Christal Beeko Christal Beeko shares with AfroElle on how her education, professional work experience and confidence each contributes to her success as entrepreneur and CEO of the BE BOLD SHOW and INEN Limited. Written by: Erica Ayisi n 2009, Christal Beeko along with her partner, Sterre Mkatini developed BE BOLD, which stands for Bringing Education and Building Opportunities for Leadership and Development. The mission of the project is “to reverse the brain drain by encouraging Africans to return to help develop our continent, to empower our future leaders, and to create opportunities for socio-economic empowerment.” This mission has since been manifested through a weekly talk show and is now in its 6th season on the network ETV Ghana. Christal says, “The show features enterprising young people in various stages of fulfilling their dreams and contributing to the development of society. We also interview celebrated Africans within and outside the continent who are dedicated to self development and ultimately, the development of our continent.” Christal’s personal leap toward being a bold entrepreneur was an odyssey that originated in the continent that she loves so dearly. Born and bred in Ghana, Christal attended middle and high school in the country’s capital of Accra. She went to Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada where she majored in
Economics. Instead of applying her college knowledge to the business scene of the Western World, Christal decided to be a living example of her already developed project by going back home. “I decided to come back to Ghana to make a difference. The notion of INEN Limited and BE BOLD was already conceived and I needed to live by example so that I could encourage others to return home and reverse the brain drain. What better way than to face the challenges in Ghana myself?" Christal’s leap toward self-employment did not happen immediately after graduation. She spent 4 and a half years working as an event coordinator for Global Media Alliance and also served as business anchor for their television network ETV. In 2011, the BE BOLD SHOW premiered with the support of ETV. A few years later, Christal decided it was time to transition from employee of Global Media Alliance/ETV to becoming her own employer. . 51 | www.afroellemagazine.com