Business & Enterprise
Esther Afua Ocloo
1919 – 2002
Food manufacturer and a founder of Women's World Banking
Why they are here
She started with less than a dollar and twelve jars of marmalade, built one of Ghana's enduring food companies, and then helped create the institution that took banking to women worldwide.
As a teenager in the 1930s, Esther Afua Nkulenu was given less than a dollar by an aunt, bought sugar and oranges, and sold her first twelve jars of marmalade at a profit. A contract to supply juice to the military followed, and in 1942 she founded the business that still carries her maiden name, Nkulenu.
Her conviction was that women would not be free until they could reach finance, markets and training on their own terms. In 1976 she co-founded Women's World Banking with Michaela Walsh and Ela Bhatt, and served as its first chair of trustees — work that helped make microfinance for women a global practice rather than a local experiment.
She died in Accra in February 2002.
Her conviction was that women would not be free until they could reach finance, markets and training on their own terms. In 1976 she co-founded Women's World Banking with Michaela Walsh and Ela Bhatt, and served as its first chair of trustees — work that helped make microfinance for women a global practice rather than a local experiment.
She died in Accra in February 2002.
- Women's World Banking — Esther Ocloo and the founding of Women's World Banking
- Al Jazeera — Esther Afua Ocloo: Ghana's inspiring businesswoman
- Wikipedia — Esther Afua Ocloo
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