In an interview with Jimmy Bettcher, Bridget Kyerematen-Darko discusses her work with Aid to Artisans Ghana. Darko is the Executive Director of Aid to Artisans Ghana and Bettcher is a 2012 MBA candidate at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business. Darko, who has worked at Aid to Artisans (ATA) for seventeen years, discusses the organization's mission and core activities as well as its successes and failures, noting that the global recession has adversely affected market demand. Darko also discusses her own background and how she became involved with ATA Ghana. Darko describes how ATA Ghana has changed during the past seventeen years. She discusses her long term strategy for maintaining a sustainable organization and notes the importance of having good board governance and being mindful of organizational finance. ATA Ghana has been successful at leveraging its available funds for growth, and in bridging the gap between tradition and technology to help artisans' product development process. Darko describes the challenges facing the artisan craft industry in Ghana, including performing effective market research, balancing production capabilities with market needs, and analyzing competitors. Finally, Darko offers advice to American companies interested in partnering with ATA Ghana and reflects on her collaboration with MBA student consultants at Kelley. *This video was recorded as a part of the Indiana University CIBER Focus Vodcast series.
