Yang Yang started Zonda Tec Ghana Limited 16 years ago as a small trading company while pregnant, at a time when nobody in the industry took her seriously. Today, on International Women’s Day, that origin story carries the full weight of what she has built.
Speaking at the Africa Prosperity Dialogues held in Accra in February, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zonda Tec Ghana Limited recounted the early struggles that shaped her leadership philosophy. She described how she launched the company from scratch while expecting a child, determined to carve a future for herself in one of Ghana’s most male-dominated sectors.
The transformation since has been substantial. Zonda Tec now operates more than 11 branches across Ghana and has extended its footprint into Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso. The company runs three vehicle assembly plants, employs over 600 workers directly and supports more than 1,500 indirect jobs across the automotive value chain.
In May 2025, Madam Yang was named CEO of the Year in the Automotive and Trucks category at the Ghana Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Summit and Awards, an annual event that brings together business leaders, policymakers and government officials to honour outstanding performance.
Her rise has not followed a conventional path. She attributed part of her commercial success to the way she used platforms such as TikTok to promote Zonda’s range of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), electric vehicles (EVs), trucks and construction machinery, reaching millions of viewers and building brand recognition across Ghana.
The company’s product portfolio has expanded significantly in recent months. In early 2026, Zonda Tec launched a range of Chery SUVs in Accra, including the Tiggo 2, Tiggo 7 and Tiggo 9, alongside two electric vehicles, the iCAR V23 and iCAR 03, with plans to assemble them locally at its Tema facility.
Accepting her CEO of the Year award, Madam Yang described the recognition as a testament to the resilience and innovation of the entire Zonda Tec team, reaffirming the company’s commitment to Ghana’s socio-economic development.
On International Women’s Day, her journey offers a different kind of lesson, not just about industrial achievement, but about what it takes to build something from nothing in an environment that initially offered very little room for a woman to lead.
