Profile Of Mrs Grace Amey-Obeng (C.E.O, Forever Clair)

Mrs. Grace Amey-Obeng

Mrs Amey-Obeng studied beauty therapy in the United Kingdom and after graduation, in the 1980's, returned to her native Ghana. She is one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Beauty Therapy profession in Ghana, providing services cutting across beauty care, education, manufacturing, equipment and publishing.

She knew that in her country women take great pride in their appearance and was convinced that there was a niche market she could "tap into". Working out of her bag and going from house to house she advised people on skincare. Soon, she became aware that there was "a lot of skin bleaching going on", a trend she found "alarming" and something that is common in much of Africa. "The women in the market had destroyed their skin with all this kind of beauty products, bleaching products, and so I saw the need for assisting them to reverse the process because otherwise it would become a social problem," she said. "The level of damage - in this climate - bleaching does is irreparable," she added.

Over the past twenty-five (25) years, she has grown FC from a Cosmetic Retail Shop to a conglomerate. FC Perfumery & Cosmetics, FC Cosmetics Industry Salon Equipment and Beauty Supplies (SEBS); which imports and wholesales quality beauty therapy and hairdressing equipment  FC Beauty College(the premier beauty therapy-training institute in Ghana), accredited by ITEC, the Ghana Education Service and affiliated with City & Guilds of London.

Mrs Amey-Obeng has won dozens of accolades and industry awards for her skincare beauty products and marketing. One of the things that make her especially proud is her FC Beauty College which, since its opening in 1999, has trained more than 5,000 young people, mostly women. "It's like a family bond. I'm so proud that they have managed to go through the programme," she told the BBC's series African Dream. Equally important to her is her role as a medical aesthetician and she cites seeing a skin condition resolved as something that gives her "joy". "I'm so happy that God has given me that talent and that touch to heal people," she said. She has received awards, year on year from 1997 to date including Chartered Institute Of Marketers (CIMG) woman of the year and International Women Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC)

In 2007, she set up an NGO – the Grace Amey-Obeng Foundation International to improve the quality of life for the vulnerable & child sex workers by helping them to learn trades in beauty therapy, cosmetology, dressmaking and other areas of their interest at the expense of her NGO.

Finally, she serves on several Boards including Private Sector Development (PSD), KAMA Pharmaceuticals and Ghana Standard Authority Technical Committee on Cosmetics and is currently the President of Professional Cosmetology & Beauty Therapy Association Of Ghana (PCABAG), President of Aesthetic and Wellness Association International (AWAI), International Federation of Women lawyers (FIDA) and Acting Chairperson National board of Small Scale Industry (NBSSI).

FC is the abbreviation of "Forever Clair".