Business of Diplomacy

Bucks County Courier Times
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Written by John Anastasi

While studying at Georgetown University Law Center, Yvette Taylor-Hachoose was fascinated by both estate planning and international law.

Now, more than 25 years later, the Upper Makefield lawyer finally has the chance to combine the two.

This month, Taylor-Hachoose will travel to Ghana to speak with African women about how to grow their businesses, take advantage of business laws and practices designed to empower the country's entrepreneurs and transfer wealth to future generations.

"It was like a light bulb went off," Taylor-Hachoose said. "It finally came together, the international law and the estate planning."

Her two-week diplomatic mission to Ghana, which starts March 13, came courtesy of a U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant offered by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs.

She will visit three of the West African nation's largest cities - Accra, its capital; Kumasi, where its largest marketplace is located; and Takoradi, a southern port town on the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea.

In addition to meeting with women who work as entrepreneurs, Taylor-Hachoose will speak with lawyers, judges, doctors and student leaders. The U.S. state department developed the itinerary.

"There are, in Ghana, a lot of women who are business-oriented," said Taylor-Hachoose, whose trip coincides with Women's History Month. "They look for ways to bring money into the household."

Women's businesses there typically start as barter-and-trade operations. Some graduate to the production and sale of various items - including food, textiles and fabrics - in the marketplace. The most successful businesses grow to include some exporting.

"This economy [in Ghana] does rely on women being active in the marketplace," she said.

Taylor-Hachoose liked the idea of visiting Ghana not only because of women's prominent role in business, but also because it's a relatively stable, democratic nation and English is its official language, she said. It's also a popular tourist destination with plenty of hotels.

She had heard about the U.S. Speaker and Specialist Grant program through a former professor who now works in the U.S. Embassy in Ghana. She applied for funding and learned in December that her trip had been approved.

Taylor-Hachoose's goal is to help women get the most out of their businesses and then transfer their wealth to their children as effectively as possible. She said she expects to learn plenty on the trip as well. She said it will teach her lessons she can bring back to her own estate planning clients and help add flavor to a handbook on the topic she will release next year.

"It's great to experience something outside of your general area," she said.