Introduction
At the very core of our mandate here at the Executive Women Network (EWN), we seek to inspire, empower and support women executives to be successful and influential at both the local and international level. Staying true to this, we explore new ways to create consistent and meaningful impact, not only within EWN, but also within various communities in Ghana and beyond.

Last October, we successfully hosted our 5th Anniversary conference under the theme, “Impacting Women Leaders: Inspiring Lessons”, where we formally introduced EWN Ellevate (formally EWN Regional Hubs) as one of our two new initiatives.

Why the name “Ellevate”
To “Elevate” means to raise or lift something or someone to a higher position. This is exactly what we aim to achieve with this project- raise young girls to become future leaders. We went a step further to add a catchy twist to the name by incorporating the French word “Elle” which is a female pronoun to clearly reflect our target group for this project.

Concept
The Executive Women Network has been in operation for the past five (5) years, and has made significant impact within this short period. Looking ahead, this is the perfect time to establish our presence within different regions across Ghana, by way of establishing hubs. These hubs will be the platform through which we will empower the youth with knowledge, skills and confidence and guide them to both find and build on their true interests and passions. This helps us improve our social impact and drive affinity in Ghana.

The goal of this project is in two (2) phases:
1. Identify the specific needs and interests of these young females in various regions and develop solutions adapted to these needs,
2. To mentor and inspire the next generation of female professionals and executives, and equip them with the necessary skills to succeed in their careers.

What this means is, over the next few months, the network will begin to roll out various projects, starting with the Northern, Central and Western Regions of Ghana. We will be targeting Senior Secondary with plans to continue to guide these young ones as they transition into Tertiary institutions.

For the first phase of this project, the Executive Women Network is venturing into the Northern Region of Ghana, with the strong Support of Ghana Education Services (GES) as well as Hajia Alimatu Sagito, who is the CEO of SWIBA Ghana and a highly respected and influential personality in the Northern Region. We will be setting up the “EWN Ellevate Club” within a selection of 5 secondary schools to begin namely; Tamale Girls Senior High School, Tamale Senior High School, Savelugu Senior High School, University of Development Studies, and Tamale Training College.

Criteria for School Selection:
1. School Leadership- in terms of how accommodating the Head is in accepting new initiatives and co-curricular activities
2. Female Enrolment Numbers- To ensure that we will be able to have adequate access to our target market
3. Female Student Leadership- To determine ratio of male to female student leadership that exists
4. Proximity to Capital City- to manage cost and to be able to learn and adapt before expanding out

With the able guidance of Hajia Alimatu Sagito, EWN will assign a further pool of well-respected and influential women within Northern Region as well as influential teachers within the respective schools to be patrons of this project. Aside from these local and internal patrons, we will also work with three key patrons who will be at the forefront to help drive this initiative.

Role of Key Patrons:
• Advisory- Offer advisory support to the mission and programs that fall under EWN Ellevate project. Be part of meetings twice a year on the Elevate project.
• Mentorship- Offer input to the general framework / concept of the EWN Elevate project. If available be part of the mentorship talks when organized by the project.
• Ambassador- Be an active voice and advocate of the EWN Elevate project. (Eg. Occasional video messages, assisting with sponsorship efforts, being present at the official launch and occasionally at mentorship sessions where possible.)
• Job Shadowing Opportunities- Assist in creating or recommending job shadowing opportunities to the interested students who would want to learn more.

We hope to officially launch this project in Tamale in by the end of 2022 by inviting all our patrons and some students from all 5 schools listed for a mentoring session facilitated by EWN Members.

After we successfully launch the CSR Hub in Tamale, we will shift to phase two, and adapt the same framework to carry out this project in the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. It is our hope to reach 5,000 women and girls by 2026, when EWN will be celebrating 10 years.