Accra, Sept.10, GNA - Ms. Nella Kumafo, a Ghanaian Entrepreneur on Friday night took home the most prestigious creative and innovative award for excellence in the creative industry.

The maiden award instituted by the Pan-African Women Invent and Innovate Organisation seeks to recognise the innovative instinct of women and spur them to greater heights in a male dominated society. Ms Kumfa, who is the Chief Executive Officer of "Waste", A Resource for Art has succeeded in producing magnificent artifacts of a unique African character.

She received a splendid plaque at a colourful awards and dinner held at the International Conference Centre in Accra to honour African creative women.

Other award winners included Ms Zoe Dean-Smith of Grassroot, in Swaziland who was honoured for exceptional skills in capacity building and Ms Aissa Dionne from Senegal took the exceptionally creative items award.

The rest were Ms Lara Cokey, Context Design, and a Ghanaian manufacturer of Children's Playground, Dr. Alexandra Graham, La Graytic of Nigeria, Mary C-Kalikawe of Tanzania Tourist Board and Ms Magaret C A Owino of Solar Cooker from Kanya, among others. Earlier an exhibition was mounted to showcase the creative designs of women as well as their innovative potentials.

Speaking at the function, Madam Ama Busia, Member of the Council of State was full of praise for the recognition and efforts in bringing the creative ideas of the African woman to the limelight. "By this, Africa is sending a positive and powerful message of its pride and commitment to promoting, recognising and celebrating the achievement of many of its top creative inventive women, while raising awareness of their contribution to industry and economic growth," she added.

Madam Busia observed that centuries of old tradition and odd cultural practices had made the role of women subservient in society. She therefore called for well-informed policy to raise the status of women, saying efforts to change the status of women should involve a combination of various policies to address the holistic development of women.

The Member of the Council of State commended the government for placing premium on ICT education which, she said, would go long way to equip the girl- child computer knowledge that would make her competitive as the male counterpart.

The ceremony was attended by Members of Government, Parliamentarians, members of the Diplomatic Corps and dignitaries from the international community. Sept. 10 05