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The Executive Chairman of Samara Group of Companies, producers of Sasso brand of insecticide spray and mosquito coil, Dr. Sampson Effah Apraku, has been awarded the Brong Ahafo Region Business Icon 2017 at the Ghana Business Quality Awards held in Accra.

The award which was organized by the Ghana Entrepreneur Foundation (GEF) was to acknowledge Dr. Apraku for his quality business and leadership skills as well as his fervour towards the development of Brong Ahafo Region where he hails from and Ghana at large.

Last year, he was first awarded the “General Merchant Entrepreneur Award 2016 by the GEF for demonstrating entrepreneurial achievement, vision, innovation and growth in the export and import industry.

This brings his number of awards to four together with the “Overall Achiever Award” of 2015 by the West Africa Regional Magazine Achievers Awards which came off in Lagos, Nigeria; in addition to his prestigious Nobles International Award in 2014.

His company, Samara Group, has also attained national recognition and approval indicated by its many awards right at the national level.

They include the “Fastest Growing Company” at the government’s Head of State Awards (HOSA) in 2015.

The company also won both the “Best Insecticide Brand 2015” and “Best Group 2015” at the West Africa Magazine Achievers Awards which was organized in Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2014, the Sasso brand won the “Top Emerging Brand 2014” and “Fastest Growing Brand” by Premier Brand Ghana.

The GEF Award

According to the organizers Ghana Entrepreneurs Foundation, the Ghana Business Quality Awards 2017 was establish to celebrate organizations and individuals who have exhibited quality business and leadership skills in their businesses as well as their desire to develop their respective regions.

The award was also to promote the use of quality products while raising awareness for the need of quality assurance for consumers.
The remaining nine business icons representing their respective regions were:

Dr. Papa Kwesi Ndoum; President and Chairman of Groupe Ndoum for the Central Region; Dr. Kwabena Adjei of Kasapreko Company Limited for the Western Region; Dr. Kwabena Duffour, Founder and President of HODA Holdings shone as the Ashanti Region Business Icon.

Dr. Nii Kotei Dzani, President of Groupe Ideal for Greater Accra; Nana Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo of Mikaddo Holdings Limited for Eastern Region; Mr. Eric Seddy Kutortse, Chairman of First Sky Group of Companies for Volta Region; Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim of Dara Salam Group of Companies for the Northern Region; Prof. Edmund N. Delle, Founder and CEO of Rabito Clinic Limited for Upper West; and Dr. Francis Adam Asaana for Upper East.

In a brief remark after receiving his award, Dr. Apraku said ““I’m glad that my presence is being felt not only at the regional level but also on the national scene. It is an honour to be recognized this way and this is surely going to increase my passion in assisting to continue developing my region and Ghana in every possible way.”

Helping develope Brong Ahafo and Ghana

Dr. Sampson Effah Apraku comes from Aworowa in Techiman, Brong Ahafo Region. His first way of giving back to the society was with his establishment of Samara Pharmacy in Techiman in 1984 and employing a few hands.

Within a decade of its establishment, the pharmacy evolved into a limited liability company christened Samara Company Limited, which traded in the wholesale of pharmaceutical products. However, the pharmacy remains in Techiman is still functional today.

With the coming of the new company, Dr. Effah Apraku in 2006 birthed the idea of the Sasso brand of insecticide spray and mosquito coil with the sole aim of combating malaria without any health implication on consumers.

This initiative became important to him owing to the fact that malaria was claiming more lives every day while the many insecticide brands that had invaded the market in those days were not serving the purpose of killing mosquitoes. Rather, they compounded the health situations of the many users leaving them with catarrh, asthma and other breathing problems.

Sasso has since become the household name in insecticide brand on the Ghanaian market with the prospect of hitting the West African markets soon.

At the regional level, Dr. Effah Apraku has from 2014 to 2016 carried out a nationwide books distribution exercise in which about 500,000 branded exercise books and other educational materials have been given to pupils in all ten regions to support their basic education.

Amongst the many other social interventions, he has also supported the Techiman Football Club with branded sport-wears and funding to keep the sporting club running.

His company, Samara Group, has currently provided secured employment to over 200 workers in all ten regions.