Bernice Dapaah is a Ghanaian

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

who is the founder and chief executive officer of the Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative in Kumasi. This Initiative addresses

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

through the production of bicycles using environmentally friendly resources such as bamboo. She and her company, Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative have won several awards. In 2016 and 2017 she was listed as one of WomanRising's 100 Most Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Dapaah sits on the advisory board of the

WIPO GREEN WIPO GREEN is a World Intellectual Property Organization program that supports global efforts to address climate change and food security through sharing of sustainable technology innovations . WIPO GREEN was established in 2013, it is a free o ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and is the founding curator of the

Kumasi Kumasi is a city and the capital of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is the second largest city in the country, with a population of 443,981 as of the 2021 census. Kumasi is located in a rain forest region ...

Hub of the

Global Shapers The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer Klaus Schwab. The foundation's s ...

. In addition, she is a member of the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

Global Agenda Council on Biodiversity and Natural Capital.

Education

Dapaah graduated from the Christian Service University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She also holds a diploma in Human Resource Management and Marketing from the Institute of Commercial Management in UK. She holds a diploma in “Executive education” from Harvard University. She currently holds a Master’s Degree in Development Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Career

Motivated by the high unemployment rate in Ghana, Dapaah decided to venture into Entrepreneurship just when she was about completing school. She and her friends wanted to create jobs rather than seek one. And hence she and Winnifred Selby founded the Ghana Bamboo Bike in 2009. She is also an Ambassador for the World Bamboo Organization in Switzerland.

Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative

The Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative aside providing employment for the youth, helps reduce environmental degradation through the use of local and environmentally friendly resources such as bamboo in the production of bicycles. This Initiative has won several awards including the 2014 UNEP/Dubai International Award, 2013 UNFCCC Momentum For Change Light House Activity Award (Women For Results Category), World Business and Development Award 2012, UN Habitat/Dubai International Best Practice Award 2012, Samsung/Generations For Peace Impact Award 2012, GIZ Impact Business Award 2011, and UNEP SEED Initiative Award 2010.

Awards and recognition

* Vital Voices Lead Fellow * 2014

Young Global Leader Forum of Young Global Leaders, or Young Global Leaders (YGL), is a non-profit organization. The organization was created by Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum and is managed from Geneva, Switzerland, under the supervision of the Sw ...

of the

* She was awarded “Entrepreneur for the World Award” by the World Entrepreneurship Forum * She was honored World Ambassador of the World Bamboo Organization. * She won the 2013 International Women Alliance World of Difference Award. * Advisory Board Member of

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dapaah, Bernice Living people 21st-century Ghanaian businesswomen 21st-century Ghanaian businesspeople Ghanaian chief executives Ghanaian curators Ghanaian women curators Social entrepreneurs Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard University alumni Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology alumni