Accra, May 8, GNA – Mr Godfred Attafuah, the Divisional Director for Retail Banking, Fidelity Bank Ghana, has emphasised investment in young African talents to enable them to lead efficiently in the future.
Speaking at the 12th District 94 Toastmasters Annual Conference, held in Accra, he reaffirmed the belief that Africa’s development challenge was not the lack of talent, but a gap in the platforms and investment needed to translate talent into lasting leadership.
“Africa does not have a talent problem. Walk into any university in Accra, Lomé, Dakar, or Abidjan. The intelligence, the energy, the hunger to build something meaningful is everywhere,” Mr Attafuah said.
“But beneath infrastructure, policy, and investment is one factor that determines whether nations truly progress or remain stuck in cycles of unrealised potential. That factor is leadership.”
The event, held on the theme: “Speak to Inspire: Transforming Leadership in Africa,” sponsored by the Bank, attracted delegates from West Africa.
“By 2050, one in every four people in the world will be African, and our continent will be home to the largest working-age population in the world,” Mr Attafuah noted.
“The question is not whether that generation will show up, because they will. The question is whether we are building the environment, the skills, and the platforms that will shape them into the leaders this continent needs.”
He said the bank was addressing the leadership question through deliberate investment in its own organisation through two Toastmasters clubs, which continued to make positive impact.
This year, Nana Ama Baffour Tabi of Fidelity Corporate Toastmasters and Ewurama Kurankyi of Fidelity Orange Heights represented Ghana in the International Speech Contest and the Evaluation Speech Contest, respectively.
“When we build leaders inside Fidelity, those leaders carry that capability into communities, into families, into the broader economy.
“Our success and Ghana’s success are not separate things, it’s intertwined. That is how we understand our role in this country,” Mr Attafuah stated.
The conference was a landmark moment for two Fidelity Corporate Toastmasters clubs which were conferred the “Smedley Distinguished Club” status, a recognition introduced for the first time by Toastmasters International and named after the organisation’s founder, Ralph C. Smedley.
Fidelity Corporate Toastmasters was among the first clubs in the world to receive the honour, a distinction that reflected the consistency, member commitment, and culture of excellence the club has built over the years.
Mr Kwasi Agyeman Badu, a member of Fidelity Corporate Toastmasters, has been appointed District Director of District 94, succeeding Enock Nii Cheiku Armah from the same club.
Mr Badu takes on the district’s top leadership role having earned a Distinguished Toastmaster award and recognition for his service as Chair of Club New Sources under the District Club Growth portfolio, achievements that underscore the depth of development the bank’s Toastmasters programme continues to enable.
Fidelity Corporate Toastmasters has held President’s Distinguished Club status for four consecutive years, while Fidelity Orange Heights Toastmasters, established as a second club to extend the programme’s reach across the bank has earned the Distinguished Club Award.
Together, both clubs have won the Highest Membership Growth Award four years running, and their members have competed with distinction at regional and international levels.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe