Entrepreneur and event planner Manuella Frempomaa Ansong, popularly known as Mannie, has highlighted the power of women to create meaningful change through determination, courage and purpose.
Manuella, who also works as a personal stylist, believes women have the capacity to achieve their goals and positively influence their communities when they remain focused and committed to their aspirations.
Her journey, however, has been shaped by challenges, particularly fear and self-doubt. For years, she struggled with the fear of failure and uncertainty about pursuing her ideas. A major turning point came when she realised that her desire for success was stronger than her fear.
That decision encouraged her to take action and pursue her entrepreneurial ambitions.
Beyond business, Manuella has made women’s empowerment a central part of her work. She founded the Petrichor Foundation, an initiative focused on supporting women living with breast cancer by helping provide treatment and care.
The foundation also extends support to underprivileged children in local communities, reflecting Manuella’s broader commitment to creating opportunities and improving lives.
According to her vision, empowering women goes beyond helping individuals. It involves enabling them to become independent, achieve their goals and create a positive impact that can benefit future generations.
Alongside her philanthropic activities, Manuella has built businesses in event planning and personal styling, establishing both ventures within two and a half years.
Starting out was not easy. She had no previous experience in event planning or fashion and faced difficulties establishing credibility within the industries. Limited financial resources also made it challenging to hire employees and invest significantly in marketing.
Building a customer base and earning the confidence of clients equally required patience and consistency.
Rather than allowing these challenges to stop her, Manuella committed herself to learning and improvement. She read books, attended seminars and built relationships with professionals in her fields.
She also adopted a bootstrapping approach, keeping her expenses low while using social media to showcase her work and reach potential clients.
For Manuella, delivering quality service and maintaining strong relationships with customers have been critical to her growth. Referrals, she believes, have also played an important role in strengthening her businesses.
Her experiences have shaped her advice to young people who want to pursue entrepreneurship.
She encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to act on their ideas instead of allowing fear and uncertainty to prevent them from starting.
Manuella acknowledges that success rarely comes overnight and that setbacks are an inevitable part of the journey. She therefore urges young people to remain focused and disciplined, while being willing to learn, adapt and keep moving forward.
She also stresses the importance of having a strong support system comprising mentors, friends and family who can offer guidance and encouragement during difficult periods.
For Manuella, true success is not simply about achieving a desired destination. It is also about personal growth and the impact an individual makes along the way.
Through her businesses and philanthropic efforts, she continues to champion a message of courage, faith, positivity and women’s empowerment.
Her journey demonstrates how overcoming fear and taking decisive action can open the door to entrepreneurship, service and meaningful impact.
