PICKING AT THE MIND OF A LUMINARY CHIEF WITH MR. INVESTOR: PART TWO

Mr. Investor and myself waited in a Gas Station close to the bus stop until the chief’s wife picked us up and drove us to their commodious abode. We settled into our rooms, had some dinner and had a long chat with Nana Kyia. As always I tried to glean as many nuggets of wisdom as I could from this luminary chief and vastly experienced entrepreneur, and indeed I got a goldmine full of knowledge. During our stay whenever Mr. Investor and I had a chat with our “Chief Consultant”, I had my pen and notebook out, scribbling furiously! And he kept reminding us of how people pay him for similar advice and how lucky we were to be getting all of his precious face time for free. We were very lucky indeed. I probably should have taken videos of our conversations, because we roamed a vast landscape of business, social and economic issues, far more than can be packed into this blog. Mr. Investor and I fielded all the questions that we could, and the chief always gave us a flood of sensible answers from a perspective we did not have enough experience to elevate to yet. He sat adjacent us in this rather comfy chair in a corner of his large living room adorned with biographical pictures of the chief in his younger days, his first wife and his children; a portrait of his life and his legacy. It felt rather appropriate when he said, “Everybody (in Ghana) is having fun making a living but not leaving a legacy”. With his legacy complete he was encouraging us, and you to begin thinking about creating ours, a legacy we can be proud of during our old age.

In relation to a question fielded by Mr. Investor concerning business in Ghana the chief said, “There are many bureaucratic disincentives that prevent investors from coming into Ghana”. Among those we discussed were the poor state of our physical infrastructure; the lack of reliable energy; entrenched corruption, inefficiency and dissatisfaction in all levels of the public sector. According to him, Ghana has “a system that forces conformity” because it doesn’t reward innovation but rather favors blind adherence. In a sense it is a country whose people prefer to follow and therefore leaders are in short supply; people rarely think outside the box. This is difficult for foreign investors to adjust to since the internal and external realities they have to deal with are in a system where things tend to be rather different (I think the actual word Nana used was ‘backward’) from their experience in their home countries. He felt that, “Idea testing is essential for success” because every business investor needs to do a lot of market research before they embark on any business. According to the chief, “Nobody should go into any business without testing; you must have a minimum of a B+ certainty that it will succeed before moving forward”.

The chief also delved into the poverty issue by stating that; “In trying to solve poverty we must move poor people away from what they are used to (their comfort zone of being given freebies; food, water and clothing) by challenging and empowering them to be upwardly mobile economically”. He was greatly dissatisfied with the status quo of begging donors for money to simply throw at the poverty issue, rather we should be teaching poor people to fish rather than just giving them fish. He stressed on the need to provide quality education as the basis for empowering the poor, because according to him as literacy levels increase so will the living standards in general, and this is a self evident fact. Nana Kyia III felt strongly that the Ghanaian youth, especially those in the Diaspora had a lot to give back to the country. He understood the temptation of seeking greener pastures abroad but felt that if they could be encouraged to come back to Ghana they would be critical to the development of the country. He encouraged people to try to monetize their passions saying, “If you have a hobby and if it can be turned into a business, quit your regular job then do it full time” because you are then motivated out of intrinsic passion instead of being stuck in a job that has extrinsic benefits (good pay) but is not truly fulfilling.

Yes, Mr. Investor had reception, AMAZING!

We talked, and talked some more and then he took us on a trip to his beautiful seaside village. We first went to a council meeting of the traditional chiefs of the area, and Mr. Investor and myself had the honor of meeting all the other chiefs in the area, to the extent of being treated like VIPs even though we were wearing simple white tees. We then went on to his village, Ekumfi Ekumpoano and even deep into the hinterland we still had reception on our mobile phones and several of the villagers were busily chatting on theirs; the power of IT! When we got there we had that iconic scene where all the little kids run behind the car. Everybody there was buzzing about the arrival of their chief, and of course a “white man”. Alas Nana himself was at the council meeting, but it was still such great experience, his wife took us on a guided tour and then cut us loose. For me the village was about these little kids, smiling, dancing, treading our footsteps and asking 20 questions a minute. They were such a happy riot, excited and inquisitive beyond belief. I acted as the translator since they seemed so fascinated by the ‘obroni’ who had magically appeared in their midst and then after following the sound of the waves a short while, we hit the beach, and OH was my breath taken away! It was a beguiling sandy beach, untouched by development and pollution, and there were only a few canoes in sight because the fishermen were out to sea. I couldn’t appreciate the scene fully then but now in retrospect I was rather affected by the serene beauty of the soft clean sand, the clear blue sea and the rolling waves all hidden away and unknown, a real unpolished gem waiting to glitter. The ideas begun to flow, and the plans begun to form.........

One day I shall be a luminary business guru but for now I’m just a visionary mind making his dreams a reality, so I seek the counsel of greater minds to inspire me and point me in the right direction. Nana Kyia III is among those whom have had an undeniably positive effect on my personal development and propitious future. Thank you again Nana!

The happy riot of smiles, questions and poses.....cheeeeese!

Tune in next week for the next blog.......Cheers!

PICKING AT THE MIND OF A LUMINARY CHIEF WITH MR. INVESTOR: PART ONE

Mr. Investor, Nana Kyia III and Me

The second half of last year was perhaps the most hectic of my life up until then. I was still a student as well as trying to set up a new business with an American, codename Mr. Investor; a young man with the vision, drive, discipline, energy and hunger that perfectly complemented my particular set of skills and talents. We had met previously a couple years before and he promised to come back to Ghana to invest and against all my expectations otherwise he did truly make it back with an open mind and understandably, a tightened fist around his purse strings. In the course of searching for accommodation for Mr. Investor, I had the honor to make the acquaintance of his landlord for the duration of his trip, Samuel Oscar Eskin, also known by his stool name, Nana Kyia III, Adontenhene of Ekumfi Ekumpoano. Nana Kyia is a rather energetic man for all of his 70+ years and he took an immediate liking to Mr. Investor and myself. Like most eminent septuagenarians, Nana Kyia could discuss any topic at length and he gave me so much to think about that I still ruminate over some of his wise words to this day. For example after I told him about being cheated several times in oil deals he said, “When someone cheats you, see it as being on a learning curve”, or another time when he said, “Failure is an opportunity to take a different path to success”.  How apt!

Nana Kyia gave us an anecdote about his hey days running the local subsidiary of a British firm in Ghana in the 1970’s. He was always harking back on how the problems that existed in his youthful days, bribery, bureaucracy and inefficiency are still endemic in Ghana today. He noted the incongruity of the nation having more supervisors and managers than are needed instead of a trained caucus of highly efficient low-mid level functionaries, especially in the public sector. This has led to a serious deficiency in the effectiveness of many governmental organizations and this canker even permeates the private sector but to a lesser degree somewhat. He also noted how political regime after regime have essentially been, “Robbing Peter to save Paul”, Peter being the people, Paul being themselves. He was rather critical of the sorry nature of Ghana’s political system, “In Ghana, our priorities are misplaced”, but overall he sounded optimistic about the prospects for the future especially considering all the buzz about Ghana’s recent oil discovery. He encouraged us to persevere in our entrepreneurial ventures because, “Good projects take time to bear fruit”. Every minute of the time I spent with him was rather worth it, and I thank Mr. Investor for enabling me to encounter such a luminary mind.

Mr. Investor spent a lot more time with Nana Kyia and I was always getting even more information on the chief and his vast interests. Apparently, the chief was the person who brought computers into Ghana first, in the 1970’s, and he giggles with glee when he talks about ICT and how web cafes have now proliferated the country. He said, “ICT is the new frontier that can help bridge the gap between the third world countries and the developed world”. At his age, he is very tech savvy, he regularly conducts business via email, and knows pretty much all the new technology trends that abound. I mean, seriously, this old man followed Mr. Investor to the Afrodesiac Nightclub one night and from what I surmised he loved every minute of it; that’s the kind of man he is! After several discussions with him concerning our ambitious entrepreneurial plans, the chief decided to take us on a trip to his fiefdom near Mankesim to show us his idyllic seaside village. And so we set off, Mr. Investor and I, taking a bus from Kaneshie Station headed towards Cape Coast and I will never forget that bus ride; certainly one of the least comfortable I have ever had. Apart from the serious bone-shaking and constant scraping sounds of rusted metal that made it seem like the bus was going to fall apart any second, we faced a 2 hour delay because the driver pissed a police man off and everybody on the bus became judge, jury and chief enforcer! So we ended up in Mankesim several hours later than planned, tired and hungry but nonetheless continuing our almost constant banter on business in Ghana and Africa in general.

To Be Continued!

PHILOSOPHICAL MUSINGS: ON LIFE AND MATURITY

If at first I don't succeed I will just try, try and try again until I do!

If there is anything I have learnt from the all the events of the recent past, it is that our perception of things is not always as they seem. And most of all, every individual has a unique cognizance of themselves and the environment around them. Life is tough and only gets tougher as you live longer; I guess that is the epiphany we gain as we grow up into adults. It is quite a struggle to come to terms with reality because we are naturally incapable of complete objectivity as human beings. But I believe that the more maturity and experience we gain, the more objective we become. Perhaps not perfectly so, but more so than without going through the exploits that shape us, our thinking, our decisions and our actions. We are what we know, where we have been and what we have done. Even our expectations, dreams and desires are shaped by our backgrounds; education, family and culture. Anomalies are to be expected but they are the exceptions to the rule, not the norm. Therefore it would not likely come as a shock to most people when fate brings due rewards to the deserving and appropriate consequences to those that warrant them. I have been greatly transformed by my many whirlwind adventures and my presently "reduced" circumstances so I no longer take certain things for granted. In fact I no longer take anything for granted. I am hungry for spectacular success because I am in a competition; not with other people but with my own self to satisfy my own grandiose desires.


I always claim to be such a narcissist, but perhaps I am not so self-centered after all. Truth be told there are people far more self-centered than me, to the point that even a narcissist like myself would acquiesce and feel chastened. I also feel I am a genius with an infallible memory but I keep forgetting things I shouldn't. And there are loads of far more intelligent people than I can ever be. As wealthy and accomplished a family as I am fortunate to be a member of, there many more that are wealthier and more accomplished. As handsome as I feel I am there are scores of much better looking men than me. As proud as I can be, I am the picture of humility in comparison to others. As majestic as my dreams are, there are those whose imaginations are truly awe-inspiring. I delve into science fiction novels and realize they put things in perspective; considering the myriad of galaxies filled with stars and their orbiting satellites, even Terra (Earth) in all its blue complexity is utterly insignificant, a speck of dust in the coldness of an boiling universe. So in measuring one's self worth, it is perhaps best to put things in the right perspective.


The prudent thing to do as a mature adult then is to simply understand oneself, and make use of available resources, both innate and acquired to reach personal goals - as they say use what you have to get what you want. However to become truly and consistently happy is not necessarily to be content with what you have but rather to be content with who you are. It is a fallacy to believe that having material possessions provide happiness, they only provide comfort. Undoubtedly comfort constitutes a part of happiness, but more so than that true happiness consists of being reconciled with yourself - accepting yourself for who you are and not who others desire for you to be. Too many times I find that most people (myself included) are caught in the trap of doing things to please others; family, friends, co-workers etc. Gradually I am learning to avoid this predicament and concentrating more on discovering just who I am and what makes me truly happy - and then pursuing those things with all the single-minded passion I can muster. If at first I don't succeed I will just try, try and try again until I do. Perhaps it is this determination to be true to myself and my desires as much as possible that makes me such an enigmatic and fascinating character; well at least to those that find me interesting :)

Perhaps,
But then again,
Perhaps not!


Cheers and have a wonderful week!

SPRINTING ONWARDS AS THE WORLD RECOVERS: A CHANCE TO LEAP - PART TWO

Private Equity Funding is needed to push Ghana further!

The entrepreneur and his ad hoc enterprise is truly the answer to Ghana’s many problems. After all 90% of all businesses in Ghana are SMEs that were formed through the indigenous entrepreneurial spirit. What these businesses need to support and sustain their growth – which will directly affect the nations growth as a whole; increasing that fancy macroeconomic term politicos love so much, GDP – is access to mezzanine capital (growth funding) and managerial and technical support especially for the smallest businesses that exist at the grassroots level.

We have a flourishing banking system except that it is plagued by dearth of risk tolerance. Commercial banks are too risk averse to help the majority of businesses in Ghana because they are adamant in demanding that debt financing (loans) provides a wide margin of safety in the form of usurious interest rates because the commensurate risk is seemingly high. This argument makes sense from a certain perspective but I believe that the criteria for loan disbursement for most banks is too stringent, westernized and inappropriate for a Ghana looking to leap high into the second decade of this century. It causes banks to miss out on so many burgeoning opportunities provided by SMEs that seem risky but with proper supervision and support can become profitable enterprises indeed. In reality most banks operating in Ghana are passive financiers, content to rack up savings, and reluctantly disbursing loans only to already big and established businesses whiles avoiding SMEs like the atavistic fear of the black plague. That is why I believe that Private Equity financing (especially Venture Capital) can become a critical success factor in Ghana’s leap towards middle-income status. Venture capitalists have a three-tiered approach of providing private equity finance to small, fledgling or start-up companies or SMEs; providing active managerial and technical expertise to help the firms that have received funding to maximize the investment and lastly to leverage the investment made for a profit once the company has reached a predetermined growth stage. This is not to say that there are not other viable sources of financing rapid socio-economic growth and development but that Private Equity has to be given a more expansive role in Ghana and West Africa at large.

Venture capital funding has to be provided its own enabling environment to grow and flourish as the banking industry has been helped through deregulation and other incentives. Private equity funding based on the venture capital model can be a stopgap source of funding for SMEs that are either too small or new to grow to a stage where that can also enjoy debt financing from banks. This can be visualized as a sort of pre-processing plant for raw materials before they are turned into the final product. The Venture Capital Trust Fund (Act 680) is definitely a step in the right direction but so much more needs to be done. It is encouraging that at least the government is trying to do its part but I would like to encourage those so-called ‘high net worth’ individuals and successful corporations to pool together their private resources and supply the badly needed credit deficit that SMEs need to grow through venture capital initiatives. It is necessary for the involvement of wealthy entrepreneurs to step into the picture and provide what is lacking, and in the process create a mutually profitable scenario for themselves and those businesses that access this funding. If Ghanaians ourselves do not provide in this badly needed resource, foreign concerns will certainly step up to the plate because this gap is quite real and begging for attention.

Ghana has sauntered for over 50 years and we are finally jogging and hoping at any moment to break into a sprint. In order to do so I believe that access to credit on a system wide basis has to be greatly increased with appropriate measures taken to mitigate and manage associated risks. However our public equity capital market (Ghana Stock Exchange) is a playground for 37 exclusive giants (many foreign controlled), and our banking industry is risk averse. By encouraging wealthy entrepreneurs to provide private equity financing to up and coming entrepreneurial firms through venture capital, Ghana will not just leap, but leap high indeed.

SPRINTING ONWARDS AS THE WORLD RECOVERS: A CHANCE TO LEAP - PART ONE

This is Our Chance to LEAP!

Ghana is on the cusp of achieving an unprecedented level of development and an increase in the general standard of living, and this process has already begun. All around us we see skyscrapers reaching up, we hear the hustle and bustle of growing cities and we can almost feel it in the air; in our very bones, that our country is finally beginning to wake up and leave behind a past of poverty in favor of a bright and prosperous future. Therefore if as a nation we can play our cards right, we can accrue benefits that will accelerate our level of development even more. There is palpable change afoot, the world is recovering from the depths of a deep recession that left Ghana relatively unscathed; this is our chance to leap and achieve prosperity.

In the perpetual economic race between nations, the West stumbled, fell and caused a pile up that affected everybody, but fortunately Ghana escaped with only a few scrapes. We were so far behind, and still so crippled that we were not financially sophisticated enough to be seriously affected by the global credit crunch; after all access to credit in Ghana is next to impossible for most people. How much more could credit have tightened if it was practically non-existent? Our banking industry even saw some healthy growth whiles the world’s biggest banks were suffering great woes. All this illustrates is that developed countries have slowed down, whereas Ghana is perhaps one of the few developing nations in the world that can sprint onwards, and if not catch up with the frontrunners, at least leave the seat filled with the backbenchers.

The country is marching slowly but inexorably from a mostly illiterate agrarian society towards an industrialized economy. However, the developed world has the lead on us, they are in the deep throes of a post-industrial age where access to information is almost as crucial as access to natural resources. After all Ghana is not an island in a vast sea, we are competing with many other nations, developed and developing nations all for dwindling resources to sate their hungry masses. We can only remain competitive by leveraging our nation’s assets and resources; appropriately branding the country as a safe haven for business for both the local and foreign investor, reducing the cancer of institutionalized corruption, and hopefully the government will also provide that “enabling environment” where rapid but sustainable development can occur instead of spitting the same rhetoric over and over again.

However let us be frank and pragmatic here, the established inefficiency of government bureaucracy and a deeply stagnated socio-cultural and political system is no longer the key to achieving our development goals. Various political regimes have come and gone, many more will come and go but the preserve of Ghanaian politics has always been a particular affinity for the verbose eloquence of a conman. Our leaders certainly have some commendable plans, but I have lost my faith in their turgid prose; I believe that Ghana needs to look elsewhere for the impetus we need to increase and manage our momentum as we hurtle up the economic ladder.

Personally, I believe that the private sector holds the key, and that the entrepreneur is this key. I am not lambasting the government as completely useless and inefficient, but I believe that their role is simply to create the conceptual and policy framework that will provide incentives to existing and would be entrepreneurs to do what they do best, bear risk and create wealth. The brunt of the work should be borne by the private sector with the public sector providing the needed support. I believe that we need to move away from a system dominated by public bureaucracies to one dominated by private adhocracies. Adhocracies are fluid and dynamic organizations that can rapidly adapt to constantly changing environments and can better handle one of the biggest problems of the 21^st century as coined by Alvin Toffler, information overload. The entrepreneur sets up an ad hoc business to achieve his particular aim by identifying a niche within which to profitably operate across a vast, confused and inefficient system that is fraught with so much information, most of which is useless, therefore the adhocracy quickly discards with it. A bureaucracy is a big lumbering beast that must swallow all the information presented even though it cannot make sensible or profitable utility of most of it. Instead of concentrating on pampering bureaucracies, we should be encouraging our adhocracies to prosper.

To be continued - Come back for more NEXT WEEK!