Rev Akua Ofori, the Ghanaian woman who serves on US Trade Advisory Committee

Anglican priest, Rev Akua Ofori, has detailed how she secured a position at the Trade Advisory Committee on Africa for the United States.

The Ghanaian woman is on a Committee that is responsible for advising the United States President, Joe Biden on how to trade in Africa. She also served under former President Donald Trump's government.

According to the former General Manager of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) who is currently serving as the Director of Programs for the Anglican Dioceses of Accra, a member of her church who works at the US Embassy tipped her for the position due to what he termed as her “diligence in getting everything done”.

“I sit on the Advisory Committee for the United States, Trade Advisory Committee on Africa to advice the United States President on how to trade.”

She added: “It comes down to making sure that everything you do is done properly, that is the conversation I am always having with young people. One of the Members of the United States Embassy is a member of my church… one day he called me aside and said, I have been watching you and I really like the way you are so diligent in getting everything done and being on time and making sure we close on time and there is a position that is opened in the United States government. They are looking for a young African who can help them advice on how to trade in Africa and a lot of the people are people who have Africa experience but they tend not to sit on the continent and so now they are trying to change the strategy and have people who sit on the continent.”

“I said I wasn’t sure if I had the experience but he asked to see my CV so I sent him my CV and he said look, you have all you need and I think you should put in an application and so I did. About six months later, I got a call from the White House, FBI, all kinds of people were running around trying to figure out who I was and what was going on in my life."

“I was called into the US Embassy and had to answer a 60-page document on who I am. They interviewed people who I knew in Ghana and in America and eventually, I was given the nod. I have been on the Committee for the last three years. It is a full-year term…I started out in Donald Trump’s presidency and I am still serving on the Committee under Biden’s presidency,” she said.

Rev Akua Ofori revealed that her presence on the Advisory Committee has exposed her to numerous opportunities and has advised the youth to put their hearts and minds to whatever they do.

“It’s been really amazing, the exposure. There are people from all over the world who sit on the Committee. It has also shown me that, a lot of times as young people in this part of the world, we often don’t get to see what is really happening in the world. We are so caught up in ‘our Ghana were’ that when you have the opportunity to serve to see how the thinking of the rest of the world, it really open up your mind on how we need to position ourselves if we really want to have an impact.

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