawards.co.uk

 

Entrepreneur, actress, singer, producer and the list goes on. But how do you describe yourself and what are you most proud of achieving to date?

I would describe myself as an Optimist – always seeing the opportunity in every challenge. Also I would say that I am persistent – always attempting the most difficult of feats to achieve the desired results. To date my two proudest achievements are my family (husband and children) and the GUBA Enterprise. I have been blessed with an amazing family and will be forever proud of that. The GUBA Enterprise has also successfully grown beyond my initial idea of just the GUBA Awards to an institution working on bringing about positive impact in all sectors

 

You trained as a pediatric nurse, quite far removed from what you’re doing now. How did you arrive at the decision that what you’re doing is the way to go?

I have always been someone who ensures that I attempt to execute my ideas to get a desired result. From a young age I always wanted to make an impact in my career and thus, I ensured that I placed myself in various fields to gain the valuable skills to get closer to my dreams. It is with this mindset that I joined acting agencies, recorded and aired the first ‘Dentaa Show.’ It is with this same mindset that I set up the GUBA Enterprise, as a platform for the mobilization of the African diaspora.

 

You’ve interviewed many Africans who were previously resident overseas and now back on the continent to pursue their goals and also help develop Africa. What do you think will be attractive enough to propel more Africans to do this?

The drive to improve, revolutionalize and help the continent comes from patriotism and love for one’s country. The first step that should drive fellow Africans to move back to their respective countries is to bring about positive change. I believe that those thinking of going back should approach it from the perspective of how they can impact the continent rather than what the continent can offer to draw them back. Essentially, it should be a duty for every African to help their continent.

 

You were involved in an area where few women venture- football as a manager of an internationally known Ghanaian footballer and secured the services of another for Arsenal Football Club. How did you navigate that male-dominated industry and what would you say you ‘brought to the table’ of football?  

The football industry is a challenging one due to its competitive nature. The key is to be extremely knowledgeable about the sport and your role. This boosts your confidence and in return raises your credibility. Like any profession, you have to work to raise your profile.

 

The GUBA Awards is one of your flagship initiatives. No doubt for such initiatives to be successful requires a strong team. In your experience what does it take for a cross-continental team to make big things happen?

Dedication is an absolute must to make big things happen. It takes a lot of work and therefore the team has to be completely involved in all aspects. The second factor is passion – when a team is passionate about the direction of an organization, they work fervently and diligently to see it to fruition.

 

You are clearly a role model particularly to other young Africans. If you took a young woman under your wing and could teach them 3 things that would have the longest term effect on her success and impact on society what would those be and why?

The first thing I would advocate is consistency. Learning how to follow your passion without losing interest and momentum is a critical skill to adopt in the pursuit of success. Another trait worth developing is that of resilience as there will be hurdles. Finally I would say confidence and thorough planning. Your dreams will be called into question, critiqued and mocked at some point; you have to be confident to be able to push forward. Thorough planning provides much needed information to firm up your knowledge and confidence.

 

You’ve received many awards including an MBE from the Queen of England and the accolade ‘Europe’s most important woman’. As an extremely prolific person, what would you say is your next big goal for the next 3 years?

My next big goal is to globally impact the African diaspora with the GUBA Enterprise brand. Starting with the establishment of GUBA Awards in the USA this year, our aim is to positively mobilize the African diaspora across the world. We have also recently launched the GUBA Diaspora card – a card that offers discounts on goods and services to cardholders. We have started with Ghana and are working to have it available and in use in several African countries. It is really important to me for the continent to be aligned towards economic growth and sustainability.

For more information on Vera Ng’oma’s work and resources in leadership, personal and career development please go to www.verangoma.com or http://j.mp/verabooks