Claudia Kwarteng-Lumor
Founder of Kollage Media, publishers of Glitz Africa Magazine, Claudia Kwarteng-Lumor, has revealed she had no expectations when she started the lifestyle publication.
Speaking in an interview on the To My Sisters podcast, she said many people discouraged her, claiming Ghanaians do not like to read. “Everybody told me Ghanaians don’t like to read, and I said, well, in the UK people don’t like to read but they buy magazines. People buy magazines and keep them on their coffee table,” she disclosed.
She described herself as stubborn and determined, adding that her initial plan was to start the magazine to keep her busy while planning to have children in a few years.
According to her, the biggest challenge at the start was advertising, as Ghanaian brands were used to radio and newspapers and were hesitant to pay more to advertise in a magazine.
“Even if it’s two or three adverts, I’m going to print,” she recalled, noting that consistency and quality helped the brand gain acceptance. She said Ghana had magazines at the time, but they were focused on events, weddings and funerals, while she wanted to offer lifestyle content – hair, makeup, fashion transformation, and stories of returnees.
That focus, she said, excited readers and led to the creation of Glitz Africa Fashion Week 15 years ago, after she had been taking Ghanaian designers to shows in New York.
“Why don’t we create our fashion week and get the world to come to Ghana?” she said. The event now hosts about 50 designers from Africa and beyond.
She disclosed that motherhood softened her and shifted her focus to women and children, leading to initiatives such as Glitz Africa Women of the Year and the Ghana Female CEO Summit, and later her appointment as a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
Claudia emphasised that she had no grand plan, but took one step at a time. “I did not have a plan. I just started a magazine because I wanted to have children,” she said, urging young people not to put excessive pressure and timelines on themselves. For her, success was measured by improvement, with each magazine issue and event becoming better than the last.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke
