Born in Russia, raised in Ghana and Liverpool, Elsie Hayford has experienced the best and worst of health systems. Whilst completing law studies at the University of Liverpool, she developed a passion for global health which eventually led her to obtain a Master of Laws in Global Health Law from Georgetown University, Washington DC.
Eagar to expend her legal skills to strengthen
health systems and bridge the health equity gap in developing countries, Elsie launched
Lamèsè’ in 2019 - a global health firm that works to restore accountability and
tackle injustices within health systems globally.
It was during an event hosted by The Women’s Organisation over 10 years ago that Elsie first thought about setting up her own business. With little legal work experience at the time and almost no savings, she told herself that she would not be qualified enough to run a business – this was until she met with Senior Business Adviser, Huda Mamoun many years later.
Attending 1-2-1 meetings with Huda, she was able to start
pulling together a plan of action of what she wanted her business to look like:
“My business adviser Huda was a big help in pointing me to
the right resources, she was also able to connect me with other woman who were
on the same journey as me”
“I found the training courses particularly useful – they
broadened my perspective of running a business, gave me solid concrete
information about legalities involved and simplified otherwise complex
concepts”
Starting off self-employed – Elsie secured several consulting contracts from
health companies such as Livful Inc, and
global health organisations such as The Global Health Advocacy Incubator & The
O’Neill Institute of National and Global Health Law where she worked on WHO, Lancet
and Global Health Security Agenda projects – many of which included analysing
and drafting health legislation for countries.
The business transitioned into a Limited Company in 2019,
with the very fitting name ‘Lamèsè’ translating to Good Health in native
Ghanaian Language, Ewe. Elsie is the sole director of Lamèsè Ltd in the UK and
has a subsidiary company set up in Ghana where she works with 3 other partners.
In Ghana, their current work focuses on improving maternal healthcare with the
goal of reducing deaths due to medical/and or systemic errors.
Elsie’s position as a Global Health Lawyer and Consultant
became even more valuable this year with the COVID-19 outbreak. Her business
was able to secure a contract with US global health organisation, Vital
Strategies to provide support as part of a Global COVID legal response team - leading
the work on legal protections for healthcare workers and the legal
infrastructure required for emergency healthcare delivery globally – this
involves advising ministry of health lawyers and writing guidelines for
national policy makers.
With the business already supporting global organisations,
what will be the next step?
“Once we complete our contract, I hope to use my skills to
tackle healthcare issues within the UK’s foster care system. I’m excited about
the future and very pleased with the support I have gained from The Women’s
Organisation.”
“I don’t intend to return to a traditional 9-5 role anymore.
The future will see us expand the business and come a relevant voice within the
health policy space in the UK and beyond”
To find out more about Elsie and her business Lamèsè, you can find her on Twitter using @EEhayford and @lameseCS
If you have been inspired by Elsie's story and are
interested in starting or growing a business of your own, then Enterprise Hub
could help!
Get in touch if you are thinking of starting a business in the Liverpool City Region or have a new business under three years old. You can speak to our team via enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk or 0151 706 8113.
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