WOMEN Of InFluence Building EMPIRES In a NEW ERA Of Discovery!

Gifty Boakye is a First generation Ghanaian American model and entrepreneur, with a Master’s degree in Global Development & International Relations. At 16 years old, she began her modeling career in New York City walking global runway shows at Nyfw, Paris Fashion Week , & Milan Fashion Week and more. She has also been featured in Cosmopolitan, Essence & Allure magazines and is recognized for Global beauty campaigns featured in ULTA, Sephora and MAC stores.

 In 2016,  Gifty launched her first business NVTIVE (shopnvtive.com) a fitness brand that promotes health, wellness,and body, paying homage to international cultures. The same year Gifty reigned as  the Face of Afrochella, now Afrofuture and went on to grow with the festival now  as Director of Community Outreach + Social Impact.  Gifty has been labeled a “Change Maker” by CNN for her Sustainable Work in Ghana , her team has also been featured  by Forbes for Social Justice reform recognition.

In 2018 Gifty founded  her non profit Sister S.L.A.Y - Sister's Love And Admire Yourselves, a 501 c3 foundation empowering young girls of color ages 11-18 through self-confidence workshops, SAT prep courses & mentorship programs.

In 2021, Gifty was awarded Model of the year at the African Women’s Choice Award , then went on to place Top 5 in the Miss Universe- Ghana competition. She was crowned Miss Ghana and represented Ghana at the international level  at the Miss Supranational Pageant in Krakow, Poland where she was named 4th finalist and took home the Miss Influencer title . Gifty made history as Ghana's first placement in an international pageant among 70 women representing countries around the world.

Today, Gifty has earned her masters degree in Global Development & International Relations from St.John's  University in hopes of working with the Security Council at the United Nations. Her dream is to follow in the great footsteps of Former Secretary General Kofi Annan. She plans to continue pushing boundaries as an African woman changing the narrative for women that look like her on the continent and around the world.

“Every win, no matter how big or small, is my definition of success.

Gifty considers herself successful. Her perspective of what success means is reaching her goals, which continues to grow as she reaches certain mile-stones in her career as a fashion mod-el. Getting booked for runway shows, magazine covers, or certain gigs is a big deal! Gifty says, “It doesn’t matter what field of interest you pursue, set a goal and achieve it - then celebrate it. Every win, no matter how big or small, is my definition of success.” The thing that drives Gifty is knowing God’s intention for her life, and the purpose he instilled in her.

“When I was ten yrs old, I realized that I was exhibiting certain skills in leadership that inspired, uplifted and empowered other girls to pursue their dreams. Even in my adult years, girls who specifically looked at me, and saw a dark skinned girl from Ghana, living in the United States, born to immigrant parents, and- based on statistics should not be where she’s at in her accomplishments, are inspired. Already, as black women we start at a deficit. We start behind the starting point to play catch-up from the day we’re born.”

Gifty strives to be the best version of herself everyday. “For me,” she says, “It is not a destination. Everyday is different. It’s a journey where you’re embracing those moments-of being doubtful, scared, and unsure. The key is learning from those experiences, and drawing from them to see yourself in a positive light.” She continues, “In anything you do, you need good people around you to tell you the truth, and to pour into you. But, at the end of the day, the number one factor is how you see yourself. Would you be proud of the person you’re looking at? And would God be proud?” Gifty believes that opportunity doesn’t fall in your lap, that you have to be hungry.

One thing she likes about her job and her career is that she gets to tell her story straight up with no chaser. As she reveals, “I’m not helping you if I’m lying, and telling you that it’s been a grand old journey, that every-day has been rainbows and sunshine, or that I’ve never been rejected - or not chosen for awards. I wouldn’t have grown or have anything to give if it wasn’t for those kinds of valleys. As an influencer, when I won Ms. Super of the Year, I didn’t take that lightly. We live in a world where everything is influencing. People are living lives and making full time careers as influencers. Today, we spend more time on our phones and gadgets than anything else.”

Gifty started her first business, NVTIVE, in 2017, where she learned how to build her own brand, products, and verbiage.

Continuing on, “My biggest asset to the influencing world is showing up. It’s not easy creating content, being vulnerable, and letting the world see who you really are. That’s really tough! So, if you’re gonna show up - commit to the process of letting people see what it really is and who you really are, because you’re influencing minds. Whether it’s fashion, where you travel, or what you’re saying, people are watching - and listening.

However, it’s not always showing the glamorous side of life; it’s about being realistic. This way, you’re influencing people positively so that they understand you don’t need to have an unrealistic expectation to achieve whatever it is, because they’re telling you and showing me how. “

Gifty started her first business, NVTIVE, in 2017, where she learned how to build her own brand, products, and verbiage. In building her own personal brand, she first had to gain knowledge and learn how to advocate for herself. As women, Gifty feels we need to look out and advocate for one another more - to make sure we’re not being exposed and exploited for capital gain, especially in the influential fashion industry.

According to Gifty, “The message behind my business brand name, NVTIVE, is about paying homage to celebrating the individuality of where you come from. I feel like some people are spending too much time trying to fit in, whereas they’re not spending enough time celebrating their own individuality. I found that my superpower was in the fact that I was different and stood out.

So, I started NVTIVE because I wanted to celebrate individuality and show pride in who you genuinely are, and where you come from. I celebrate the fact that I don’t look like everybody else, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not good enough. I need to remind women that may look like me, or who may not look like me, and also who don’t look like your average standard of beauty, that they still have a story. Your own uniqueness is your golden ticket out of whatever situation you’re in.” So, why did Gifty choose to go into clothing? As she says, “It’s because I remembered going to a casting for Micheal Costello, a fashion designer, in 2016 to walk, only to be told that my walk was fabulous, but I was a ‘little too curvy’. That really broke me emotionally. At the time I was a size four.

In other instances, I was even told that I was too small. So that’s when NVTIVE was born. I told myself, I’m 5’ 11’ ‘ with a little bit of an ass. Yes, I got hips. I’m from Ghana - and I’m proud of that! So, when I thought about NVTIVE, I wanted to make pants that would fit women like me. Women who are long but also small at the waistline, the non-conventional outfit for the non-conventional women. After that, we began to branch out into other collections. When visiting Ghana to see my grandmother (God rest her soul!), she told me stories about how she started a business which fed my uncles and my mom. She never went to school, but taught herself how to read, write, and count. She then began to pray over my business.

Since I first started with NVTIVE, we have grown every year from pants to body jewelry, to waist beads. The waist beads are also handmade in Ghana and tell the story of the importance of these beads in African culture. They are engraved with symbols that have different meanings. Our slogan is: Share Your Culture with The World!” Gifty has now branched out into health and fitness. In 2021, she created a sports and leisure wear collection for men and women. This included workout posts online wearing NVTIVE products to motivate health and fitness, while incorporating exercise routines. She now has swimwear and an art collection from her photo gallery as well. Just recently, an art mural was unveiled of Gifty in the city of Newark. It’s print art like that which will be sold with all the proceeds from fifty exclusive copies will go to her non-profit. “I’m very big on social justice and the greater good of giving back. We’re only here for a short amount of time. How many people did you impact? That’s what it’s all about.”

Exclusive Interview with Gifty Boakye

_By: Cassandra Tindal / Womenz Straight Talk Magazine

Gifty is a very gifted multi-faceted woman. She didn’t stop at modeling, fashion, and being an entrepreneur. She prides herself in working with the Afro-Future Team in Ghana.

The team is now seven years old and, what began as a festival founded by two young Ghanaian men who also celebrated the duality of being Ghanaian-American, now celebrates African music, fashion, culture, food, and art annually - enlightening the beauty of being African. Sharing her perspective, Gifty shares how “Right now, we are in a time where being African is at the forefront of being more than a revolution; not just being African, but from wherever you’re from”.

People are celebrating that they are born to immigrants, first generation graduates, and things like that. At Afro-Future, we pride ourselves on inviting the diaspora back home to Ghana to learn about our history - but also inviting people to tell us about theirs. It’s important for us to highlight and celebrate what’s going on in the continent.

For so long, our story hasn’t been told by us the right way. Now we can make sure to tell our own stories and that the narrative is clear, honest, and trans- parent. The annual festival in Ghana has grown to at least thirty thousand in attendance. In 2017, I became the face of the festival and all of the art work. That’s how I actually came on board. It was just an idea, and we grew, and I became one of the founding members essentially as well.” The Afro-Future Team was featured in Forbes in 2022, and highlighted the women of the team as being the backbone. “Our entire team is dynamic, but I need you to understand that the women of our Afro-Future team are a force,” Gifty says. “I have to give each and every woman on the team their flowers because they excel in their respective careers, and have time to excel as women in their personal lives, as sisters, as wives, mothers, daughters and girlfriends.”

Vera: Challenges are a given especially for entrepreneurs.  The buck stops at your desk now. Unexpected problems come and go when you’re starting a business, but you can stay the course.  However, for Vera Moore Cosmetics entering the beauty business, the challenges were herculean.  Why? There was a total void in the beauty industry for quality products for black women and women of color.

“Cancel-culture is a big thing these days. It means being passionate enough to speak up on a topic that makes you feel a certain way, whether it’s good or bad.

When it comes to family, Gifty has this to say: “My family has mostly contributed to building my tough skin; they have all taught me something. My brother, Eric, taught me different things like how to rap anything from JAY Z’s Reasonable Doubt album. My brother, Rugine, taught me how to be very competitive - that’s what helps drive me in a business setting. Elegance and grace was learned from my beautiful mother. I was born regal because my father is a chief or like a king in Ghana, which I think shows in who I am - my dark skin, for which I am very grateful for as well.” It is clear that Gifty’s family has been very instrumental in who she’s become. In terms of being an influencer in today’s culture, Gifty also feels it’s important to think about one’s mental health. “Before you speak on your opinions,” she asserts, “ You have to understand it may upset someone if it’s actually polarized, which most issues around the world are, meaning two different opinions or different sides.

Cancel-culture is a big thing these days. It means being passionate enough to speak up on a topic that makes you feel a certain way, whether it’s good or bad. So before you speak, just know that it may come with some backlash that will affect you mentally. I think that number one thing is, when you speak your opinion, you’ve done yourself a great service by just speaking up - whatever you think about the topic. However, now you have to throw in the greater good - humanity! With the climate of the world today and things that are going on specifically with Palestine and Israel, which is a matter that I have not taken to my social media to speak specifically about what I’ve read or researched.

Personally, I believe I speak on a vast scale, I don’t get specific on the details that I’m very familiar with because I study social justice, globalization, war, and mediation - media strategy down to what we see on TV and what we’re being told from different media outlets. Gifty believes that it doesn’t matter how many degrees one has or if someone has never been to school before. Humanity and the greater good is humanity and the greater good! If someone is being un-alive, if someone is being intimidated, tortured, or harmed for no reason as a human being since the day you were born, your birthright is to be a part of the greater good, and a collective of humanity - so you are now abolished to be an asset to educate yourself and other people on how to be a good person.

I have these conversations, but a lot of people who have brands are afraid to speak up for fear of losing endorsements, friends or followers. They care more about the now rather than the future. That’s fine! “But understand that it circles back. If you are donating your own money quietly to an organization that is helping to fund communities, you don’t have to tell everybody. You don’t need to prove to anybody that you support, or you are against, a specific side. When you go to sleep by yourself at night, you close your eyes with your own thoughts - what you’re doing is serving the greater good! I don’t have a problem with that. For some people who are mentally prepared to voice their controversial opinions and battle back and forth, I tip my hat to them as well.

There is a part of my story that people don’t know until they do the research and learn who I am. There is a certain grit that I have, that you will see if need be. My brother and I are empaths. We want to make sure that you are heard because a lot of people at the bottom don’t really feel like they have a voice.

“You don’t need a million followers to tell your story.

My impact is to let them know that the counselor that told me I couldn’t go to college, because I couldn’t afford it, was wrong! It’s people like us, African kids that were born here, brought by immigrants who had to work multiple jobs, with a language barrier in the United States, then grew up and changed the narrative for ourselves, and became successful. There is so much power in that truth. People need to hear it. You don’t need a million followers to tell your story. You can tell one person your story and inspire that one person; whatever they do with it is their decision.” On social media, Gifty says that there is a misconception that she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth because her father is a royal.

“I would be doing a disservice to myself if I didn’t open my mouth and talk about who I am, and how I became who I am authentically. I am not just a beauty queen, model, student, or en- trepreneur. I’m all those things combined in one. I’m a gift created by God that has the privilege and the honor to have platforms like this one to talk to people and teach them things they need to hear. Someone may read this interview and feel like they’re scared to share their voice about what’s going on around the world, but may think about what Gifty suggested and how it’s going to affect their mental health. If you’re ready to take that on, let’s do it!”

After all, as Gifty aptly noted, the greatest of the greatest have had to forego fear. For example: Guanda, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Markus Garvey, Rosa Parks, Yaa Asantewaa. In 1900, Yaa Asantewaa led the Ashanti war, also known as the War of the Golden Stool or the Yaa Asantewaa War of Independence, against the British Empire. The eternal growth for me has been monumental to say the least, with this year having a mural painted of myself in Newark, New Jersey, and being able to represent my country with 70 other beautiful women from around the world in Poland. I was also featured at the top of the year by Forbes Magazine.

Including putting together another year of greatness for Afro-Future. All while doing my shoots and being an engine in my career - so just getting up and building my brand in such an impactful way, and doing this interview, photo shoots, and being on the cover of Womenz Straight Talk Magazine, that celebrates women who are forces in industries, is a big deal. For those few things alone I am grateful. This year, Gifty received her Masters in Globalization, Social Justice, and International Relations.

So what is next for Gifty? She is studying to take a foreign service exam which will make her an official diplomat of the United States! She will get to tell important stories around the world and teach people about the duality of being Ghanian-American. In 2024, NVTIVE is expanding its reach with four different campaigns around the world. Gifty’s nonprofit, Sister Slay, will go back to Gifty’s high school (TC Willliams) for its next confidence camp in June. In process is a YouTube series Gifty is working on called, Big Gift.

As this extraordinary interview came to a close, Gifty’s final thoughts centered on pressing forward. In her words, “Don’t give up on your dream. No matter how discouraging or defeated you might feel based on what is going on in your own personal life, or what you’re observing happening around the world, don’t stop doing your part because you never know who it may impact in a positive way. You may even impact and influence yourself further. Choose to find anything that feels like a light, and then pass that on.”

“Don’t Give Up On Your Dream”.