Assertive, audacious and level-headed are words that have been used to describe this delectable young lady, Dr. Linda Danladi.
Having showed perseverance in all educational institutions she has been to and having been a stellar individual in all aspects of her life, it is not surprising to see her branch out from the mainstream to bring something nouveau to the fore. Something avant-garde in Ghanaian fashion circles. She is the CEO of Rholin Apparels, previously Six Sigma Apparels, the premier trendy, safety apparel line in Ghana.
Margaret Fuller, the first female book reviewer in journalism, once said “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader” and same can be said about Dr. Danladi. She invested an appreciable amount of time acquiring knowledge through wide reading. This broadened her scope of thinking, including thinking outside the box, and analyzing issues, making her a solution oriented individual. She decided in early adulthood to pursue medicine because that was what she has always been passionate about through encounters at the hospital on a personal level and experiences with ill family and friends. She did not relent on the prospects of becoming one of the best doctors in the world.
She started her secondary education at the renowned Yaa Asantewaa Girls’ Secondary School in Kumasi, named after the valiant Ashanti female leader during the War of the Golden stool that signified opposition to British colonial rule. With this background, it is explicitly clear those values instilled in Dr. Danladi, which helped her carve her dauntless personality. She progressed to tertiary education at the University of Ghana (UG) graduating with an undergraduate bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, majoring in nutrition and food science. After this, she ultimately went on to pursue her long-term passion at the University of Ghana School of Medicine and Dentistry (UGSMD) through the Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) in April 2013.
On her first day in medical school in April 2013, she reported to the administration building of UGSMD where something remarkable happened. Something that would go on to change the perception that it was the norm to look sleazy in safety apparel at workplaces. She was presented with her first white coat which was ill-fitting; she also received just one. Being a fashionable person, she resolved to get the white coat to fit and get a few more coats in addition to make going through the week easy on her since she did not have time to spare washing a coat every day. On redesigning the white coat and extensive consultation with her tailor, she came up with a masterpiece. It was worth a display on the runway. Others saw her work, admired it openly and made purchase requests. She started with a small amount of money but Rholin Apparels has grown since its inception and since the CEO completed medical school in September 2017. It acquired notable clients in the health, oil and waste industries. She has progressed from white coats to add hospital scrubs, theatre clogs, bib aprons, bib overalls, coveralls and safety boots, to name a few, to her line.
Rholin Apparels was officially launched after four years, in January 2018 in a private ceremony in Accra that was attended by the CEO of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Felix Anyah. The CEO of Rholin eloquently divulged how she embraced the challenge of combining entrepreneurship and medicine very well and also how she had always depended on her strong Christian roots for strength all the time. She mentioned her father and her late mother, as well as her pastor, Dr. Mensa Otabil as her sources of day-to-day inspiration. Rholin Apparels seeks to surpass the current standards and become the biggest distributor of safety apparels in Ghana, and Africa in the long term. It also looks to employ about 500 individuals in the next 5 years to help curb the gnawing problem of youth unemployment. The story of Rholin is a unique one, that of creative female power and growth. Dr. Danladi believes in not being restrained by mental barriers. Giving up is not an option. Let the heart of perseverance lead.
