MINISTER OF GHANA, PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!

“God bless our homeland Ghana, and make our nation Great and Strong”. God has indeed blessed Ghana in good measure. The rest is really up to us; and if we fail to reach our “great and Strong” status in spite of all that's available to us, then perhaps we've lived in a sea of disillusioned illusions. Over the years Ghanaians have continued in hope, promises after promises, government after government; in expectation that “things will get better”. It's not much to ask. For years, some politicians have carried on in “their own ways”, exploiting many for votes and being accountable to none. Like wolves they rule the sheep to make meat for their bellies and wool for their skins. Ghanaians have looked on quietly. That quietness has been misconstrued as blindness – Truth is, we see the corruption and the waste. We see greed feeding on servitude, betrayals of our common prosperity and insults to our intelligence. We see it all.

I am of “this” generation; a generation that believes the future is in our own hands to shape; a generation unhappy with the visionless state of our country's changing leaderships and the seemingly eternal damnation to be a country always holding up a begging bowl; It is us who seek answers, answers to salvage any hope, we have remaining in the abilities of our leaders. I may not ask all the questions, but I am asking a few. Let the leaders answer:

Ministry of Communication and Technology

Technology is the world's future. Technologies well developed are equally as valuable as our natural resources. Fact - Ghana has not really progressed much by depending on its natural resources alone. The problem isn't the abounding resources, but the lack of value being added to them. Technology is what adds value to what we already have and creates new values out of our intangible ideas. Technology will launch us twenty years backward if we don't embrace it aggressively or twenty years ahead if we do. So, dear Minister – What's your ministry aggressively doing to lead the nation into a conscious technological revolution? What are you implementing to make technology the driving force behind our industries, our education, our farming, our transportation etc? Why aren't we aggressively backing and collaborating with the local budding technology industry? Is it because you don't believe in their abilities or that it is the next big thing or is technology just not your kind of thing?

Ministry of Education & Sports

The future of this nation lies heavily with your Ministry, but truth is, that future is gradually eroding. Consider Ghana's tertiary educational system; it is incredulously heart-breaking that our future leaders are being taken through a kind of education where intellectual merit is a reward for reciting back what lecturers teach and not for thinking outside the box. They do NOT excel anymore by using historical knowledge to innovate new solutions but rather by simply repeating old knowledge in the face of new and evolving challenges. The world is evolving rapidly and the nations that continue to do well are those that are building empires of “the human mind”. They are the countries whose educational philosophies are focused on ensuring that the thinking and knowledge of their younger generation is positioned far into the future, ahead of anyone else. So I ask you this question – How is Ghana's educational system positioning our generations into the future? How about basic level of education? The current rate of failure at the BECE's certification stage is about 40%. Is this normal Minister? Is it normal that 40% of the future generation are failing before they even start? Is it normal that in this modern era, children still study under trees; teachers do not benefit from any modern applied research into how best to deliver learning; is it normal that 25% plus of national budget goes into education and yet we can condone these failures? Is it really normal, Minister?

Ministry of Information

In the current world it is those with strategic information that win. Countries as a result are vigorously engaging in an information war which in a few years' time will replace what has been in the past – the cold war. We can't engage in such a war, but out of curiosity – what is your Ministry doing to protect our “information sovereignty and territory”? Terrorism is no more about bombs; it's about threats to sensitive information. Can you say your ministry has robust systems in place to protect nationally sensitive information being held by say, the Ministry of Finance, Defence, Bank of Ghana or the Ghana stock exchange? Lest I forget, when the rest of the world hears about Ghana, what information are we hoping to reach them with? What branding do we want them to see or hear? What information are we consciously, as a nation branding our country with? By the way on the Government of Ghana official internet website, on the “About Ghana” page, and “Ghana at a Glance” section; you have listed on there the statement: “GHANA IS AN ISLAND OF ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE OCEAN OF FRANCOPHONE NATIONS” – Firstly, Ghana is NOT an island and second, there is no such grammar as “in the ocean of Francophone nations”. You have also listed “GDP Annual Growth Rate =4.7 USD”. Minister, the rates are measured in percentages not USD and secondly the rate is currently NOT 4.7%. Can't we even proofread and update a whole national government portal? You see, Dear Minister, Information reflects our image and IMAGE is everything – Is our Information system making or unmaking us?

Ministry of Energy

Dear Minister, I, and the rest Ghana I'm sure, would like to know whether or not you have ever had an “energy source mapping” conducted? If you did, then tell me; of all the sources of electrical energy in Ghana available to tap into, why are we so very reliant on Biomass (60%+), Hydro and Thermal sources? The Dams and thermal plants have fixed energy production capacities whereas the population of Ghana continues to increase; Approximately 40% of this country still do not have access to electricity; Ghana meanwhile is gradually moving into slow industrialisation and I just wanted to ask you how you intend to reach the un-serviced 40% of the country and still have enough electricity to service our growing industry? You'll import rather than invest in long term alternatives, won't you? What are we doing with alternatives; wind, solar, etc.? Yes, there has been consultations, plans, proposals etc – but what are we doing? Don't you feel any betrayal that Ghanaians for the most part pay their electricity bills faithfully and yet cannot still enjoy uninterrupted power supply? Does it cause you any worry at all that industry and individuals in Ghana make financial losses on a daily basis because of power outages? Do you by any chance worry, that we fail to attract foreign businesses into Ghana because if they came, most of their industrial operations will be sabotaged by the regular power interruptions?

Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning

The Ghanaian people pay Income taxes, VAT, Customs duties, Road Tolls etc. to the Government and yet they don't see any improvements in sanitation, roads, hospitals, schools, etc. In fact it appears most of our infrastructure are significantly still being funded from loans and grants from external governments and bodies. The people pay taxes and yet have to pay bribes to receive services their taxes were meant to pay for. The people pay taxes and yet the government still gets external budgetary support. So what is all the tax money being used for exactly Minister? Ghana's annual budget has for many many years been supported by multi-donors. My laymen's understanding is that if these donors' should pull out at any time, we would not be able to fully run our country within a particular year. So I ask you dear Minister, how long will we be in this vulnerable state as a country; and I ask you again can't we start attempting to live within our means? And if I may ask you finally Minister, what's the business sense behind taking loans from external sources, contracting out works to external companies, paying those external companies with the external funds borrowed and then being left to pay again for the amounts borrowed over many years – just out of curiosity I wanted to know – what are we retaining in the Ghanaian economy?

Ministry of Food and Agriculture

Dear Minister, our country's production of cocoa is under competition from Indonesia (currently the third largest producer). I have read the strategies the two countries are adopting to topple Ivory Coast from the top spot. In summary, whereas we are giving free seeds to farmers, the Indonesian's are combining free seeds and aggressive increases to the number of hectares currently farmed. Cocoa was introduced in Ghana before Ivory Coast. In the last eight years that Ivory Coast has been politically unstable, we have not been able to surpass their production superiority and I wondered if we'll do so now when they are in a recovery mode and eager to claw back on lost time? Dear Minister, perhaps you can also explain this to me – why is it that countries such as the USA, Italy and Switzerland who do not produce Cocoa are the world's top producer of chocolates which we, as a country turn back to import – why do we export cocoa at producer rates to countries that add a little value to them and sell back to us at higher prices? Forgive my ignorance but I need you to educate me on this. I'll spare you the concerns I have on rice imports, Timber concessions, Palm Oil production, Cereals production, storage and exports etc…. I'll spare you now, but “I Will Be Back”

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

My layman's understanding of a Foreign Affairs Ministry is (i) it formulates and executes the country's policies on external relations (ii) be the initial point of contact with other countries, sell Ghana's image and win her opportunities (iii) serve the sovereign interest of Ghanaians abroad. Now here's a story: On Ghana's 55th Independence day, I incidentally attended a Ghanaian consulate's dinner event whilst abroad. I felt very excited about the prospect it presented other countries to consider the opportunities in Ghana and for Ghanaians to also create beneficial partnerships. Present were diplomats and business men from other countries. I rechecked my invitation card – it did say “networking”. Excellent! Ten minutes in, the ambassador made his speech – he said nothing about what core direction the country was headed; nothing about the sectors foreign investors could explore; nothing about opportunities back home for Ghanaians in the diaspora….. But he did say we were the first country south of the Sahara to gain independence; he did say Kofi Annan the past UN secretary general was a Ghanaian; and on, and on. I certainly was NOT the only one who stood there looking puzzled whilst others cheered happily. Ten minutes later, full blast of “Azonto” music takes over, rendering conversation impossible. In a few more minutes, invited diplomats and business people began to file out of the building. Surprised? No, I felt the same – “there's no business to be done here”. Was this an opportunity wasted even though several could have been explored? You judge. Minister, do our foreign offices have any business philosophies on how diplomacy is conducted? Do they understand that as ambassadors, every opportunity should be grabbed to sell Ghana's brand to the world and tap into opportunities presented us by the world? How much business traffic do consulates drive to Ghana annually compared to the taxpayer's money spent on them?

Ministry of Health

Tell me - “we don't have adequate facilities and staff” and I'll ask you “What have you achieved with what we have? The brain drain of Ghanaian medical staff did not start yesterday. It existed before I was born. One thing that has never exist however is “a working” mechanism to reverse the trend. Let's be brutally honest: Dear Minister, have you attempted any process to identify areas in the health delivery chain where there is waste and needing cost elimination? If you have, we can't see any change in inefficiency. Are there areas in the health infrastructure that can be leaner in order to fund core components? Do we really need all those administrative layers in the delivery hierarchy? Do all those regional health directors need all those four wheel drives? Aren't there ways of delivering more efficiently today than yesterday? Please tell us one “efficiency re-engineering” processes you carried out to ensure that your ministry gives Ghanaians value for every cedi. If in today's modern world I still have to pay a fee to use the toilet at the country's biggest hospital, and the future generations are born on bare floors; if fatal accidents do not have “the luxury” of ambulance teams to least increase the chance of victims' survival; If the state of our health system is not one you'll happily put your family through, then your fellow Ghanaians do not deserve less. Dear Minister, How does your conscience grant you sleep at night?

Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs

Here you are – representatives of “the people” – you who decide the issues concerning Ghana amid the shouts of yeeaah! I have no doubt about your integrities but allow me to ask you these questions: over the past decade of democratic rule, we have seen government after government discontinue, terminate and side-line projects started by previous governments simply because “it was not the incumbent party who started it”. Over the years, this approach to growth has resulted in the slow pace of development, unnecessary legal contractual costs etc. My question to you as representatives of the people is this – How do you justify permitting these happenings? Why should the agenda of political parties rise above the best interest of the people without whom none such parties exists? And by the way, let none of you say you have no hand in this – Do you not approve the government's Budget and exercise control over public funds? Do you not make the laws to which all must abide by? Do you not have responsibility to scrutinize the performance of the executive? Are you not custodians of the development agendas of Ghana? How then can you allow such disruptions to national development by virtue of political affiliation? Why?

 Ministry of Roads and Transport

The agricultural North is disconnected from the human capital south; the resource rich East disengaged from the freighting west. Dear Minister, how can we synergize the four quadrants of Ghana through connectivity? If it costs me more to transport food from the North to the South, would you consider me economically immoral to import the same commodity because the overall costs comes out cheaper? If I was a foreign investor who intended using raw materials available in the East and yet the cost of transporting my finished products to the south for exporting and imported machinery from the south to the East is exceptionally high – would you consider me unreasonable for taking my investments into a country where the availability of transport infrastructure puts lesser burdens on my core cost structure? How about the internal dynamics? How do we facilitate human capital that is available in the south but not being used to freely migrate up North to be utilized? I've heard usual argument – “these are capital intensive projects and we don't have the resources right now to get them done” – Well, we've had fifty five years to have gotten it done so what's the excuse? Will the infrastructural developments continue in the absence of external grants? Dear Minister, If the approximately 1 million working population of Accra each have 8 hours in a day to contribute to national economy; then please understand that if 2 hours have to be lost in traffic going to work and 2 hours lost from leaving work early to get home, then approximately 8 million hours of productive man hours are lost to the overall economy in Accra alone. If those 4 hours would have yielded $2, then the economy loses $8 million everyday merely from traffic congestion in Accra. Please give me a reason why this doesn't qualify as financial loss to the state? You tell us what your Ministry is doing about congestion, alternative transport, etc.?

Conclusion:
To all the Ministries, not mentioned here, I assure you, we'll have a date soon. I'll not fail you.  To the President, present and future; there is a reason why the head sits at the very top of the body – it sees, it hears, it smells, it tastes, it thinks – then, it leads where the rest of the body follows. If it is blindly visionless, the body walks in darkness; if it fails to listen, the body dwells in error; if its thinking is deficient of innovation, boldness and posterity, so too will the body. The Holy Bible says in Exodus 18:20 “And you (the leader) shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do”. Where, specifically and exactly are we following you to Sir?

To those in power and seeking power – We ask questions not merely for the sake of answers. We ask because we believe a new era ought to dawn. An era in which we must of a necessity create our own opportunities; one in which the progress of our nation is no more defined by our ethnic, political and external allegiances or greed but by the common desire to see our nation do well both for us and for posterity.

This is our country; it is no man's private estate – we'll not wear these eternal robes of poverty nor accept for our heads this crown of thorns weaved with political insults to our intelligence. Let the leaders hear.

A NEW GHANA, A NEW ORDER - For God, Country and Posterity

My Brothers, Sisters, Fellow Citizens,

A new order has emerged in Ghana, a new era has dawned. An era in which we must of a necessity create our own opportunities and change our own future. An era in which the progress of our nation is no more defined by our ethnic or political allegiances but by the common desire to see our nation do well.

It is indeed a new order that believes in every Ghanaian citizen's ability to positively affect their lot. We share that faith and hope for a better future.

There is one thing that is certain as the sky above our heads; it is this – Ghanaians are neither lazy nor foolish; and there is only one thing more evil than a dictator who kills his own people and it is this – it is an indictment against our collective destiny as equal citizens of Ghana, for any person or group of people in government to hold to ransom, the expectations, the basic rights, the freedoms and the prosperities of the very people who gave them power. We will defeat this evil. Together, we will defeat the abomination of corruption and its greedy demons that rob every Ghanaian of the good of the land. This is our land; it is no man’s private estate.

Today, we make a choice: to create opportunities, not to remain beggars; to unify, not to divide; to envision our own future, not to have it defined for us. We believe in the democracy that serves the people not rob them; we believe in our country not the den of thieves it has become, we believe in possibilities not hypocritical sympathy; we believe in the ability of our citizens not the slaves they have become abroad. Today we make a choice, once more, to establish a government that is focused on the needs of its people and not the fat bellies of greedy gluttons.

We, and our fathers before us, looked up to them for progress and they failed us all. Our children must never grow, knowing that we failed them also. If they do, it would have been better we never lived. For years, the old have cast spells of doubt over the innovative and imaginative abilities of the young. Today, it is this very ability that will change our fortunes.

We have been quite for too long because we failed as a nation to see that we are the change that we cry for; now, we speak with our voices unified, at every opportunity we have, through every medium that is available to us and using every virtue of imagination and innovation within us. It is true they have our money for their campaigns, but it is also true we have a stronger will to take back what is ours. We know they have the backing of powerful supporters all over the world, but we also know we have the backing of GOD who owns the world. We acknowledge they have the political infrastructure with which to override the will of the people, but we also acknowledge we are in our age – the age of technology. On this platform we’ll echo the cry of our people.

There is nothing violent about asking for a better choice. There is nothing evil about restoring to the people, what belongs to the people.

God has truly blessed our homeland Ghana – He did so by equipping us with everything we need to make it great and strong - we owe nobody but ourselves that obligation. If we fail, we can blame neither God nor man.

LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN!!  - Building Today, Defining the Future!

THE AFRICAN GRADUATE - Should you start a business?

I got an email a few days ago from someone I didn't know, a young man from a west African country. To me, I considered him half successful when he said in his email “I am a young graduate and I want to start my own bakery instead of chasing non-existent jobs”. His email was asking me for business advice on what to consider in starting his own business. I was touched, not only because he recognized existing frustration in joining the nine to five rat race, but because of the realization that if he got good advice, he “could” be on his way to building a good business for himself. Good, unbiased and practical advice is what I gave him.

There is no doubt, many more graduates like him. Some may never visit my website www.cfekpeconsulting.com to send me an email nor read my book “Diamonds in Eden”, but chances are that they still need the kind of advice I gave my new friend. The purpose of this article is to give some very simple guide, on venturing into your own business. It's called Entrepreneurship. It may not be as fully comprehensive as a text book but at least I trust it is practical enough to yield results.

For many school graduates in mother Africa, entrepreneurship (or starting a new business) may not be something we are familiar with. That's fine. It's mainly to do with the cultures we were raised in – although it isn't helping us in this era. We were mainly made to understand that studying hard, getting good academic grades and eventually getting a good job was the way to succeed. And that's the limitation. So in the event that we didn't have good education or we had one but couldn't land a good job, then it becomes clear, we've missed our success in life. The sad sad truth is this – neither our educational nor cultural systems give us the preparation or the boldness to venture into unknown territories in the event we don't find “the perfect job”. It's alright. Now is the time to face realities and move forward with your life. It's your life.

Let me spill a few truths to help you put into perspective the absolute NEED for you to start considering starting your own business. Firstly, inflation and unemployment is always going to be around and 99.99% of employees never decide what rewards they are paid for the use of their intellects and energy. As a business owner however, you keep everything earned from your efforts both mental and physical. Secondly, if you are thinking about flying abroad to Europe and the Americas, after graduating, then think again – the economies of these western countries are getting tighter and they really are NOT too excited having to accept more immigrants because their national resources are shrinking. Thirdly, if you think you want to do another course or study for another degree, that's a good thing but hear this too – employers need to make money, so they are not looking for intellectual kingpins with many degrees; they are looking for people who have the drive and innovative attitude to effect positive change to their profit margins – and there are people like that with not so many degrees or qualifications. Lastly and this is an excellent reason – you can start your own business whilst being employed or whilst still in school. Don't be lied to. You see, in the past, it used to be those who had a lot of money make more money. I don't dispute the fact that money is very important in starting any business but in today's world – real money is the knowledge, the idea, or the solution you have, that can affect the lives of people positively.

Let's start from here. I understand that starting a business can be a very daunting thing to think about let alone venture into. The weight of it can be so stressful for some people that they wouldn't even dare dream about it. Others will think about it for a few days, weeks, months and then forget all about it. They may revisit it some time again in the future or just sit back until someone else produces the same product or service; then you hear them complain “Ah I thought about that idea first”. I went through the same phase, so be rest assured, its normal. However, if you are serious about being successful, then you should go ahead and start a business. In fact you can. Take a look around you; you don't have to look far to see some very successful entrepreneurs. Some you know, some you don't. If you think about it further, you just might realize that your condition now, is a hundred times better than theirs when they started in business and yet they made it in the end – that should be an inspiration to you too. You can make it; you can have a successful business – if only you are willing to start. If you say you can, then you will and you are right. If you say to yourself you cannot; then you are right too – you won't succeed.

So how do you start? Well, we are all different people and so we may not all start in the same way, but let me share a few ways a real business can be born:

1.    You could start by expanding an idea for a service or product that you have identified is of need but that is currently not available. You could invent a product or a service

2.    You could consider providing a service based on your qualification and/or experience. This is just like cutting out an employer and providing the same services directly to clients which you would have provided if you were employed anyway

3.    You could develop an idea from a problem you are trying to find a personal solution to. It's called “scratching your own itch”. Most good business started this way. Thomas Edison was tired of the dark and in trying to solve it, he invented the electric bulb. Think about a product or service you are always unhappy about. Chances are that you are not the only one unhappy with it, but the question is, can you find a solution? If you could, you may have just found yourself a business

4.    Another way to consider starting a business would be to look around you; there may be everyday products or services that you can re-invent by changing the way it is produced, the way it is delivered or presented or packaged. For example in the past, drinks used to be delivered in bottles until someone came up with the idea of paper packs. The food market for example in Africa has huge potential for how food is delivered or packaged, and so are many other things. Beads for example that used to be only worn by the elderly in African society are becoming fashionable as part of earrings, bracelets etc. – simply by re-presenting them differently

5.    Another consideration will be to buy into a Franchise – these are already established and well known businesses that you feel will be welcome in an area but are not yet established there. You could buy the right to operate such a business in a chosen area. Advertently it involves a big upfront cost and you can't run such businesses with your own systems. Things have to be done as specified by the franchisor, but at least you don't have to market yourself too much considering it is an already established brand.

6.    Finally, in the kind of technological world we are in now, you could set up an internet business. The easiest form of this is to sell on the internet – and it could be anything. From intellectual assets or experiences which could be turned into online books or videos and placed on the net for people to buy without any physical engagement or merely selling products from your country that you believe the rest of the world needs.

The list above is certainly far from exhaustive (and neither is this article) but the idea is to set you on a path to trying your hands at something. It will be worth it, believe you me. Once you start, and realize the excitement of actually doing something for the first time. You'll gain inspiration no one else can give you.

Once you have established exactly what it is you want to do, here is a list of few things you should consider before going live as a business. Before I list them, let me say this – You don't need to start off immediately as a registered company located in a storey building with employees etc. If you can manage it, start from home – that's where many businesses have started. It really doesn't matter. Someday, the business itself will decide and have money enough to pay for where it wants to be located. You can start considering the following things:

·         What's the name you want to be called and what do you really want your business to stand for. Write it down in one sentence of not more than 10 words. Not more.

·         The product or services will you be offering and how will they be delivered or packaged to customers.

·         List in detail all the things you'll need to make the business work;

·         I suggest you try and specialize in two or three things. A lot of people try to do too many things at once and in the end, their business is never well known for any particular thing. Years down the line you want your business to be well known for something. What will it be?

·         Identify logistical and other business-related problems you are likely to encounter and start thinking about possible solutions; let your imagination run wild here

·         Start developing innovative (new) marketing strategies or ideas that you'll employ to sell your products or services. Ask yourself, how do people in your proposed business currently sell their products or services – ask now, is there a way you can sell it better? You don't have to follow the crowd.

·         Start thinking about how you will fund the entire project. Who will support you? Is all the money ready immediately? Will it be ready in stages? Family is always a good place to start, because at least you wouldn't have to pay interest. Some may be willing to give you the start-up money for a share in the business. It may be worth it so, negotiate it.

·         Consider who are the likely competitors in the industry you will operate in. What are they doing now? Can you match and go past their competition? How do you intend to do it?

·         Now, think about worst case scenarios - as many as you can think of and start asking yourself how you'll deal with them. Will they (if it happened) end the business? Or there are ways around them.

·         Lie back, relax, and imagine to yourself what the average day in the life of your business looks like; now consider what a week will look like, then a month. Did you notice any gaps that need thinking about?

·         How will you get your products or services to your potential customers? Yes HOW?

·         How much do you think you will be making from your business per day, per week, per month, per year? How much will you be spending? Be conservative and don't forget there is inflation – do you think you could be making a profit in the long run?

It's not all going to be rosy and anyone who tells you it will is setting you up to be miserable along the way:

1. You'll make some mistakes and encounter some failures – see this as a learning opportunity. Ask yourself what you've learnt from such an experience that you will not repeat in the future. There's always a lesson to learn. Only when you do not learn from such mistakes does it become a failure.
2. Your own business involves work. You can't afford to be lazy. Some people think (very wrongly) that once you own your own business, you wouldn't need to wake up at 7am in the morning anymore. It's untrue. If you own your business, you will be waking at 6am instead. Until your business is established and smoothly running, you can't afford to play lazy. If you are willing to be disciplined enough to go to work for someone, you should be disciplined enough to work for yourself.
3. In addition to the above, don't throw away your intellect. You have been to school, you have acquired knowledge – don't throw it all away simply because you are not someone else's employee. Understand that you did not go to school for someone; you went to school for you. So when you start your own business, apply the knowledge you have acquired to your business; it is not waste. The truth is, if you don't have your own business, you will use the same intellect to make money for someone else, so what's stopping you for using it to make your own money?
4. Finally, be disciplined with your money. It's your money, but do remember, if it isn't managed well, you will surely fail. Save as much as you make. A good rule is to give 10% of your earnings out to charity or as tithe if you are Christian. The business is not just physical, it's spiritual too. Invest with the future in mind. If it is feasible buy Assets that tend to appreciate in value; get some good advice, invest in land, buy stocks, re-invest in the business... do all that but DON'T just spend it.

Most people, when they think about success, think money. That's just part of it. I am not saying money is NOT a good reason to have a business but think about it – How would you feel, seeing your business idea come to life, people are using your products, what used to be a small idea in your mind has become a household name. Think about the people your business could employ and the fact that you could actually be inspiring someone to also make a difference to their own life. Think about the respect, the financial freedom and security in not having to think about redundancies and being sacked from work. Think about the legacy you'll leave your children. You will not only leave them a business but most likely a name to be proud of. Think about all of that and more that could happen by just starting and persevering in running a successful business.

As I said from the start, this article may not have been as exhaustive as a whole book would, but I trust that I have been able to put you on a good path to starting your own business. I am certain with some enthusiasm, good practical advice along the way and a desire to succeed you should also in your own way, turn what may simply be an idea into a successful business.

BUSINESS AS USUAL IN AFRICA UNUSUAL - (5 trends to know)

The Zurich insurance company has an advert with a catchphrase – “because change happenz”.  The truth is, in Africa, change is always happening. Actually, that may be an understatement. Change will be happening in Africa for a long time to come.  By the way, I am referring to business. For the smart African business man or woman, it means that sentence could be re-written as “Opportunities will be available in Africa for a long time to come”. And that, ladies and gentlemen is the trend that has come to stay. It all depends on what angle you see it from. This article will attempt to share five innovative ways that African business people, small or large can take advantage of the current business trends affecting the continent and make excellent gains in their profit margins.

 Africa’s current business trends and changes stem from a myriad of factors and it is the vastness of this variety that lends to the assurance that these trends, and hence its opportunities will continue over the long term. Firstly, there is the trend that western economies are riding dryer and dryer every day. As a result many previously solely western businesses and people are heading for Africa, and with it come opportunities and also the possible disadvantage that if not well embraced, Africa’s fledging business originality could be swallowed into the stronger western way of doing business. That is not to say, opportunities should not be tapped into by the indigenous African business. Secondly, Africans more and more are becoming aware that their governments do not (and in some cases, will not) have a lot to offer in terms of providing consistent and progressive financial freedoms. As a result of these trendy failures, a somewhat good tree has sprung out of of bad seed – the birth of an entrepreneurial spirit among many African citizens now venturing into business and trying to make things work. Thirdly, the world is becoming very mixed very global very “one”. This is a trend that will continue for centuries to come. China now lives in Africa and so do Europe and the Americas. Africa is simply not just Africa anymore and for this same reason, business in Africa isn’t just business as usual anymore. In whatever level of business you find yourself in however, I am certain this article will either give you a spark or a lift. Hopefully, I can at least get close to achieving that aim.

Remain Original, Be innovative, Serve Beyond Africa:

Remain original, but be innovative; and when you have achieved both of these, then you can capture a market beyond your usual borders. You see, businesses in Africa need to start seeing beyond Africa. Currently, markets are not seen as the continent or country within which the business exists. In today’s world, the market is the world – and that’s where the real money is. I say to many business people “your profit is only limited by how far you see your market as reaching”. In fact if you own a business that resides in Ghana or Malawi and your view of the potential market for your product or service is the four boundaries of Ghana or Malawi respectively, then that’s exactly how much profit you’ll be restricted to. If you dare to sell beyond Africa, your profits break beyond its current boundaries – the hard reality however is this – the boundaries are not real, they are only in your mind. Once you are able to visualize a market beyond your country’s bothers, by all means, research it (and this is not as scary as you may think) and attempt to understand how your product needs to be adapted in order to be accepted in such markets – this, I can assure you will improve your ability to innovate; because what such a process essentially does is to force you to take just one product (at a time) and think through how many different ways it can be made appealing, useful or relevant to other potential customers beyond your current boundaries. You may be surprised that in about seventy per cent of the cases the adaptation you need to make your service or product acceptable to other markets may not be anything big. I walked through a shopping mall recently in London (the supposed fashion capital of the world) and a pair of women’s wedge shoes caught my eyes – its straps and crossover bands were made from Kente, a traditional hand-woven fabric used in Ghana and many other African countries. “That’s innovative I said to myself” and not long later, I saw tie-and-dye batiks on the high streets too; and now, many people on the streets of Europe are wearing beads - the very beads Africans have worn for centuries. It is not only limited to fashion I assure you. Here is an exciting newsflash…..the world is increasingly becoming hungry for new ideas, new products, raw talents, exciting originality etc.; the rarer it is, the more the hunger for it – and that’s the exciting advantage that African products and services have internationally. Africa and its products are now being seen as the new, hitherto unavailable “must have”. Those innovative enough to turn everyday African products into international desirables will be making huge killings in the next couple of years. All you have to do is to look around you, innovate what you have available in Africa to meet international tastes, and VOILA!! The world will is your market place. Get innovating, get exploring – you may be pleasantly surprised all the way to the bank.

Embrace Basic Technology Trends:

Yesterday, technology was seen as “the machines” that took away our fathers’ jobs. Today, technology is “the thing” that can magically show your products to and allow a million people to buy from you all at once. Today, technology is “the thing” that can expand your ideas, your views, your connections and your possibilities to millions perhaps even billions – in the past, this was only a dream, today it is a reality; but alas! It is only a reality for those who embrace it albeit it will continue as a nightmare for those who don’t. My advice? It’s a lot more costly to ignore it than to embrace it. You see, I run very close to tears when I advise small and medium businesses to put themselves out there on the internet and I get the response – “Charles, I am a small business now, we’ll do it when we become big”. The untold mystery being missed is this – in today’s world, you and your business will NOT get big if you don’t embrace technology from the start. You don’t need to become big to get on the internet. Rather, you need to get on the internet to become big. Many business people shudder away from technology because of the preconceived notion that it’s a difficult process to maintain. It’s false. It is relatively simple to engage in and maintain. And it doesn’t cost you anything most of the time. Here are a few examples: At least start by having a website developed for you. It’s a one-time cost and that’s it really. There are even websites you can set up yourself on the internet (three pages will be enough) for a fraction of what it will cost a professional to do it for you. But of course if you can afford a professional, get it done, it’s a one-time investment that will serve you well into the future. Have a page that summarises what your business is about, a page showing some of your products or services (which you can amend or add to) and another page to show your contact details. Following this, respond to every random contact very promptly – you never know which may turn out a major business lead. Business people worldwide interpret your swiftness of response, politeness and timeliness to mean you respect them and that you are worth doing business with. It’s that simple. Secondly, set up a social media page for your business – a blog, twitter or more popularly, Facebook. By doing this, you will be engaging potential business contacts or customers in a more relaxed social setting – You are meeting with them, where they want to be met. Engage them, answer their questions and give them suggestions. It is worth understanding that business in the world has changed drastically. It used to be that you only needed to make a product, and customers who needed it would look for you and buy it. Today, making the product is just one thing. You also have to engage customers to buy your product and after that, sustain their engagement until they come back for more. The latter has become so important because customers are getting used to choices and it doesn’t take a lot for them to move on to the next supplier. Now, let me give you a reason to consider getting an internet presence for your business. Human beings have insatiable needs, and there is always money around to satisfy those needs. The internet is the world’s market place; it is the one place where the whole world believes they can find anything they are looking for – so quite logically, if you have a product or service to offer and you are not present on a platform where the whole world can look for your product or services at at, you may as well forget about providing the product or service you are dealing in. Today, businesses are not sold by word of mouth (literally). Today’s word of mouth is the internet. Today’s recommendation is your product being mentioned on twitter or liked on Facebook. And here’s another reason to be available on the internet – many more people see you, than just those on your street; and that is equivalent to increasing your chances of success.

Brand your business as Different:

When I was taught to use the computer, one of the phrases that really stuck in my head was one with the acronym WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get. Interestingly, it doesn’t have to be the case in business. The world has a perception about the way business is done in Asia. It affects the way anyone does business with the Asians; for example in Japan trust and respect are core elements of any business transaction. There is also a perception about the way business is done in Europe and it defines the way business is done with Europeans; for example, the British are known for timekeeping. Africa is no different, there is a way business is perceived to be done and it influences how the world does, or wants to do business with Africa. We cannot go into the full range of perceptions about the way business is done in Africa but a hard truth is that some of such perceptions are not fantastic – for example it is (albeit painfully) considered normal that lateness, bribery and lack of customer care are standard components to doing business in Africa. There are two sides to this – on the one hand, it is a global default, that such a perception (though true for some African businesses) is considered “the norm” for most African businesses. To the international business person trying to do business with Africa’s entrepreneurs and business people, this is the default position. For some of them, this default perception stems from what they may have seen themselves in Africa, in which case the concept of “What You See Is What You Get”, influences, their business dealings with Africa’s business people. For others, it is what they have heard from others like themselves who have had unpalatable experiences dealing with Africa’s businesses; therefore the concept “What You Hear Is What You Get” influences their business relationship. In all of these, opportunities abound for the discerning African business person – these unpalatable perceptions present opportunities to differentiate yourself and your business from everyone else. It is an opportunity to use your business operations to create and make the bold statement – “What You See Is Not What You Get”. It is an excellent opportunity to do the little things that set you apart from other African businesses and creates the branding that doing business with you is different. These little things make the whole difference: the little things like consciously always being on time and being aware of business diplomacy; it’s the little things like stamping out bribery in your business operations and even having an Anti-Bribery Policy for your organisation. This will go a long way to show potential Business partners that your non-tolerance for bribery is woven into the fabric of your business; it’s the little things like instilling customer care in your employees that give an assurance to current and potential customers that they are valued and relevant to your business. It’s the kind of customer care that brings your staff to understand that without the customers, there wouldn’t be a business and hence no job for them. The customer care that breaths the understanding that it is much cheaper to keep a customer, than find a new one. These little things make the difference as to whether your business receives the default perception associated with the African way of doing business on the one hand, or an outstanding business entity on the other hand – the choice is really yours. Let me explain finally. America is headed for Africa; China is already in Africa, Europe is running to Africa; and in all of these, you CAN’T expect to do business the same way. Africa is not just Africa as it used to be. The customer constitution or make up is changing. It is no more African Businesses serving only African people. Gradually, there is no more “African People” in Africa. Its more now, something like “African Businesses serving the world within Africa” – the world indeed has and is coming to Africa and in order to succeed, African businesses have to adapt their way of doing business to be able to cater for the changing needs of a gradually changing customer demographics.

 Connectivity BETA (CB):

Every great business person at some point in their career or business history has had the involvement of someone. That first major sale or contract is always linked to someone. The success of that signature product or service is always going to be linked to someone. There’s always going to be that someone who made the important recommendation or introduction through which the first rays of success came through. It could be anybody, but more often than not it’s somebody you know. It’s what I call the “connectivity beta”. It is a measure of the number and quality of people you know.  The higher the number of people and their quality that you know, the greater is your chance for business success. This is the way it works – the greater the circle of people you know in business (or you make the effort to know), the greater the chances that someone in your circles will know something that you don’t know, but which you need to know in order to succeed. The mistake people make is that they leave this entirely to chance when in fact it needs to be done consciously and very precisely. If you wish to run a successful business, then you have a responsibility to your own success to be able to go out there and get connected to as wide a range of persons as possible. The Golden rules are just two – firstly, don’t wait for them to come to you; you go to them, search them out and acquaint them, not aggressively, but purposefully; not in the way that appears you want to take advantage of them but in ways that make your relationship mutually beneficial. Rule number two is this – list at least twenty areas of business activity that are relevant to the business you want to be in and ensure that you make at least three very useful connections or friends/acquaintances in these business activity areas. Example would be to make at least 3 friends each who are into accounting, law, branding, events management, banking, shipping, advertising, financial management, logistics, religion/faith, project management, sales, marketing, insurance, communications, information technology, business consultants, procurement, etc. Here is a much needed reality check – if you are going to succeed in business, you need to have one critical understanding – you can’t do it all, so you will need people. If you enter business with this mind set, you will better appreciate why you need to put in an effort to ensure that the connections you have are quality connections. In the African perspective, the word “connection” usually denotes someone we know, who can bend the rules to favour us through a bribe or other undue relationship advantage. The latter is certainly not the type of connections I am referring to. It is worth noting that engaging in this latter “dirty connection” will soon give you more disadvantages than advantages. The truth is, it doesn’t take long for people to realise they are being used, exploited or taken advantage of, and when they withdraw from your connection circle, it most often happens when you need thom most. Just be aware what “connections” you are building. Over the years, I have learnt an interesting concept where connections are concerned – your connections are people, not books on a shelf which you can go back to only when you need to read them. It doesn’t take a lot. In today’s world of emails, text messages, Facebook, etc., it shouldn’t cost you anything to stay in touch with your connections. A one line email, a simple text, a Facebook wall post…. It’s that simple to let your connections know that you don’t only come to them when you need them – that’s equivalent to being used, and no one likes being used. If you set yourself a target to at least remember their birthdays or send them one email or text once a month, you would have gone a long way to ensuring you stay connected to your connections and improving the quality of your connections. These are the little things that bring you first to their minds if a business proposal or deal comes up. They are the little things that make your connections feel you value them and they in turn should value you – remember, you don’t know it all, somebody else will and business will be a lot more promising if it is someone in your circle. Remember, in any area of business that you are stuck in, there will always be someone, who knows someone, who knows somebody, who knows someone, who has the solution. Increase your Connectivity Beta (CB)

Kill Bribery and Corruption Trend:

Image is everything in business. That’s what they say for physical appearance. But it is also true for the non-physical image of your business. What is the image of your business in the mind of your current customers or clients or even potential ones? Here is an assumption that kills the image of many business – people say to me “we don’t practice corruption or bribery in our business”. That’s good, but is that how your clients, customers, and potential ones see you? Yes you are right; everybody else is practicing it except you. Unfortunately the view from the other side may read “if everybody else is doing it, chances are that your business is too”. The point I am trying to make is this – the general notion that  bribery and corruption is part of the way Africa business is done is a deadly killer to any business’ image even though such businesses may be very clean and ethical. It’s just human nature to lump the image about your business with everybody else, and especially to international clients who generally haven’t known your business for many years and who have a split moment to make decisions on whether to do business with you or not. It’s not the default psychological business disposition. Here is the way; you, as a business person, have to make a conscious effort to decide what ethical image people have about your business when they see your logo or name. YOU have to do that. People (customers, suppliers, partners etc.) cannot be assumed to automatically know what your business ethically stands for. You have to paint that picture for everybody else to see. Interestingly however, there is an alternative; and that is to allow everybody else to paint their own picture of your business – I can assure you, you wouldn’t like what you see. The way you choose to go about this is quite up to you, considering there is a wide variety of approaches to it – you could have a two to three minute video on your website of yourself or the CEO highlighting what the organisation stands for and what customers mean to it; you could support a pressure group or charity or government initiative fighting against bribery and corruption and make such support or allegiance evident on your website and on your official materials; you could even pay for an interview to be done on you as an organisation, where you choose the questions to be asked because you know the answers you wish to give and have it splashed on your Facebook, twitter, YouTube, or company website or if you are daring enough an article written on your organisation and published in selected business forums locally and internationally, or finally, even get yourself on a TV interview show – surely, you have something to offer the world out there. The choice really is yours but remember these approaches really don’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. The case for making your business look clean from corruption or bribery is quite easy. Investors, clients, suppliers, governments or for that matter, anybody who wishes to do business with you, wishes to do so with some degree of “predictability or certainty”. That predictability makes it easy to plan the most effective use of their time and resources. Where that predictability is missing, there is volatility – and volatility is the one environment no one wants to do business in. Let me explain. Bribery and Corruption in any environment make it very impossible for anyone to know, determine or plan how much it will actually cost them in time and money to do business. If you wanted to do business in country A and were told it would cost you $30,000; your final decision to go ahead with such a deal will largely be dependent on your assessment of whether the real cost will come up to $35,000 or $40,000 after factoring in bribes and the deals with corrupt officials (if any). Sadly however, no one can really put accurate values on bribes or corrupt payments – that’s the volatile cost of doing business. Its unpredictable and it has the power to make what could have been an otherwise straight and profitable business dealing, become long, unpleasant and unprofitable business experience. No businessman wants to be engaged in the latter. So you see, Bribery and Corruption simply just increases the cost of doing business – and by how much, NO one will ever know.