L
ess than seven years
after launching her
company in Ghana,
NanaAma Botchway-
Dowuona has earned
her stripes as a leading lawyer.
Earlier this year, her law firm N.
Dowuona & Company was rec-
ognised by UK-based The Legal
500 – the world’s largest legal
referral guide – as a top-tier law
firm in Europe, the Middle East
andAfrica(EMEA)inthepractice
areas of commercial, corporate,
mergers and acquisitions (M&A)
and infrastructure projects.
Such a remarkable feat would
oftencomewithhugeinvestments
in advertisement and marketing,
butBotchway-Dowuona’squieter
approach to building business
seems to have paid off: “I have“Wedon’tmakealotofnoise!”
In a country known for its lawyers, Botchway-Dowuona
has carved out a niche at the very top with her expertise
advising on property and construction dealsbeen working very hard. But we
don’t make a lot of noise!”
For some in the diaspora, the
desiretoreturnhomecanbeheld
back by deep fears and questions
about how they will cope. But
Botchway-Dowuonaalwaysknew
that her dream to reconnect with
Ghana was not a matter of ‘if’ but
‘when’. “I left Ghana when I was
seven and I’ve always wanted
to come back. I definitely don’t
question[myidentity].There’sno
questionI’mGhanaian,IspeakGa
[a local dialect] and I was raised
inaGhanaianway,”shesays.Back
in 1992, when she was studying
for her undergraduate degree at
Princeton,shewroteherthesison
how to use the Grameen lending
modelformicrofinance,toprovide
small loans to alleviate poverty inGhana. “I’ve always been Ghana-
focusedandI’vealwayswantedto
either move back to Ghana or do
somethingwithGhana,”sheadds.
So when her then partner de-
cided to move back in 2002, she
jumped at the chance even with-
outhavingaclearplanorstrategy.
“I didn’t come back with the idea
thatI’mnecessarilygoingtoprac-
tise law; I came back and I had a
veryopenmind,”sheexplained.“I
thought, I’m going to come, look
at what’s on the ground. I know
I’m not going to find M&A jobs
and the type of work I was doing
in New York, so I’ll just relax and
see what’s possible.”LAUNCHING A STARTUP
With a keeninterest in art and de-
sign, she opted to start a business
supplyinglocallymadeproductsto
shops in America. Unfortunately
theentrepreneurialventurenever
took off. “For a variety of reasons
thatwasn’tfeasible,(suchas)huge
supplychainissues,”sheexplains.NanaAma
Botchway-Dowuona
Founder, N. Dowuona & Company, Ghana
FRANCIS KOKOROKO70 BUSINESS| LEADERS