Imagine being the sole woman among a dozen men on an epic 6,000-mile road trip. That was the story of Nana Afua Serwaa Adusei, CEO of Auto Shecanic Hub. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adusei joined the trip, dubbed Wanderlust Ghana Expedition, as an auto technician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She participated in the journey from Ghana to as far as Morocco. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She aimed to expand her automotive skills in diverse terrains and climates, inspiring women to pursue engineering and mechanics careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was quite different and daring; we wanted to know what obstacles we would encounter concerning logistics and transportation,\u201d said Adusei during a September 28 webinar.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adusei\u2019s role in the expedition was to ensure all vehicles functioned properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI made sure that with my diagnostic tools, if anything should happen, Shecanics will just diagnose and then fix it,\u201d she said during the webinar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes She Can!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n People often tag auto mechanics and CEO positions as male-dominated roles, Adusei said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere I\u2019m from, it\u2019s uncommon to see women in these roles. Similarly, being a mechanic has often been associated with school dropouts or marginalized individuals,\u201d Adusei added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the CEO of Auto Shecanic Hub, Adusei is committed to changing perceptions by organizing school visits and providing internships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnywhere that is seemingly [only] for men, we are making efforts to change that narrative,\u201d she said. \u201cMore people now express interest in having their daughters intern or work at our company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a positive shift that signifies change is indeed happening. I believe over time, there will be many more women pursuing careers in male-dominated spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Navigating Borders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Wanderlust Ghana team had the privilege of crossing a number of borders during their expedition. However, they encountered obstacles along the way. Adusei recalls spending hours at some borders, enduring lengthy checks and paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the strict regulations in Mauritania resulted in their detainment at the border for having tinted car windows. This experience taught the team an important lesson in researching local rules when traveling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBesides [making us] pay the fine, authorities still detained us,\u201d said Adusei. \u201cIt took the intervention of the Ghanaian embassy to release us after eight to nine hours.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Ghana and other member states of the Economic Community of West African States, citizens receive ECOWAS cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe ECOWAS card is supposed to ensure easy access,\u201d explained Adusei. \u201cHowever, the cards are not working as effectively as they should.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Reasons include limited infrastructure at border checkpoints and inconsistencies in acceptance of the cards across different regions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only place where the ECOWAS card helped was Senegal,\u201d said Adusei, \u201cbecause they are advanced and they have the machines to check.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most borders the team crossed lacked ID scanners to read the ECOWAS cards. Instead they had guards stationed near border crossings to manually check passenger IDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEvery time we made a stop, we had to show our documentation, and we spent about three hours,\u201d said Adusei. \u201cThat is why the man under the tree, lacking the necessary tools and technology, might ask for your passport instead of simply scanning a card for your passage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Africa without Borders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Border restrictions also cause economic strains for businesses and governments due to bureaucracy or inconvenience with the transportation of goods, noted Adusei. Some landlocked countries heavily rely on neighboring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, as Adusei pointed out, Mali is a landlocked area and relies on goods from countries like Cote d\u2019Ivoire and Senegal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIssues at the borders, such as lengthy paperwork checks, can halt the movements of entire countries,\u201d she explained \u201cThis leads to higher fuel prices and increased costs for basics like bread and clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One commendable aspect in Mauritania and Morocco, said Adusei, was the well-maintained roads in both countries. Even in the deserts, these nations prioritized good roads, understanding their importance in fostering commerce, transportation and the logistics industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe biggest takeaway [from our expedition] is the importance of smoother borders,\u201d said Adusei.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Imagine being the sole woman among a dozen men on an epic 6,000-mile road trip. That was the story of Nana Afua Serwaa Adusei, CEO of Auto Shecanic Hub. Adusei joined the trip, dubbed Wanderlust Ghana Expedition, as an auto technician. She participated in the journey from Ghana to as far as Morocco. She aimed … <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":3818,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[216],"tags":[347,338],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Advancing-Women-in-Supply-Chain-Webinar-3-1-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Advancing-Women-in-Supply-Chain-Webinar-3-1-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Barby Grant","author_link":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/author\/idbag\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Advancing-Women-in-Supply-Chain-Webinar-3-1.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3812"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3812"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4772,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3812\/revisions\/4772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wpcarey.asu.edu\/carisca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}