 Grace Amey-Obeng, has over the years distinguished herself as a one of the pioneers in the beauty and skin care industry – both in Ghana and on the international scene. Her concept of Customized Skin Revision has won her recognition and endorsement by International and local Skin Care Practitioners. In 1996 and 2000 she was the first and only Ghanaian woman to receive recognition as a “Dynamic Flying Angel of Sales” and “Queen of Sales” from Mary Kay –a United States based direct seller of skin care products. She also received a Certificate of Achievement from the South African Skin Science College in 2002 and was received the Marketing Woman of the Year in 2002 from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana. Grace is the founder and CEO of FC Skin and Beauty Clinic– a subsidiary of The FC Group of Companies in Accra, Ghana. She also manages other FC subsidiaries, including the FC Beauty Therapy School where young women and men from all parts of the sub region are trained in skin and beauty therapy techniques. Grace who is a married woman with three children said, “I am able to combine my career and family life because my family and I in business together as a team- my husband, my children and myself. Grace is from a family of seven. Her mother, Christiana Amey – another outstanding Obaahema – is the proprietor of Camey Vocational Institute. She started her education at Accra Newtown Government Experimental School and later went to Keta Secondary School to complete her A- levels. She studied Beauty Therapy at Croydon College in England after which she attended the Advanced Research Institute also in England from where she graduated as a Paramedical Aesthetician.
Grace talks about how her mother has been a great source of inspiration in for her. “I used to help my mother during my vacations in running a beauty salon she operated at that time. I also used to love to sew for my friends; a skill I learnt from my mother. She helped shape me into what I am today by simply setting a great example and causing me to always dream of going into the glamour business.”
The 46 year old is also dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our youth. This was her main motivation for setting up the FC franchise Schools which ensures that students who graduate successfully are provided with all incentives they need to embark on a successful career. She said, “Our Company is on a mission to keep our youth, especially girls off the streets, so we have put in place a mobile van that goes round counselling and educating them on personal hygiene, the effects of skin bleaching, etc.”
Mrs. Obeng is the Vice President of Ghana Association of Beauty Therapists, a member of Professional Cosmetology Association of Ghana, Local Examiner for City and Guilds of London International, and Financial Controller of Ghana Skin Foundation. She has also been granted IBC’s 21st Century Awards for Achievement in recognition of her outstanding contribution by the International Biographical Centre Cambridge-England. Her advice to the Obaahema community is simple; we all have to look deep inside to find who we really are and what our purpose is and believe that we have every thing it takes to achieve out goals and go just for it.
By Naa Dei Dsane (Sept 2003)
|
