Our Woman Achiever for November 2022 – Madam Penelope M. Jones-Mensah Esq.

A graduate of the University of Ghana, Legon and the Ghana School of Law, Penelope Mawulolo Jones-Mensah Esq. wears many hats: she is most notably a mother, a corporate lawyer, a notary public, a women and children’s rights advocate, and a social entrepreneur. She has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in law and business—currently the managing partner of Jones-Mensah and Co, a service legal and business consultancy firm that provides strategic legal and business advice and transactional support to local and multinational companies throughout Africa and beyond.

Penelope is passionate about women and children’s rights and is committed to driving change, promoting empowerment and giving a voice to the voiceless through the various charities and initiatives she founded or supports. In 2012, Penelope founded the 40 Roses Foundation, an initiative that supports socio–economically disadvantaged girls with academic promise. The Foundation promotes mentorship by linking 40 successful women in leadership to mentor and sponsor 40 young girls annually, and partners with Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa to continue to deliver empowerment interventions for girls throughout Africa.

As a change agent, her passion for making an impact has led her to address colleagues and industry professionals at notable international conferences such as the Congressional Black Caucus meetings in Washington DC, the German Bar Association in Berlin, the International Bar Association, Women in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Energy Development (WEISED) conference, Cape Town, South Africa, Global Women Economic and Social Empowerment Summit (GWESES) which she co–founded in 2018, and the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network conferences in London and Bari, Italy, to name a few. Additionally, Penelope has served on several corporate and non-profit organisation boards, including the Ghana Venture Capital Trust Fund, WISE – Women’s Initiative for Self–Empowerment and the International Black Women’s Public Policy Institute (IBWPPI), USA.

Penelope has received multiple awards and recognitions for her contribution to the legal ecosystem in Ghana and her work with women and children’s rights. In 2012, she received the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network (GWIIN) award for her leadership and innovation in law and the GWIIN Chairman’s discretionary award, an award she received in honour of her vision and tenacity in respect to her work with the 40 Roses Foundation. Also, in 2015, Penelope was awarded International Woman Leader of the Year in London by JOEBOL Exclusive Limited and in 2017, she was honoured by The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) as one of the WomanRising 100 Most Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs (100 MOWE). TANOE promotes achievements and exceptional milestones by women in Africa. Recently, she was honoured with the Woman of Impact Award 2022 at the just ended Women’s Choice Awards Africa for her philanthropic work especially with regards to women’s empowerment.

Beyond making strides in her work as a lawyer and moulding the minds of young marginalised girls, Penelope enjoys, above all things, spending quality time with her three lovely children – her raison d’etre, she says.