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Patricia Porekuu is a seasoned development practitioner from Ghana with over 15 years of experience in HIV, TB, and malaria programs, and she has spent her career educating and supporting underserved communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. When she arrived at Boston University’s School of Public Health as a master’s student, Patricia was ready to grow in a new direction.
“I’ve worked broadly in service delivery, but I hadn’t developed skills in entrepreneurship,” Patricia explains. The Enlight Fellowship at Innovate@BU offered her the opportunity to combine her deep public health knowledge with entrepreneurial tools to create systemic, sustainable change.
Her social venture, My Wealth, My Power, addresses financial dependency on men, which is a fundamental challenge for rural women in Ghana. Patricia’s solution is a localized, inclusive financial literacy training program delivered in local languages, aiming to help women understand core financial concepts, start micro-businesses, and generate their own income. Over time, she hopes this reduces reliance on men and improves the overall wellbeing of households. “Once women develops their own businesses and begin generating their own income, economic empowerment leads to household wellbeing,” Patricia says.
“It’s been a fruitful beginning,” she shares. “I’ve learned what it really means to develop a product, to understand the needs of your customers.” Weekly coaching sessions with the Innovate@BU team helped refine her idea, while collaboration with peers working on vastly different ventures opened new ways of thinking.
Additionally, the $10,000 Enlight Fellowship stipend has been a critical resource. Part of it will go toward tuition, but most will go towards her venture’s launch.
“I’m sowing a seed for my social venture,” she says. “And gaining the knowledge to help it grow.”
With her entrepreneurial journey now in motion, Patricia is focused on the long-term impact of My Wealth, My Power. “It’s about empowering women to empower their households. That’s the real goal.”
