Afropop singer-songwriter Noella Wiyaala is expected to take the Woman of the Decade Award at the 2020 Women's Choice Awards Africa on October 2, in Accra.

This is in recognition of her influence in the music industry among others.

She will be honoured alongside eight other women who have been recognized for their impact in areas such as education, entrepreneurship, film and media.

They include; Joy FM’s veteran broadcaster Doreen Andoh, Theresa Ayoade, the CEO of Charterhouse Ghana, the body that is in charge of organising the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) and renowned actress Grace Omaboe. 

Musicians up for awards at this year’s event are eShun and Sefa.

Women’s Choice Awards Africa is an initiative that identifies the efforts of women in their various fields and advocates for women’s rights.

In an interview with Music In Africa, the musician expressed gratitude for the award.

"The Woman of the Decade honour means a lot to me because it recognises I have consistently stuck to the task of being 'Wiyaala'.”

“'Wiyaala' stands for recognising the talent God has given you, believing in yourself and being diligent in positively using that gift to make people feel happy or better about themselves. I thank the Women’s Choice Awards for acknowledging my work," she said.

Wiyaala who hails from Funsi in the Upper West Region is a two-time VGMA winner and three-time AFRIMA awardee.

She is also a member of international female band GRRRL. She stated that her music career was greatly inspired by American pop icon Madonna.

As an activist, she has worked with various bodies to spread education and campaign on social issues such as child poverty, health and sanitation and child marriage.

In August 2020, she was named as a jury member of the Song Contest Against Child Labour, an initiative led by the European Union and the Ghana Employment and Social Protection programme.

The ‘Tuma’ hitmaker admitted that she did not consider herself as an activist earlier in her career until she had become a role model to some people.

“It was not something I set out to do. It rather happened by default because getting public attention brings expectations. But with that realisation, it gave me a vision of the person I wanted people to see, especially the young girls and boys who come from a similar background to mine.”

Other categories that were open for public nomination were; Journalist of the Year, Most Promising Corporate Lady of the Year, Woman CEO of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and Discovery of the Year.

The Women’s Choice Awards Africa is organised by Global Ovations.