Startup Story
Blessed Agyemang is an award-winning entrepreneur, key note speaker and management consultant, and founder of Herrada in Ghana. Blessed has her areas of expertise in supply chain management, business and operation strategy, operational and business development after she had already made an exemplary professional career climbing up the corporate ladder in what is one of the top multinational oil and gas firms within the Europe, Eurasia and Sub- Saharan (EESSA) and Africa Other (AO) regions.
Blessed has built quite the reputation for her expertise in training and consulting for Personal Brand Management, Image Consulting, Executive Presence, Soft Skills and Etiquette and in the protocol expertise on the international front. Besides her academic and professional qualifications, Lady Blessed, as she is affectionately called, holds a certificate in Image Makeup from the Maisie Dunbar Consultant Group, Maryland, USA and a Diploma in Diplomacy and Diplomatic Skills from the European Academy of Diplomacy, Warsaw- Poland among others.
Leading Herrada, Blessed has and continues to assist start-ups and maturing companies, individuals, entrepreneurs, institutions and organizations with business and brand management as well as in personal and professional development through one-on-one training sessions, key notes, courses, physical and virtual workshops, and has been pivotal in enabling them to reach their goals and make impact, not just in Ghana but internationally as well. Blessed provides thought leadership in her areas of expertise and assist in policies and programs - public and private- in these areas.
Outside of her corporate awards, Blessed Agyemang has been nominated as Business Executive Feminine Ghana Awards Best Achiever in Consultancy 2020, won Business Executive Feminine Ghana Awards Promising Entrepreneur 2020, led Herrada to Listed by the Business Executive as a Corporate Brand to Look out for 2021, listed by the Business and Financial Times (BFT) as an Outstanding Brand to Look out for in 2022 and nominated 40 under 40 Ghanaians in the area of consulting.
LoA spoke to the multi-faceted and experienced Blessed Agyemang about her entrepreneurial journey and her ambitions for the future.
“Our Vision is to be instrumental in the change that occurs in Africa a result of learning and unlearning appropriate skills and conduct that provide the leverage to excelling globally.”
When did your start your business?:
Launched in 2019, Herrada was borne out of her decision to train the management of her supplier firms and groom their leadership into better representation on new local content boards and initiatives as well as full supplier development. Herrada is growing on to fast become an industry leader in Brand Management (Personal and Corporate Brands), Personal and Professional Development offering Training and Consulting (in the nouveau services of Image consulting, Executive Presence, Soft Skills and Etiquette) and International Protocol and Diplomacy.
What does your company do?
Herrada runs the first personal brand management service and Finishing School in Africa. Our mission to help individuals effectively and confidently communicate who they are as individuals and as professionals by virtue of their personal brand and image and guide institutions and companies in planning and communicating their brand identity and equity through their development of their representation -leadership, members and personnel - with consulting and training in Image Consulting, Executive Presence, Soft skills and Etiquette, Diplomacy and International Protocol.
We assist all the individuals and organizations - we are privileged to work with - to present themselves in a manner that positions them for personal, professional and corporate success.
Our Vision is to be instrumental in the change that occurs in Africa a result of learning and unlearning appropriate skills and conduct that provide the leverage to excelling globally.
We have four service lines:
Business Development works hand in hand with our clients on business and corporate strategy, strategy execution and operational improvement, doubling as their outsourced corporate strategists and operations when need be.
Brand Management works with both individuals and corporate entities to establish their brand or rebrand for brand awareness, perception and reputation towards achieving short and long term personal or corporate brand goals.
Personal and Professional Development is made up of the core trainers and the lead consultant and the partners that help materialize the plans and vision of the client. We do training and consulting in the area of image consulting, soft skills and etiquette for individuals and corporate groups - C-suite, managers, and entry level. We also have a school program running alongside partner schools and a finishing school where skills are taught.
International Diplomacy and Protocol provides protocol training and services as well as translation services for local and international events and conferences. We also train and consult for corporate diplomacy and inter-cultural fluency amongst our corporate organizations.
“We are fast growing, diverse and so are our unique strengths and expert areas ranging from strategy to styling. Our team is very client focused and each one has a personal commitment to giving the client their due.”
What inspired you to start your company?
Herrada started as a solution to assist my suppliers perform better and get more projects in and out of Ghana by building them to international standards. After a while, I realized not much can be done if the basics were not taught so I took to learning and teaching them how basic things like soft skills made all the differences. Over time, I got certified so I could train more confidently and help a lot more people outside my industry. This went on to grow all the other excellent services our clients have since benefitted from.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
Soft skills, Etiquette, Image consulting, Finishing school - these are not concepts, services or products that are common to our environment and part of the world. For some time, the only gap between the Africans and their counterparts were the lack of knowledge in these areas. Herrada seeks to bridge this gap one client at a time.
Tell us a little about your team
The Herrada team has the core team and partners, Herradax partners both of whom are experienced professionals in diverse areas so we may serve our clients with the assured expertise as a boutique firm.
We are fast growing, diverse and so are our unique strengths and expert areas ranging from strategy to styling. Our team is very client focused and each one has a personal commitment to giving the client their due.
“The impact Herrada is set to make in the very fabric of Africa is what inspires me and keeps me going. Every day we do that for one more client, I am of the utmost satisfaction.”
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My earliest memory of a school tussle was of bold little me asking my senior at school to try to keep his socks neat. I had since gone ahead to be called Headmistress by middle school. Looking back, I have always had a knack for image, soft skills and proper representation of self and of organizations.
My urge to assist others with whatever I can do to make their lives better came from my very entrepreneurial parents who also took time to show others how to go about earning and doing well also. While I worked up the corporate ladder in one of the top multinational oil and gas companies, I saw less and less people who looked like me.
With time and effort to understand management at the time, I got largely informed and educated on the gaps that existed and I set out to fix it the best way I could. Here we are, today.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
Herrada is expanding into two countries this year and we are excited to see how this grows the awareness for the offers and services we have in the target audience.
It is our hope that our Finishing School expands to take in more personal and corporate clients also. Soon, we hope to help build more personal and corporate brands coming out of Africa and giving the upcoming stories more local and inspiring to relate to.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Closing the gap that secretly keeps the average African from greatness and achieving their purpose. I am most satisfied when feedback on our services show a shift in mindset and clarity of purpose.
The impact Herrada is set to make in the very fabric of Africa is what inspires me and keeps me going, every day we do that for one more client, I am of utmost satisfaction.
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Do life with God. Find your purpose through God and work towards it each minute you live. No matter the market saturation, the world needs something only you can give. Tell your story and work on a better version of yourself daily.
Do not stay buried under the 8 billion lives on the planet, Make YOUR LIFE COUNT.
Contact or follow Herrada
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL lead.herrada@gmail.com
Why LoA loves it…
If Africa is to thrive and lead in the world of business and industry, then it needs to have highly trained leaders working to build strong and sustainable businesses and brands. Blessed Agyemang understands this challenge and has developed a range of highly focused consulting and training services to help business leaders and brands to fulfill their considerable potential and achieve core goals. She is on a mission to help people make their lives count on their own personal journeys too. — Melanie Hawken, founder & ceo, Lionesses of Africa