‘Just Keep Asking’

Don’t take no for an answer is common advice for budding entrepreneurs, but Smith College student Adwoa Pokuaa Boakye ’27 disagrees—she thinks you absolutely should take no for an answer. And then keep going.

“I’ve made a lot of asks and gotten a lot of nos,” she says. “It’s hard not to get discouraged and take it personally, but instead of pushing, I’ve learned to sit, reflect, and then think about other options. I take a ‘no’ as a signal that, OK, them saying ‘no’ may just be an opportunity for another person to get help from them, and that someone, somewhere might be yearning for the opportunity to say yes to me. So just keep asking.”

That blend of determination and flexibility was crucial in the development of NurtureHer, a nonprofit Boakye founded to provide mothers in her home country of Ghana with nutritional education and guidance, health screenings, and other resources. 

With support from the Jill Ker Conway Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center’s Hatchery program, Boakye, who is pursuing a neuroscience major and a chemistry minor, took the first steps toward bringing NurtureHer to life, combining her desire to help women in rural areas of Ghana with her interest in maternal health and childcare. After connecting with Ghana’s Juaben Government Hospital, Boakye discussed her ideas with members of the hospital’s team, nutritionists, and others who work directly with local women navigating pregnancy.

“We wanted to determine the major problems these women face and then start coming up with ways to help them,” Boakye recalls.

One of the most prevalent challenges is a lack of nutritional education. Many pregnant women have basic farming skills, Boakye explains, but there’s a misconception that expensive, pre-processed foods are the only nutritious options. As a result, women can feel overwhelmed and defeated before they’ve even begun, leading to malnutrition in their babies.

“The solution is so much closer to them than they can imagine,” Boakye says, “and we knew then that we had to step in, to educate these women and let them know that they don’t need to depend only on expensive foods for adequate nutrition.”

While NurtureHer’s newly established mission may seem straightforward, managing boots-on-the-ground efforts from an entirely different continent is anything but. Boakye is quick to acknowledge the coordination hurdles she faces, but even quicker to celebrate those in Ghana who help her: friends, volunteers, local nutritionists, and doctors from the hospital.

“And my dad,” Boakye says with a smile. “Oh, that man. Sometimes it's last-minute, sometimes he has to cancel some of his appointments, but he still always makes time and steps up to help me.”

Boakye and some of said volunteers worked with a nutritionist to hold NurtureHer’s first program on nutritional education in October 2025. The expected turnout was around 50, but when the team arrived at the location, they found almost 70 women waiting in line to get inside.

“I was so anxious,” says Boakye, who was on a video call with one of the volunteers who organized the program. “It was 4 a.m. here and I was wide awake, wondering how everything would turn out. What am I going to do if only two women show up? How will I deal with that? Will I want to continue this work? When I saw the turnout, I remember being amazed, surprised, thinking, ‘Is this our event? Did we do this?’ as my anxiety just left my body.”

When NurtureHer requested feedback from the hospital, there was one simple criticism: “There were complaints that there weren’t enough chairs,” she says.

It was a good problem to have, and one Boakye and her team was eager to address. They held a cultural program and health screening in a bigger location shortly thereafter—and this time there was plenty of seating. 

Boakye has a long-term vision of securing partnerships and donations to build on the Hatchery’s initial funding and bring their programs to other communities— plans she hopes to fulfill by continuing to follow her own advice: just keep asking.

“This all has made me better at using my voice, at asking for help,” she says. “I’ve learned more about [the power of] genuine friendships and good relationships. I can’t do this alone.”