A young Ghanaian woman’s journey from job-searching graduate to prestigious Mandela Washington Fellow shows the transformative power of targeted skills training like Stars From All Nations (SFAN)’s ReadyforWork program.
In 2019, Huda Ibrahim found herself in a familiar predicament facing many Ghanaian youth: fresh from completing her National Service with a degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Energy and Natural Resources, yet struggling to find employment. Despite Ghana’s impressive ranking as second in Africa for quality education progress, she was among the ~32.8% of young Ghanaians aged 15-24 facing unemployment.
“During the final months of my National Service, I was anxious about securing a job and desperately needed guidance,” Huda recalls. That’s when she discovered Stars From All Nations’ ReadyforWork career accelerator program.
The Turning Point
Enrolling in ReadyforWork’s inaugural cohort in August 2019 proved to be the catalyst Huda needed. The program’s innovative skills-first pedagogy equipped Huda with practical, market-relevant digital skills that traditional education had failed to provide: from data analytics and digital project management to excellent communication skills. But what truly set ReadyforWork apart was the personalized coaching.
“One thing that stood out for me is the one-on-one coaching I had with Tracy Kyei, the marketing manager of Samsung Ghana,” Huda explains. This guidance helped her translate her academic knowledge into workplace-ready competencies.
From Training to Triumph
The results were immediate and transformative. ReadyforWork didn’t just teach Huda skills. It reshaped her entire career trajectory. She secured a position as Program Officer at Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, where she has since made remarkable impacts across more than 20 communities in the Bono East Region and beyond.
Her achievements include leading climate change awareness initiatives, helping to protect the vital Tano River that serves numerous communities, and mentoring over 100 young people to develop their leadership and professional capabilities. She went on to earn a master’s degree in environmental science and obtained certification in geographic information systems.
The Ultimate Recognition
But Huda’s story reached new heights in 2024 when she was selected for the prestigious Mandela Washington Fellowship. Huda was chosen as one of only 700 young African leaders from approximately 58,000 applicants across the continent.
“After completing ReadyforWork, I saw immediate results. The skills I honed from ReadyforWork were instrumental in securing my Mandela Washington Fellowship and a $10,000 grant to implement my ‘CleanAIRE for All’ project,” says Huda.
Bringing Innovation Home
That $10,000 grant from the Mandela Washington Fellowship Reciprocal Exchange program is now funding Huda’s transformational “CleanAIRE for All” initiative in Techiman. The project deploys innovative air quality monitoring systems to address critical data gaps in Ghana’s environmental health infrastructure: a collaboration between EPA Ghana and CleanAIRE North Carolina that promises to revolutionize how the region monitors and manages air pollution.
Huda and her partners are currently developing an air quality dispersion modeling system specifically for the Techiman community, with ambitious plans to scale it up as a regulatory model for the entire area. This work represents the kind of sustainable development impact that Ghana urgently needs.
The CleanAIRE NC writes (via LinkedIn):
“Two weeks in Ghana reminded us that impact travels further than we ever imagined.
Through the Mandela Washington Fellowship, our CleanAIRE NC team had the joy of being welcomed by Huda Ibrahim, once a CleanAIRE summer fellow. Huda serves as an Assistant Programme Officer with the Ghana EPA. Seeing her stand in leadership in her home country was a full-circle moment that grounded everything that followed.
Together with partners and new friends, Daisha Wall, our Director of Programs & Impact, and Madison Fragnito, our Director of Development, walked side by side with doctors, nurses, teachers, and students. They helped place air monitors in Techiman, shared a day of training with health professionals in the Bono East Region, and sat in conversation with leaders whose roots run deep in the community. They even stood before more than 100 junior high students, hearing from young minds on the science of air and health. It wasn’t just a trip. It was an exchange of wisdom, stories, and solidarity. The kind that reminds us that even as a small nonprofit in North Carolina, we are part of a much bigger movement for clean air and health advocacy.
We brought home lessons that will last a lifetime, and over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing them with you. Stay with us as we unpack our time in Ghana, and what it means for the work we do here at home.”
Bridging the Skills Gap
Huda’s success story illuminates a critical challenge. While Ghana produces educated graduates, a disconnect between schooling and learning means that of Ghana’s expected 11.6 years of schooling, only 5.7 years represent quality-adjusted learning. This gap leaves graduates without the digital skills employers increasingly demand.
ReadyforWork addresses this challenge head-on through targeted training that bridges the gap between academic credentials and workplace readiness. With 126 young Africans already empowered to secure meaningful careers, the program is proving that investing in practical skills development can unlock Africa’s demographic dividend.
A Model for Youth Empowerment
Today, as Huda leverages her YALI Fellowship experience and exposure in the United States to strengthen EPA Ghana’s compliance monitoring and enforcement efforts, she stands as a powerful testament to what’s possible when young Ghanaians receive the right support at the right time.
Her journey from anxious National Service completer to internationally recognized environmental leader took just a few years, powered by the ReadyforWork program that saw her potential and gave her the tools to realize it.
For the hundreds of thousands of young Ghanaians navigating similar challenges, Huda Ibrahim’s story offers both inspiration and a roadmap: with the right skills training, mentorship, and determination, today’s unemployed graduate can become tomorrow’s change-maker.
SFAN is celebrating 12 years of empowering young Ghanaians like Huda to transform their potential into impact. Through ReadyforWork and other initiatives, like the Global Student Entrepreneurship Week, the organization has equipped hundreds of young people across Ghana with the digital skills, expert coaching, and confidence. SFAN is giving youths all they need to secure meaningful careers and drive sustainable development in their communities.
ReadyforWork is Africa’s human capital development operating system, designed to leverage AI in turbocharging careers with fulfilling, impactful work that drives Ghana and Africa’s sustainable development goals. SFAN aims to launch an upgraded version of ReadyforWork at this year’s Global Student Entrepreneurship Week (October 28). Learn more at www.sfanonline.org.
