Real estate and construction are industries largely dominated by men. They are industries that have over the years evolved and successfully carved a niche for themselves as major contributors to the growth of the country’s economy. With the continuous dominance of men, some women have stepped up, changing the status quo and contributing their bits to the construction and real estate industries.
And, one such woman who has successfully carved a dominating niche like this for herself is Akua Maafo-Dosoo, the C.E.O of Listening Bureau – a real estate brokerage and facility management company, a member of The LB Group. Founded in 2011 after her successful career in banking, Listening Bureau has evolved to be one of the leading real estate brokerage companies in Ghana.
Akua’s 12 years at the helm, the company has evolved from a real estate brokerage firm to a fully-fledged facility management company that provides services to top-end clients, including the Accra Metropolitan Assembly HQ – City Hall; Global Haulage Office Complex; and various commercial facilities in Accra. Listening Bureau birthed and managed the concept of the Community 25 Mall, located at Dawhenya, which was then intended to be marketed as individual shops.
She was involved in the construction of Chain Homes, at Airport Valley Project, which is a 102-house project – from inception through to the design phase. Through her efforts, Listening Bureau won the bid to become the Exclusive Agent for Chain Homes, building the brand from its inception to be the best residential developer (upper income luxury category) at the Ghana Property Awards in 2017.
Her vision for the industry is unwavering. She wants to provide affordable luxury real estate and quality facility management services in line with acceptable international standards and best practices. In addition to that, she wants to provide a functional, comfortable, safe, sustainable and efficiently-built environment for facilities, and to improve their life span.
She re-echoed the same aspiration when she spoke to the press in an interview after the Ghana Property Awards 2023. “One of the greatest in every service industry is customer satisfaction. The Listening Bureau, by our name, tells you that we focus on the clients’ needs and serve them in a tailor-made style that makes them feel satisfied. This is what we wanted to bring into the industry, where we deliver properties to clients with their opinions and aspirations in mind,” she said.
Akua holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) – Finance, and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with Psychology (BA) from the University of Ghana, Legon. She is a member of the International Facility Management Association (IFMA) and is a qualified Facility Management Professional (FMP) – IFMA.
She holds certificates of participation in the following areas: Facilities Management Master Class from Alpha Mead Training Centre, Professional Communication and Presentation Skills by Benchmark Management Development facilitated by Ato Conduah & Associates Service Marketing by Robert Hinson.
The others are Overview of Customer Service by Alex Banful (CEO, GSMF), Induction to Banking & Fundamentals of Credit Analysis & Management by IBFC Agusto.
Being a trailblazer who seeks growth in the industry, Akua’s Listening Bureau was adjudged the Most Trusted Luxury Real Estate Broker of the Year at the Ghana Property Awards in Accra on November 25, 2023.
She has called on the government to introduce a policy that encourages public and private institutions to incorporate maintenance as a key component in their annual budgets. She believes the introduction of such a policy would encourage stakeholders to pay more attention to the safety and integrity of their facilities, through regular maintenance.
Her motivation hasn’t been hampered either by the demands of family. She told this news platform that she “had to juggle my role as a corporate woman in real estate, a mother and a wife. I have been deliberate to ensure I do my best in all these roles”.
“With this award, I want to encourage all women in the real estate and construction industry that yes, we can do it! We can be women in construction and real estate, as well as good mothers and good wives. We must sacrifice our all to ensure none of these roles suffers or lags behind. We must be masters of this game.
“We must master the game as real estate players and we must also master the game as great mothers and wives. There could not be a better impact as women than having great accomplishments in the male-dominated industry, yet also being the force that holds home.”
She has a strong passion for missions and rural evangelism, and that is why she has founded the Living Water Foundation, with the mandate to provide safe drinking water to deprived communities which are unreachable with potable water and to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ – ‘the Living Water’.
She is also a board member of AWANA Ghana, a global organisation which forms strategic partnerships with churches and ministries offering the opportunity for all children and youths to be evangelised and discipled in Christ. She won the accolade as the Most Outstanding Female in Facilities Management in Ghana at the Ghana Feminine Awards in 2021.
Listening Bureau is a registered and active member of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) and currently in the process of becoming an ISO 9001 International Standard Certified organisation. They have delivered and sold the largest single high-end luxury real estate project in Ghana: the Chain Homes, Airport Valley. They have also brokered for high profile individuals and institutions in Ghana and beyond.
The company is a member of the LB Group, which boast of subsidiaries in real estate, construction and development, agribusiness, publishing and printing.
