Born and raised in the U.K, Peace’s passion for education is one that transcends borders as she begins her journey begins in the U.K to Accra, Ghana. Growing up in a household where she learned the value of education, she faced a pressure to take the medical doctor route and excelled in the discipline of sciences. When Peace realized she hadn’t taken the time out to find out who she is, she shared on a fox interview, a change of mindset led her down a different path.

Less than a year into living in Accra, Peace landed her first role in MTV Shuga and expanded her portfolio as a host and media personality. The burden to help and do more dawned on her on her first trip to Ghana, where she saw how underprivileged young girls and boys her were living, on the streets. Having discovered a new-found passion and a way of giving back, Peace Hyde founded Aim Higher Africa, an arm of Aim Higher consulting (education advisory firm) movement created to empower young minds and ultimately create sustainable structures for children’s education in Africa. The Ultimate goal was to create a network of young entrepreneurs that empower themselves and their communities through self-development firstly, enabling the next generation of young leaders to thrive and be prosperous.

She believes in providing solutions for existing problems in one’s environment which requires a group effort; a single initiative #morethanawoman has given over $350,000 to women owned businesses. Peace Hyde thanks her strong educational and academic background which created a strong foundation and afforded her the opportunity to succeed. As a correspondent, she has interviewed some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs. She shares her values, wins and successes with us.

Tell us a bit about your journey. You were born and grew up in the U.K, before said in previous interviews that growing up in your household there was the expectation that you would become a. At what point would you say your career really begun? Walk us through your journey.

Peace: I began my professional career as a Science teacher in London, UK before relocating to Africa about 6 years ago. At the time I had achieved a great deal as a Science teacher focusing on Chemistry, Physics and Biology and I was in search for a new challenge. I decided to take a trip to Ghana which was the first time I had ever visited the African continent and never looked back.

When I arrived in Ghana, I decided to focus on my childhood love for media and the arts and began my media career in the Ghanaian media industry. The journey took off very quickly and I soon found myself hosting some of the biggest events in Ghana, hosting three talk shows and starring in MTV Shuga, before getting the opportunity to join Forbes Africa where I worked my way up from a contributor covering Ghanaian entrepreneurs to the West African correspondent and now Head of Digital Media and Partnerships.

What sparked your interest in the media industry, particularly in Africa?

Peace: I have always been passionate about contributing to the redefinition of the traditional narrative of Africa being projected to the rest of the world.

Being born and growing up in the UK, we were inundated with visuals representing the continent via adverts from charity organizations depicting impoverished children on the continent and that image of grief and suffering in Africa is still present and extremely prominent in the Western media. I believe the only way to change that narrative is through the power of media and by African’s telling our own unique stories. After living and working on the continent I can tell you that those negative images of Africa are far from what makes the continent a beautiful and remarkable place. We have a cosmopolitan life, luxurious and beautiful locations as well as amazing people who are changing the status quo which we never see in the global spotlight. I believe once we harness the power of the media, the world will be forced to look at Africa with a different lens which will ultimately highlight the greatness and potential that exists of the continent.

How would you describe your role and day to day responsibilities at FORBES AFRICA?

Peace: I am the West Africa correspondent for Forbes Africa which means as a journalist I cover the stories from that region including the successful entrepreneurs, business news and human-interest stories that affect Africa. I am also the Head of Digital Media and Partnerships where I am responsible for working across the company’s digital platform on revenue and audience growth initiatives.

I am also the creator and producer as well as the host of two leading flagship talk shows on the Forbes Africa TV platform, Forbes Africa’s My Worst Day with Peace Hyde, the only show that speaks to Africa’s billionaires about how they overcame their worst day in business and Forbes Woman Africa’s Against The Odds, which celebrates remarkable women who have defied the odds and made a huge impact within their respective industries. Both show formats air on the CNBC Africa channel on DSTV reaching over 60 million households in Sub Saharan Africa.

I created the digital video arm of Forbes Africa and in addition to my role, I work with brands including blue chip clients to leverage the power of the Forbes Africa brand in their marketing and strategic goals.

As we know, the pandemic has hit most, if not all industries hard. How has the team at Forbes Africa adapted to the sudden changes? what has been the biggest challenge faced so far?

Peace: As the world gets used to this unprecedented wave of Corona Virus, every organization has had to rethink the way they deliver content. At Forbes Africa we have now fully integrated our print platform with the digital platform which means we are able to still tell unique stories safely. I would say the biggest change has been how we leverage our virtual resources to still reach our audience whether it is through zoom calls or webinars, we are now reaching more people digitally than ever before and I think things will continue down this path for the foreseeable future.

Besides your professional career, you have also founded an initiative to empower the youth and has created over 3000 grassroots businesses all over Africa. Tell us more about Aim Higher Africa, what inspired the idea?

I started Aim Higher Africa over 5 years ago in Ghana when I witnessed the plight of street children living, working and sleeping in the markets, carrying heavy loads all day and surviving on less than a dollar a day. At the time the goal was simply to provide education and resources to help educate these street children and provide resources to improve their lives by giving them the opportunity to access quality education. Since then we have grown organically and broadened our scope to include entrepreneurship training for unemployed youths. We have had a number of highlights in our short time as a charity. We opened a skills acquisition center in Lagos to provide training and investment for grassroots entrepreneurs.

In 2018, I was shortlisted from a pool of 30,000 African leaders to be part of the 200 Inaugural Obama Foundation Africa Leaders a recognition that highlights the remarkable work of Aim Higher Africa, which has to this day built over 6000 businesses for grassroots entrepreneurs and created opportunities for millions of unemployed youths in Africa. Through our #ABag4ADream initiative, which was launched about two years ago, Aim Higher Africa has made thousands of donations to local communities in Ghana and Nigeria including learning materials, food items, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and face masks to help those struggling to make ends meet cope. Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, we have donated over 50,000 bags to local communities and continue to provide them with the tools and resources to build scalable and sustainable wealth, and continue to work to support and protect those who are most vulnerable in our communities.

What’s next for you?

I am always focused on growing and learning and finding ways to achieve my fullest potential. We are still growing the Aim Higher Africa impact across Africa and we have plans to reach about 100,000 bags distributed to impoverished communities by the end of the year.

I would also love to continue shaping the African continents narrative through my work. My favorite quote says: “Unless a lion learns how to write the story will always glorify the hunter.”

I am honored to be part of a generation of millennials that are contributing to the redefinition of the representation of the African continent and African people and I wholeheartedly intend to continue to use my voice to celebrate and showcase the excellence and potential of Africa to the world.

Page 68

Peace Hyde

WOTC Magazine

Page 68

Peace Hyde

Page 67

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