#CreatePreneurAfrica Ghana’s John Appiah striving for youth empowerment, leading ventures into human capital development

 

Rated as one of the top 100 influential speakers by  Speakers’ Bureau of Africa  in Ghana, John Appiah leaves no stone unturned in his zest for human capital development and strives enthusiastically for the empowerment of youth. His experience spans over ten years within high profile communication roles inclusive of Communications manager for the British High Commission, Marketing manager at Invest in Africa, Joy Fm's 'Super  Morning show' producer and as a presenter and anchor on TV3 & 3FM

His diverse profile and portfolio is embedded with a Master of Arts degree in Communication studies; A Bachelor of Arts  Political Science as well as  Sociology from the University of Ghana, Legon.

He is also a  Fellow with the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Regional Leadership Center (RLC) West Africa.

The CEO and co-founder of  A-League Consult, an independent human capital development training provider and also the founder and president of the Africa Chamber For Youth Development which is Africa’s premier youth development hub that has the overall goal of being the one-stop chamber where youth leaders undergo training, capacity building, and skills enhancement.

Board member of:

• Role Model Africa
• Innovation for Empowerment and Development (IFED)
• SANYS Health Assistance Program
• Days For Girls International- Ghana
• Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) Mentorship Board

Resident Communications Consultant

•  International Perspective for Policy and Governance(IPPG) Africa

• Young Diplomats of Ghana(YDG).

Volunteer Facilitator 

• Junior Achievement Africa, Ghana Office

Tell us what drives you? What is your true passion in life?

My true passion is to contribute to making the lives of the people I engage with better. In that regard, I run three organizations that help me to pursue this purpose.

Koforidua Clinic which is a medical facility that provides health care for people in Koforidua in the eastern region of Ghana. I also run the A-League Consult which is a human capital development organization that seeks to empower business people, corporate workers, entrepreneurs and musicians/entertainers.

I set up the African Chamber for Youth Development as a non for profit that serves as a tool to equip young leaders and students with leadership skills, communication skills, and personal branding skills.

 How did you find your passion and how old were you?

I have always been a person who loves talking, teaching and leadership. All through my basic education, I had the opportunities to be elected/selected as class prefect. and eventually, in my final year in the basic school, I was elected as School prefect. That is where I realized I had a strong passion for empowering other people to be better.

What about your passion appeals to you the most?

What drove you to make money from your passions?

I realized that I could actually build a business around my passion to empower people through skills development and capacity building. So after about 10years working in various high profile positions in different organizations in the corporate world, I decided to quit and start my own business. That is where I set up the A-League Consult

When was the first time you were paid for your passion?

It was when I had my first contract to train the employees of a business organization some few months after I set up the A-League Consult

What kept you going when you thought about giving up?

The strong passion to make people better equipped and empowered to see their dreams come to pass that truly keeps me from giving up.

What motivates you every day to be even more successful?

The desire to be well positioned and influential to be able to give more to society

What do you have to say to all of the people who doubted you?

Time indeed will make a big difference. The best way to prove all my naysayers wrong is to aggressively work very hard and to stay committed to seeing my dreams come to pass.

What advice do you give to aspiring creatives who look up to you?

Never Give Up! All things are possible to them that believe and are very committed to seeing their dreams come to pass