Ghanaian female logistics company wins global transportation leadership award

Ladybird Logistics, a Ghanaian company internationally renowned for exclusively employing and training female drivers to drive trucks, has been named among recipients of the 2019 “Top Woman-Owned Businesses in Transportation”.

The prestigious award was announced by the Women In Trucking Association (WIT) through its official magazine, the ‘Redefining the Road magazine’.

Ladybird Logistics is the first (and currently only) bulk logistics company employing only female drivers. By breaking the glass ceiling in this male dominated field, Ladybird Logistics has led a seismic shift in the industry by bringing in trained female drivers all of whom operate at the highest level of ethics, competence and professionalism.

The WIT global list of women-led companies was created to recognize women in leadership and encourage more women to become proactive leaders in their organizations – and even start their own businesses, WIT president and CEO Ellen Voie explained.

The program supports WIT’s overall mission “to encourage the employment of women in the trucking industry, promote their accomplishments, and minimize the obstacles they face” Brian Everett, publisher of Redefining the Road magazine added.

The criteria used to identify qualified applicants include majority ownership by a woman, financial stability and growth, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit. Each company was nominated and chosen based upon business success and accomplishments – including those related to gender diversity.

In addition to Ladybird Logistics limited (Felicia Payin Marfo, Managing Director), other companies named to the 2019 “Top Woman-Owned Businesses” list included Bennett International Group (Marcia G. Taylor, CEO), Ontario Truck Training Academy (Yvette Lagrois, President), London Auto Truck Center (Donna Childers, Vice President) and United Federal Logistics, Inc. (Jennifer Behnke, President) amongst others.

The list is comprised of companies from a diverse range of business sectors in the commercial freight transportation marketplace, including First batch of female drivers from Ladybird Logisticsmotor carriers, third-party logistics companies, and original equipment manufacturers.

Founded in 2018, the inspiration behind Ladybird Logistics was to present a solutions-based and effective alternative towards curbing critical issues facing the logistics and transportation sector in Ghana, particularly in fuel trucking. In realizing that not enough women are employed in the trucking industry, a concerted effort was made to ensure full inclusion as a central ethos for Ladybird’s operations.

Commenting on Ladybird’s inclusion on the list, Felicia Payin Marfo (Managing Director) said, “We are elated to have been included in the 2019 list of Top Woman-Owned Businesses in Transportation. It is truly an honor for us, because what started as a bold but untested concept in the transportation and logistics sector, has turned into a glass-ceiling-shattering experience for all our women drivers. This is truly a recognition of their efforts, dedication and courage which have allowed us to maintain a consistent standard in quality of service delivery and integrity.” She added, “We hope to continue to inspire females across the continent to aspire to greater heights, across industries that have traditionally been male dominated. In addition, we hope other transporters will follow our lead to recruit and employ female drivers.”

Ms. Marfo further indicated that, while Ladybird Logistics is currently only hauling fuel in Ghana, there are growth plans that include expanding into other sectors in the country and eventually into other African markets.

The Top Woman-Owned Businesses in Transportation of 2019 will be recognized during a special program at the upcoming Women In Trucking Accelerate! Conference & Expo, which takes place September 30 – October 2, 2019 in Dallas, Texas, USA.