Ghanaian philanthropist, Roberta Annan, has been named ‘UN Environment Programme Supporter on Creative Economy’ in Africa.
She was officially introduced during a ceremony at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York.
The programme is the leading global voice on the environment.
It provides leadership and encourages partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
Passionate about women’s development opportunities across Africa, Annan started the African Fashion Fund – an incubator to support talented designers from Africa in 2014.
“Fashion is the second largest polluter of the environment,” stated Annan during her acceptance speech. “As part of my role, I look forward to support international fashion brands to adhere to the right and sustainable practices in their manufacturing and production.”
“The fashion industry employs over 75 million people worldwide and is worth $2.4 trillion a month,” said Satya S Tripathi, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNEP Director for the New York Office. “The big elephant in the room as far the fashion industry is concerned is $500 billion it loses every year because most of it is not recycled. Imagine if we recycle it every year, 100 per cent, that is the saving of $500 billion not just for the industry but for mother earth.”
Annan is also the recipient of several leadership awards such as ‘20 under 40 Influential Business Leaders in Ghana,’ ‘Feminine Ghana Achievement Award’ and ‘Woman 2.1 Summit Award’.
She was the youngest African to be inducted into the African Leadership Hall of Fame in 2019.
Annan holds a Masters degree in Biotechnology from Georgetown University, and graduated with Highest Honours from Carleton University in Biochemistry and Biotechnology.