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READING ENTREPRENEUR FEATURES IN BOOK AND DONATES 1,000 MASKS TO GHANA
AN AWARD-WINNING business owner from Reading has been featured in a unique book celebrating female entrepreneurs.
Akua Wood, founder of Sheabutter Cottage from Reading, has also donated 1,000 masks to Ghana during lockdown.
She was selected from thousands of applicants to take part in #SheCan365, which told the stories of 365 female entrepreneurs over 365 consecutive days in exactly 365 words. CLICK FOR FULL ARTICLE
OXFORD LIVING - UK : SEPTEMBER 2020 EDITION
The founder of Sheabutter Cottage, which manufactures fair trade beauty products and toiletries, talks about what makes the county so special for her Akua Wood, founder of multi-award winning Sheabutter Cottage shares her favourite places to spend the day in Oxfordshire and why she loves empowering women through a Ghanaian co-operative
CLICK FOR FULL ARTICLE ON PAGE 178
DAILY GRAPHIC - GHANA : JULY 2013
Ghanaian industrialist explores prospects of shea butter
Sheabutter Cottage, a Ghanaian-owned manufacturing company based in Sonning, Reading, in the United Kingdom, is exploring the rich local natural ingredients that people often overlook to manufacture the skin and hair products.
“My father (of blessed memory) instilled in me the use of natural ingredients around. Every time I look at trees, I see money on the trees, so to speak, because I think: ‘what is so important about this tree; what can we use this tree for?” the founder of Sheabutter Cottage, Mrs Akua Wood, told the Daily Graphic.. CLICK FOR FULL TEXT
TIMES - SWAZILAND : JUNE 2011
Swazi Secrets retailer wins African Women in Europe Award
As part of her prize package, Wood won a flight to Africa and while most thought she would fly to her native Ghana, she chose Swaziland to visit Swazi Secrets.
"We are delighted that she is taking the opportunity to come to Swaziland and visit Swazi Secrets," said John Pearce, the International Marketing Manager of Swazi Indigenous Products, the company responsible for manufacturing Swazi Secrets products using the marula fruit.
Wood has another link to Swaziland as she uses her profits from Swazi Secrets sales to sponsor a young boy from Mpaka, Vele Maziya, to attend St Joseph’s School.
Pearce said she was very much looking forward to the opportunity to visit him and check on his progress.
"Akua has been selling Swazi Secrets for four years now and has built up quite a link with Swaziland, both with us and with sponsoring Maziya’s education," he said.
TIMES NEWSPAPER - GHANA : APRIL 2011
Invest in shea butter industry to rake in funds.
Government has been called upon to invest more resources in the shea butter industry to bring more revenue to the country. Mrs. Akua Wood, founder of the Sheabutter Cottage made the call during an interview with the Times in Accra CLICK FOR FULL TEXT
GETREADING BUSINESS POST: SEPTEMBER 2010
Mumpreneur is spreading success
A set of unfortunate circumstances led to mum Akua Wood starting her own business and now she not only runs it to help support her family but also to help families and farmers in Africa.
She used her love of shea butter and knowledge of using natural products in her native Africa to create her products which are made from ingredients bought direct from farmer co-operatives in Ghana.
Wood donates 10 per cent of the proceeds of every sale to the community in Ghana to help build public facilities CLICK FOR FULL TEXT
GETREADING : JANUARY 2010
Business starts and finishes at home
Ghanaian mum of two - Akua Wood is hoping to spread a little hope with her fair trade sheabutter.
To preside over a growing business that contributes in a number of different ways to my customers and to my supply chain. My current focus is helping a new co-operative in Northern Ghana which is setting up a sheabutter facility. I believe that this will have a long-term effect by creating jobs and help develop the area. If we can not help others less fortunate than ourselves, then it is a sad state of society. I feel passionate about lending a helping hand without analysing any personal benefits. CLICK FOR FULL TEXT
How butter can spread a little hope
To mark the end of Fairtrade Fortnight, which highlights the benefits of buying ethically-sourced products until Sunday, we speak to mum-of-two Akua Wood. She explains to City woman why it's so important for her to support countries like her native Ghana - and beyond.
Akua's goals for the future are simple. She says: "I just want to make it easier for everybody to get a pot of shea butter and I want to be able to be able to help communities". CLICK FOR FULL TEXT