Konnected Minds Podcast
Konnected Minds: Success, Wealth & Mindset. This show helps ambitious people crush limiting beliefs and build unstoppable confidence.
Created and Hosted by Derrick Abaitey
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Konnected Minds Podcast
How to build wealth in Africa: The Mindset of a Self-Made Multimillionaire - Ken Agyapong
Ken Agyapong's life story reads like a master class in resilience, business acumen, and the transformative power of discipline. Sitting across from me in the studio, this titan of Ghanaian entrepreneurship radiates a quiet confidence born from decades of battling adversity and emerging victorious.
The man who now employs over 7,000 people across 16 companies began his journey in the humblest of circumstances – hawking goods on the streets of Accra as a secondary school student to pay his own fees. "I was sleeping on the porch," he recalls with remarkable candor. "I roll my mattress from one to upper six. In the morning if I don't wake up early, everybody will see me folding my mattress." Yet from these humble beginnings, Ken forged an unshakable determination that would become his signature trait.
What stands out most vividly in our conversation is his pragmatic philosophy toward wealth-building. Despite owning 277 properties across Ghana, he surprisingly considers many of these "a waste" compared to operational business investments. His counterintuitive insights challenge conventional wisdom at every turn. When faced with seemingly insurmountable setbacks – including being robbed in Lagos and losing nearly everything in America – he consistently rebuilt through discipline and strategic thinking. "The experience you acquire in business, the hardships you go through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in books in the classroom," he emphasizes.
For young entrepreneurs wondering where to begin, Hon Ken offers specific, actionable guidance. His "GOSPA" framework (Goals, Objectives, Strategy, Planning, Activities) provides a roadmap, while his seven qualities for success (vision, courage, integrity, humility, foresight, dreams, cooperation) form the foundation. His advice to study building materials as a first business venture in Ghana stems from deep market understanding: "Everybody who gets money wants to build a house."
Whether you're just starting your entrepreneurial journey or looking to scale your existing success, this conversation delivers wisdom earned through decades of triumph and tribulation. Subscribe to Konnected Minds Podcast for more transformative insights from Africa's most impactful business leaders, and join our live community event on August 29th at the British Council.
Watch the video episode of this on YouTube - https://linktr.ee/konnectedminds
If you're a young man and you say you want to be like a Japanese, you have to sacrifice a lot of things. Postpone your spending today for tomorrow. In 1990, I had 11 houses but I had to sell six of them to start life again In that time. Anybody selling his property means he's broke. The experience you acquire in business, the hardships you go through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in the books in the classroom. Why did you think you needed to go back?
Speaker 1:It's a secret Bad boy.
Speaker 2:You should always make sure that your misfortunes you turn it into blessing. How do we do that Look?
Speaker 1:Top five businesses that young people can do today. What would it be If?
Speaker 2:you want to succeed. Don't be a myopic thinker. If you want to succeed in life, you have to dream big, talk big, do things big and challenge yourself. I said I want to be president of this country and I'll definitely be president of this country and I'll definitely be president of this country.
Speaker 1:Welcome to Connected Minds Podcast. My name is Derek Abayte and, as we've said in the past, on the 29th of August at the British Council, we are doing our first live event. The community, everybody's coming together, so you need to be there. I'm going to put all the details in the description right here on this episode Now today so I've got Honorable Kennedy Ejapone in our studios.
Speaker 1:This is because we've had a lot of our young people that are requesting for him to share a word on business mindset and success tips. He has taken a lot of ups and downs and many, much of our works that we had to do, but thank God it's happening. We're going to be speaking to a man whose entrepreneurial journey spans many years. He's dedicated his life to building his businesses and to instill quality entrepreneurship in the people around him as well. This man employs a little bit over 7,000 people in the country. Now, any young entrepreneur, any aspiring entrepreneur that wants to get into business. This is the benchmark that we all need to look to and learn from. Hence he's in a studio.
Speaker 2:You're welcome to my studios, honorable thank you very much for inviting me thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you for coming, um.
Speaker 2:Thank you for coming I I have admired your work, even while I was out of the country.
Speaker 1:Um, anytime you spoke, I could tell the fire that you have in your eyes and your desire to help more people to also chart this path of entrepreneurship. So when the opportunity came to speak with you, I said this would be amazing, you know. So thank you so much for taking time out.
Speaker 1:Now my first question is I want to take you all the way back to Ase Ndompim in 1960. Around that time, maybe a couple of years after that the struggle, the pain, the trauma, everything that you had to go through within those years, that has made you the man that you are to go through within those years. That has made you the man that you are today thank you very much.
Speaker 2:If you want to know my background now, I was born and bred at Asin Dompim in Central region, but my parents stayed in Wa Upper West. That's where my mother got pregnant and came back to deliver us in Dombi. At the age of eight I was sent to Kumasi. I lived there the first time until 1972. Then I was a difficult boy so my father took me back to my village and the following year he came for me again 1972 to 1974, I was in Kumasi again. Then he brought me back again. So I sat the common entrance when I was in Haseen Dombu. I did it the first time when I was in elementary form 2 and I got admission to Haseen Monses Agung School. My father said no. When I was in elementary form two and I got admission to a same-month secondary school, my father said no. I took the second chance. I chose Dunkwa Onofim. I got it. My father said no. You know why I?
Speaker 2:chose those schools Because those days in the village you were even afraid to choose a fancy poem at the Saturday college or Augustine's.
Speaker 2:So the third time, when I was in Form 4, my father actually was a teacher in Kumasi. He came to Dompim and actually filled the common and transforms and you had three choices first choice, second choice, third choice. And my father filled the three choices and all the three choices. He chose Addis Ababa College. So I had no choice. I went to Addis Ababa College in 1976, which means I went to secondary school at the age of 16 there and finished 1981. Then went to 6th Form and Winnibar up to 1983. So I left Ghana February 28, 1984 to Germany.
Speaker 1:Honorable if I pause you there a little bit and then we still stay in there.
Speaker 2:The early years, the type of upbringing, that you had the type of father, the type of mother you had. Let me tell you.
Speaker 2:Anyway it's good information that I should share. In fact, when I started secondary school, my mother and my father had divorced and my mother had moved from the village to Accra. She happened to get a spot at Okanshi where she was selling on a table. So at the start of college, when I come to Accra on vacation spot at Okanshi where she was selling on a table, so at Southern College, when I come to Accra on vacation I will pick some of her items and put it on a board. I'll be going around Accra beer bars and I'll be selling. So I normally mention the items on the board and when I see you I'll say, yes, pk Chocolate, tatra Nazer. Yes, rob, those are the items I've packed on the board, neatly arranged, and I'll be selling. I was hawking on the street and I graduated from there, started selling cutlasses, lead bars, buckets. You know, did you have to do that? Yes, but I needed to survive. You know, at the start of college is an affluent school that time.
Speaker 2:So a village boy, if you don't have the means, you will not survive. So I had to do all this to make money for myself. And again, my father at that time went to Nigeria. After I decided college first year, Form 2 to Form 5, I paid my own school fees. You know, on vacation I'll be walking on the street and all those things.
Speaker 1:During those times, what did you want to become in life? What were the dreams of the young?
Speaker 2:I actually didn't know then Actually didn't know until I went to CISFORM. I went there by that time Because in my neighborhood the way I was doing business, people thought I wasn't smart, so they were surprised. I even went to CISFORM. So there, young man, cisf man, since I was about 23, so I was old enough to have a girlfriend.
Speaker 2:You know, so I had a girlfriend, I cried. But when you know just the name girlfriend, nothing you know, so don't get me wrong. Right, and I was disappointed by her. So that was the me wrong and I was disappointed by her. So that was the first time I said to myself one day I'll be somebody.
Speaker 2:And it happened about two, three times. So I will say that women that disappointed me also encouraged me. Then also at the start of college, I saw rich kids, affluent, I mean students from affluent homes. So I challenged myself and said whatever I'm going through, I'm not going to allow my children also to go through. It means I have to work hard. So I graduated from walking on the street and selling. Also to go through it means you have to work hard. So I graduated from hawking on the street and selling lead baths, crocodile markets, buckets, to pidgeot paths.
Speaker 2:I was going to Lagos to buy pidgeot paths, come and sell it at the broker that time that lane you had Nigeria Airways around that side. So one incident that happened to me in 1983, somewhere October, I went to Nigeria to buy the spare parts and I was robbed. Wow, I went to Jankara Market to buy these parts. Normally I take the suitcases. Take the suitcases a lady, wokum Riku's daughter. That lady will bring the bags from London. Then I will go and credit it and take it to Nigeria, go and sell, then buy the pijopads and make money. So double.
Speaker 2:So one of the days, somewhere October in 1983, I was robbed at Jankara Market and I lost all the money. They took the money but they gave me the spare parts. I bought some pidgeot parts. They didn't take it. They took the money, that, but they gave me the spare parts. I had bought some pijama parts. They didn't take it. They took the money that was left from me and I remember asking them, for you know, they put me in a taxi. There were five people, two on my left, two on my right, one in front, wearing a police uniform or something.
Speaker 2:So when they accosted me at Jankara Market. They took me all the way to Marina Beach and at Marina Beach when they stopped the taxi and I was forced, they were going to take me to the beach and I said no, I won't go Openly. About 2pm people were just watching unconcerned and I was struggling with them. So they put me in another taxi again. Apparently it was the same taxi they used to accost me and put me in. It was the same taxi who went round, came and they put me in. It was the same taxi who went round, came and they put me in again. Then one the guy in front asked me a question. He said he's a custom officer. So I asked him if you're a custom officer, what are you doing in the Jankara market? Then one guy on my right gave me a slap. He gave me a slap. He gave me a slap. So they searched me Do you have a gun? They were lying. They wanted to see the money. So they were searching me Do you have the gun? This and that? And they took the money.
Speaker 2:One day the police officer or customer in front of the taxi who were behind he took the passport and they asked him to tear it into pieces, but I had a German visa in my passport, so I asked them to take the money. And when they took the money, they asked the driver to slow down. When he slowed down, you know what he did the two people on my left first one pushed, then I became the second on the left. Then the other one also pushed and they opened it. And when they were going to open it I'll never forget it they asked me to get out of the car. I didn't have any money, so I asked them okay, make it, give me five Naira for Damphu Damphu. You know, damphu Damphu, damphu Damphu is like trot trot.
Speaker 2:Then he said homo goana, go, don't punish you, uri uda, he said. Then they pushed me. So I didn't know. I was just searching my pocket and I got five Naira. So I went to the airport. Before I got to Accra, my mother was admitted at 37. Yeah, when she heard that I'd been robbed, we were supposed to go and pay for the bags. But she didn't know, they didn't take the bags. Yeah, the pijopas for me. I the the items, the pijopas for me. I managed to bring the pijopas so we sold it and paid the ladies money, but I lost my profit. So, february 2028, it was a leap year I went to Germany. I got to East Berlin around 29th February, so it crossed when they started hustling. I stayed in Germany for one year, 18 months. Then I left for America. In Germany I was washing plates at a restaurant. I can cook. Well, oh yes, italian dishes, a lot of Italian dishes, from lasagna, pizza, totolini, fottuccine, alfredo and all those things. I can cook all of them.
Speaker 1:Anapo do you think that the hardship you went through in life inspired me, has inspired you to be where?
Speaker 2:you are today.
Speaker 1:Do you think is it always necessary for people to go through that path before they can become?
Speaker 2:great. In most cases, those who go through hardships like that are able to save money and invest wisely Because they struggle to get to where they are and therefore they know how to manage it Sometimes let's take it for instance I'm not disgracing my kids. I went there. They are doing well. I'm just from one of the factories. You know my daughter at Lincoln. I took her there to go and work. She's 13 years but she's gone there to work. Even my grandchildren are there working. Wow, okay, what happens is because of your background. It always serves as a caution to you that where you are, you don't want to go back. That alone helps you to make good judgments, savings and all those things.
Speaker 1:But don't you think there are two aspects to this? For example, Donald Trump was given some money. Okay. Dango Te came from a very good family. Okay. These two people have still been able to do very well for themselves. So how come you still see people who come from affluent families? They don't do great In fact, I think majority of them don't do great but you still have people that come from them that still do great. What's the difference?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the difference is, you know, the mere fact that. Let me use my son as an example. You know Kenneth now is not doing badly. Look at his age and what he's doing now. But I have to inculcate discipline into, you know, in him.
Speaker 2:Because initially he would have been a wayward if I had not been strict. He got to a point where he even told his friends that he doesn't think I'm the real father. He wanted to be solely inherited. But what I have gone through, I will not allow my children to misbehave. If you misbehave, I'll cut you off, because my success or wealth doesn't come from inheritance, it's out of hard work, struggle, god's blessing that's taking me there. So I will not allow any of my children to misbehave. I will punish you well. Well, I'm strict, no, but with the question of dango tea and the rest, they are exceptional.
Speaker 2:It doesn't necessarily mean that if you inherit something from your parents you cannot build on it. No, it's a jump. Trump took money from his father. He's built on it. Yeah. So it doesn't necessarily mean that you should struggle before you get your wealth or anything, no.
Speaker 2:But why most of the successful people, or the rich people, their children, fail is that they do not go through hardships, so when they inherit it they don't even know how their parents struggle to get that far. Okay, so they become slowly headed. And especially in Africa, the problem we have is we take. Why I took my daughter there? I wanted to appreciate. She's a 13-year-old girl. I said you're staying home always on TikTok watching you know. I said come on, go there, go and see how I work out to make the money.
Speaker 2:Now the problem with the rich people and their kids are that, for instance, in Ghana, here, they will take their children to Oxford, cambridge, yale, harvard and they'll be proud to see my son or my daughter from Yale or Harvard or Oxford. But in business, the experience you acquire in business, the hardships you go through, the challenges you face, you don't find it in the books in the classroom. Talk to me, okay, you don't find it in the books, in the classroom? Talk to me, okay, you don't find it in the books or in the classroom. So with this experience, if your child graduates from Harvard and comes to work and you don't let him go through the ranks, he might not work.
Speaker 2:And when Kenneth came, he started working with the security guards, then worked department by department and because of that, in the TV area, say, when it comes to the media, he knows almost everything. Okay, he go. I took him to this department program. Go and work with them, do this with the producers, do this with the uncle men and all those things. And today they are doing the plastics. We went to a meeting trying to acquire a new business. Again, you have to get them involved. In most cases, the successful people, their children, tend to fail or lose because they are solely headed and they don't even check them.
Speaker 2:I'll give you one example, when we were going to Adesada College or when we were in Adesada College, I had a friend whose father was very rich. Okay, so I always have to carry my trunk and chopbox from Kokomolimli to Lagos now to get a ride to Adesado College. And this guy because the father was at the age 14 or 15, he was driving from Accra to Cape Cus when we were in Form 1, yes, wow. So he was swollen-headed. One day our headmaster told him something. He was late, he was sleeping in the morning and the protocol prefect went and sucked him to go to Canterbury Hall. He did not allow him to bath. He went there. So when the headmaster saw him, he said in front of the whole school he said you, I hear your father is rich, but if you don't stop this behavior, your father will die and leave you the whole world and you'll lose it. And he's lost everything. He got to a point where I had to pay his children's school fees.
Speaker 2:But when it comes to taste I was born and bred in the village my father I got to use fork and knife when I was going to secondary form one. Okay, but good food taste, it was through these young guys, kowoboys, who were going to restaurants at Okanshi and all I got the exposure from them. But one day my mother was just selling on a table in front of somebody's shop, so in the evening she would pack the items in the box and take it to my friend's father's shop. One day I was reading in their shop I don't have any place to stay. I was reading. Then he wanted to send me to go and buy fufu at Makola where it got burnt the cell fufu and the rest. So I was still reading when he was calling. Then he just flipped the book. So I told him one day you come to my office and I'll ask my secretary to delay you. Wow. Then the father said did you hear what your friend said? Because the father was rich and the money, the sales is in a bucket. He just goes there and dips his hands into it and say let's go Do whatever he wants. Yeah, he died and he's lost everything. So that's the difference between a rich man's kid and a poor man's kid giving a playing field to survive.
Speaker 2:In most cases about 80 to 20, the poor ones succeed better than the rich ones because they don't struggle. Their parents have struggled and given them the whole wealth, so they don't even know how to manage it. But some people too the 20% of the successful people's children are also saying that look what my father has done. I have to do better than that, and that they have a better opportunity because they have the capital. That's right. Some of us, we didn't have the capital. You know, my son, assuming I'm dead. Today you have capital because he can dispose of some of the properties in his name to start whatever he wants to start, whereas somebody like me, like my beginning, would not have any property because my father was renting one room in Kumasi One One. So where is he going to get a property? That's the difference. But because of hardships and challenges the poor people go through, when they get to a point where they are doing business, they are able to save money and invest wisely.
Speaker 1:Let me stop you here for a minute. If you've been watching this show, I want you to subscribe and become part of the family. We are on a journey of changing the lives of people on this channel and we appreciate you for being here, but if you haven't become part of the family, connect with us, hit the subscribe button and let's carry on the conversation. So today we live in a country where we have a youthful population as a matter of fact, the entire Africa, more than anywhere in the world. If you look at Ghana and the number of young people that are looking for opportunities, look at where they came from, their circumstances. A lot of them are struggling, but so what tips and tricks can you tell them to set up, to say that look, look at what you're going through and this is what you can do to change your life.
Speaker 2:You see, first let me handle the graduates, Then I will descend. Okay, see, the graduates. Some of them, most of them that are suffering or are not working is all because they think they have a degree in psychology and automatically has to get a job in psychology. He thinks he did economics and he has to get a job in economics. He thinks he did philosophy, whatever political science, and therefore he doesn't even want to branch off. Branch off meaning look, there is nobody on earth that can make me broke. You know why? Because even if you put him here, I can sleep. I don't think I've gotten there, that I cannot calm down. I can go to any level and start life again.
Speaker 1:Let me tell you something.
Speaker 2:One day this, my friend Sule Muntari asked me a question Honorable, have you failed in business before? I said yes.
Speaker 2:I've failed a couple of times, but that did not deter me from surviving. Why? Yeah, because, look, life is never going to be smooth like that, and when you fail and rise, or fall and rise, that is where you become matured. You become more experienced, because in the course of time again you encounter such difficulties. But because you have experienced it before, you know solutions. You have solutions to those problems and you should always make sure that your misfortunes you turn it into blessing.
Speaker 1:That is the problem. How do we do that?
Speaker 2:Look, you don't give up in life. You always say that I'm going to make it one day, by hook or crook.
Speaker 1:Is it mental work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you have to psych yourself. Look, I'm never going to be poor. I was sleeping on the we call it veranda porch. I roll my mattress from one to upper six, from one to upper six, kokumle, kokumle. On the challenge bookshop road. That's where I was. I was sleeping in the couch porch in the morning a porch in the morning. If I don't wake up early and I get up around seven, everybody will see me folding my mattress. But I said to myself this situation, I mean, is not going to happen. I got to move. So wherever I go, my poor background was at the back of my head here that remember where you coming from.
Speaker 2:Don't be swollen headed when you make money, because you can lose it anytime. So protect what you have by living first. If you want to make good money or be rich in future, try and live subsistent living. Save the money for rainy day or for investment. You have to take risk and invest the money. But make sure, if you want to succeed here, this side of the world, especially Ghana, don't rely on your relatives. No, don't involve your brothers, sisters, family members in your business, except maybe your children or wife, because this side of the world your brother when you set up your business and leave it in the hands of your brother to manage. He will then take the money and go and establish his own and yours will collapse and when you complain, your whole family will go against you. So please don't get them involved.
Speaker 2:If you want to make money, you have to work hard. People work for eight hours. They go out there, drink beer and all those things. You can work 16 hours Because the income you make from eight hours Let me tell you something A professional who makes, say, $500 or $1,000 a week, a taxi driver like myself who doesn't have any degree or whatever I can put in more hours he works for eight hours and make $1,000. I can work 16 hours and make $1,000. So you have to be hardworking and sometimes people are content with what they have. They are content with what they have. I say that such people are sometimes myopic thinkers. They are not dreamers. They have no foresight. Instead of challenging yourself, they just become content. They buy luxury cars here and there. If you see me buying luxury cars and you want to buy luxury cars, do you know my worth? You don't keep up the joneses, just manage the little you have invested. A time will come, that when you are spending you don't even feel it, but the young men and women coming is like competition oh Jojo has this, oh, I can do it, I'm also going to buy it. You are not competing with anybody. You know what you want in life. Stay focused, and when you stay focused and invest wisely, the people or your friends who are laughing at you oh, we go in America. The same thing.
Speaker 2:In America, let me tell you, we have four guys staying in one room. Myself, owusu, jonathan and Elijah said we were in one room. It was a one-bedroom apartment that I rented and I brought them from America. They all joined. We were working In that room, one bedroom apartment. The bedroom itself was locked because the owner of the apartment had bought a waterbed and that time it was a big deal. So four guys were staying in the living room alone and in the night the guy had about eight limousines working for him. That time he comes on weekend, hide on cocaine with beautiful black American girls and whilst we are there and you know crack-headed people when they are having sex, you can imagine screaming and all these four guys sleeping in the living room. We cannot even sleep. Sometimes you think your brother is sleeping or your friend is sleeping, oh, you see that he wakes up and he's going to the bathroom. But in the long run, even metformin the guy was diabetic Metformin a man who had eight limousines yes, he was solely headed. His brother, he was in Dumosia in the Bronx, he brought him to America, he made the money and that was it.
Speaker 2:So sometimes it's you, the individual, the way you perceive life. If you're a young man and you say you want to be like in Japan, you have to sacrifice a lot of things today, postpone your spending today for tomorrow and whatever you are postponing, use it to invest. You should religiously get involved in any business that you do. You don't live in the care or in the hands of friends and brothers and sisters. You have to be there 24-7. Collect your money, put it in a bank, because if you set up a business and leave it to your friends, brothers and you are here drinking, you are here entertaining and tomorrow you think you have money, you are in Dubai, seychelles, whatever.
Speaker 2:My brother, trust me, when you go to proper meetings, the rich people, billionaires, they are very simple. They are very simple. They are in jeans. One day we visited the king of Fugera. When we were going, my wife had to go and buy some expensive clothes to go there. We got there, the whole king, his palace. He was so simple but very intelligent. He stays in a room but knows everything going on in the palace. He was so simple but very intelligent. He stays in a room but knows everything going on in the world.
Speaker 2:So I just snatched her and said you see, now she was in Dubai more trying to get expensive white people. You know, yeah, she bought this, hermes, go back in or whatever you know, go into a meeting. The guys were very simple. Other billionaires that I've met, they are always in jeans. It's wannabe businessmen, wannabe billionaires, wannabe rich men that you always see them in suit and garner here. One guy was talking to me and he said he said you are not presidential material because you are not wearing suit. But if you know the taste, sometimes a T-shirt that I'm wearing alone can buy a whole suit and you get a change. But it's just a T-shirt. That's right. If you buy a Loro Piana T-shirt or Beluti t-shirt, it's more expensive than some of the suits. But because I try to be simple, they don't even know the quality of things on me and they said I'm not presidential, but I'm not even worried about that.
Speaker 2:So in life, what you have to do as a person, you always have to have a vision. You always have to know what you want in life and you have to dream big. Don't be a myopic thinker. If you want to succeed in life, you have to dream big, talk big, do things big and challenge yourself. Because here in Ghana, if you try to say, oh, I'm going to build this, oh, this guy, he talks too much, he's too known, he's this, they say things to discourage you. That shouldn't be your problem. You know what you want in life. You know what you want to become. Stay focused and work hard and it will pay off one day.
Speaker 2:But these young men, without all due respect to them, if I don't have a job, I can set up a bakery or go for go to a bakery and buy a few and go and stand there. I can even package it and sell. Can a Japan bread? Pa pa pa. I can sell anything. That's why I'm saying that nobody can get me broke because I've not set any standard for myself. I can come down at any level and start life again.
Speaker 2:Those who set standards for themselves, as if they are up there and they don't want to come down. Well, that is good. It challenges you to do more. But people who are up there and think they cannot go down when they are struggling, I'm sorry. You can never get there again. So you need to challenge yourself. You need to stay focused.
Speaker 2:You should have strategies Every human being if you want to succeed in life. We call something GOSPA. The acronym GOSPA is goals, objectives, strategy, planning and activities. Okay, and if you want to be a good leader or successful businessman, you should have a vision. You should be courageous, because the future belongs to risk-takers. You should always take a risk. Those security seekers can never be rich, rich, rich to risk takers. You should always take a risk. Those security seekers can never be rich, rich, rich. You know those who are security seekers. Let me give you an example. People make money. They don't take the risk to invest the money. They go and buy treasury bills. They are comfort zone. A bank is managing your money for you. Ask yourself how much is the bank making for him to pay you that amount of money? So if you had invested the money yourself and run your business, you would have made twice as much as him. So if you are protecting your money, you are scared to take risk.
Speaker 2:You can't grow. So the risk takers, the future belongs to them. So you have to be courageous. Then integrity you have to be very sincere in life, in business, everything.
Speaker 2:When you are honest to your people. I say that even when you are with your wife in an attempt to make love or something somebody will call you Ken your money is ready. You have to leave. Whatever you are doing, go and pick your money, and when you have the money, the excitement alone will make you a better man than when there's no money and you are thinking of what to do, and maybe your wife also wants you know those things. So you have to be honest.
Speaker 1:Honorable. There's a 20-year-old man who asked me a question and I said I would throw this to you. He says ask, honorable Ken, if he was 20 years old today, what steps would he take? Now to become as rich as he's become.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the same steps, because I've never regretted. But this time I would have done better than that, because this time you have technology, digitization and all those things. Those days that I was walking on the street shouting, yes, picky chocolate, this time I can go on internet and the same product. I will sell it, I will market it on internet and make money.
Speaker 1:So if I ask, you your top five businesses that you think young people can do today to maximize their earning potential in the future. What? What would it be?
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes the business comes with interest. Okay, but let me tell you, if you want to succeed, you're not here Study the market and you see that everybody who gets money wants to build a house. Yep. So building materials, first materials, okay, number one, building materials. Whether you're selling paint brushes, cement, iron rods, plumbing equipment, you know those things. Okay, that's the first thing I can think of. Second, what else? It depends on what exactly you want to do. Sometimes some businesses it comes with interest. If you don't have the interest when they ask you, you don't do it.
Speaker 2:But there are so many things that I will do and it will not help me, but you do it and you gain. So it's a bit tough, but I can do anything. I can sell bread okay, I'll give you one example, there was a guinean guy who was in new jersey when I had a surgery. He visited me who was in New Jersey.
Speaker 2:When I had the surgery he visited me, gave me some meat, pie and bread. So I visited his bakery and I just did an advert for him So-so and so bakery, pa-pa-pa. You know, the day, the day after my advert he couldn't meet the supply. Wow. Another one is a guy on the Winnebar Road up in between. He was using potatoes for, I think, croissant and the rest my program with Kweku Anan. I advertise it for Sweat Row, winnebar Enclave. It normally drives all the way from Winnebar to Accra, medina to sell it. The day I mentioned it on TV the next morning, medina couldn't get it. I'm giving these various examples because you asked five areas. That's why I said it depends on the individual's interest, what he wants to do and how he devotes time and planning marketing and all those things that way. But on top of my head, the easiest way to go if you want to build the materials first.
Speaker 2:All other things comes with interest. Real estate. You know where you are. Okay, I have friends who built those houses. Selling it is good, but renting it is not. Okay, yeah, you don't make money from rent. I have apartment that can't do nothing. Yeah, you don't make money. But those who are building to you don't make money. But those who are building to sell, they make money.
Speaker 1:But those who are buying, to rent is not a good business, isn't it? Because of the level of business you have and the sort of turnover you've seen? So when you see the numbers coming from the rental turnover you've seen. So when you see, you know the numbers coming from the rental, you don't think it's so much. But if a young person, they say 25, 30 year old, he's got a few properties at in counterments, don't you think that is a good start off?
Speaker 2:let me tell you, let me tell you when you have property at country. It's $500,000, okay, your rent Would not be more than $4,000 a month, right, but if you use the $500,000 To do business and you make 10% Cash flow, cash flow, cash flow, cash flow.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'm just drawing your attention.
Speaker 2:I have so many houses here that I've regretted Some of them. I don't even know, so I don't remember, unless I tell my cousin, and so let's go. You know those things I've regretted because if I had invested that money in business, young man, I would have made a lot of money. I have over 277 houses in Ghana and it's a waste. It's a waste. I've regretted buying those houses because I don't get people to rent them. Because you are keeping them yeah, because I'm keeping them.
Speaker 2:But if you were selling, them you would get a cash flow Right. But I don't want to sell. I want to give it to my kids. I have many kids, so I want to share it for them. My plan is if you're a girl or a woman, you marry and your relationship doesn't work, you come back home. You have your properties. You can dispose of some of them to start business. I mean, this is how I think aloud to help, but in actual fact, if I have invested that amount of money in business, you know how much I'll be making. So renting. It's a bit dicey.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because you see the house at Cantonment, you can have one, it's okay, no problem, as a security or backup in case your business collapse. Your property becomes a fallback that you can dispose of. Because what Sule Muntari asked me, have you, I mean, have you lost your business or collapsed whatever? Yes, I think in 1990, I had 11 houses but I had to sell six of them to start life again. Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I disposed of all those properties to start life again. Wow, yeah, tesano, chemota yeah, I dispose of all those properties to start life again. And that time anybody who, with the exception of the real estate guy's building anybody selling his property, means he's broke. That is the impression of the buyers, so they can offer you any price. And sometimes one example we call it Chikata Road on the Tessano, one of my houses on the main road everybody who comes that's the house he wants. I wanted to keep it, but I needed money to do business, so I had to dispose of it. But I said to myself I'll buy better locations than this. And I've done exactly that period.
Speaker 1:Let me stop you here for a minute. If you've been watching this show, I want you to subscribe and become part of the family. We are on a journey of changing the lives of people on this channel and we appreciate you for being here, but if you haven't become part of the family, connect with us. Hit the subscribe button Now. Let's carry on the conversation. You know you said this thing about starting life again and it just struck me very, very quickly. How many times have you had to start life again as an entrepreneur?
Speaker 2:Well, about three times I fell rise fall.
Speaker 1:rise In a span of about how many years?
Speaker 2:About eight years I had struggled. You know, go down, come up.
Speaker 1:But obviously your go down is different from no no, no, no, no, no, don't think, mind it.
Speaker 2:You see, you measure me to a certain level and think I've never experienced poverty. I have, and I've gone through challenges. Look, let me tell you In 1992, I came here, helped Professor Dubuahin, okay, and we lost the election. I stayed in Ghana for eight months. When I went back my wife had collected 11 months rent and never paid the mortgage. So we lost that property. My landlord, where my office was 167th Street between Jerome and Edward Grand Avenue. My landlord took everything from the shop, the office, and gave it to the African market again to expand. I lost that. I was left with one car, lincoln Town Car so I started using it, dollar dollar. I moved to Co-op City. I lost my house so I bought a Co-op from Barfo Edgar Place in Co-op City and started life again. I was driving taxi, somebody who had owned properties and had seen money. I lost everything and I had to drive taxi. One dollar, one dollar. We call it dollar doll. You pick the people from Co-op City to the train station so you pick about four.
Speaker 2:So one trip is $4. Then you come back again in the morning. That is when I decided to go to university at the age of 33. Okay, so I used my dollar dollar to pay my fees and everything.
Speaker 1:Why did you think you needed to go back? Was it because you wanted a cushion, something to cushion you in case this should happen again?
Speaker 2:Okay, if you want to know why I went to university, okay, let me tell you. Today is a secret. Bad boy Okay, let me tell you, today is a secret. Bad boy.
Speaker 2:Myself, dr Preku and lawyer Kwajo Afra Mesudu my boss, may his soul rest in peace were following Professor Edubuahin and the way the campaign was going. We thought we were going to win, got the euphoria and everything. So Professor Dubuahine was staying at airport. So three of us went there and he was fixing the positions. You are going to be here, you are going to be there. When it got to my turn, I wish the man was alive. I would have gone back to say big thank you to him. By that time I was offended. He tapped me and said young man, you're going to be a good businessman. I was a cis former so I thought, maybe because I had not gone to university, that is why he didn't give me any position. So when we lost, I decided to go back to investing. Okay, so I invested a third year. I had $1,145,000 in my account in a great bank here and Dr Crunchy was the one who was managing my account for me. He was the MD and we were from the same place, so he saw me a young, dynamic guy with this. He was managing my account for me.
Speaker 2:One day on campus I had businesses here, but any time I call complaints. So I went home and told my wife that I'm going, I'm going to do my business Because Solomon and Solomon. I was doing economics and my professor was Iranian guy who recommended me to Solomon and Solomon. When they came to the school to interview me because I was a mature student, they told me they were going to give me $120,000 in 1983. $120,000 was still very good money 1983. $120,000 was still very good money. But I had over 1.4, 1 million around 45 in my account. So when they said they'll give me $120,000 a year and they were going to deduct Uncle Sam, I came back home and told my wife ah, so all this school that I'm struggling, I'm going to get my wife. Ah, so all this school that I'm struggling, I'm going to get 120,000, and these guys are just mismanaging my business. I'm going, I'm going to run my business.
Speaker 2:She is from RP Buffo's family. They are highly educated. He was the first vice chancellor of KNUST. Okay, so they are all educated. She was a bit disappointed and I showed her Stella, I'm going to Ghana and one day I will employ doctors, masters, first degrees, all of them to work for me. And today I've done exactly that. Wow, I didn't finish the investing, I left and managed my business today. What I told my wife Stella then that I would do, I have done everything. Yesterday a friend of mine came to my office and he introduced some gentleman to me and said I've been with Ken for so long and everything that he has said that he would do it, he has done it. That's me. I said I will never lose this money. But I still lost some.
Speaker 1:But I picked the pieces. It's the kick. Where do you get that kick from? Because sometimes people, young people especially they say, oh, I want to do this, I want to do that, and then in the beginning it's exciting and before you know it, it they don't do it. But where do you get that kick from? Because you say I want to do something and then, as you say, you get it done.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because I'm determined. I said I want to be president of this country and I'll definitely be president of this country. And the challenges coming from all angles, I'm still not prepared. I'm still not prepared. I'm going to do it. Honorable, you are such a.
Speaker 1:You are a man to admire. You know, and something that is not very common in our society is courage and being bold. It's not very common among the young people.
Speaker 2:Don't blame them. Where do you get yours from? Don't blame them. Let me answer that. Let me give you this you see, in Ghana they misconstrue confidence to be arrogance. Okay. Confidence. They misconstrue confidence to be arrogant. So don't blame the youth. When they have confidence, you see that even their own colleagues who says worse describe them here. They shut their morals and confidence and all those things. So anybody who stands out and damn the consequence is seen as arrogant that's what I'm going through, but how did you growing up?
Speaker 1:how did you decide nah, regardless of what people are going to say, I am still going to be confident. Go after what I want, be different and then be me.
Speaker 2:Maybe I'll say that I was born with it. You check from my village, my hometown, at the start of college, Winnebago. I'm a freedom fighter.
Speaker 1:But that also means that you have a very tight circle of friends. Not really, Because even some of us we see that.
Speaker 2:Not really. You see, what I do is I don't like friends who gossip. I don't like friends who are always competing. That is why most of the time I'm home, where most of the time I'm home, and if I go to meetings and the way, the kind of people I meet and the figures they mention, it humbles me that I've not gotten anywhere, so I'm not solely headed. When you come to Ghana and you mention Kanesha, mention, it's like a blind man's world. One-eyed man is a king, so they make you feel you are big. Go to meetings and see the numbers they mention. If you are not bold, you cannot even talk. So I get inspiration from that.
Speaker 1:Right, you think the circle matters?
Speaker 2:Yes, it's important, okay, and this kind of circles we have most in Ghana. Here they are just negative competition People. They are friends, but they are competing among themselves. I'm richer than you, you are poorer than this. I don't have the patience for that that they are competing among themselves. I'm richer than you, you are poorer than this. You know I don't have the patience for that, so I always stay away from these kind of associations and all those things.
Speaker 1:Honorable. As an entrepreneur, what are you most proud of?
Speaker 2:Oh in general, to be an entrepreneur is very exciting. What I'm proud of is when I look at where I was born, my village and everything and I go to my business and see the number of people that I employed. It's self-gratifying and sometimes I say to myself ah, kene, japun, why I do?
Speaker 1:Yes, Do you ever see your achievements and shed tears sometimes? Of course yes.
Speaker 2:Well, I don't shed tears, Rather excitement. I put food on the table for people and all those things. It's a joy to me. So that's what I do, and I want to create more. Even today I was late because they're selling a steel plant that I want to buy besides what I'm building To employ more people.
Speaker 1:To employ more people.
Speaker 2:That is why I was late. I went there to negotiate with them. My joy is to create jobs for the youth of this country. I don't see why, as a country, we cannot develop it in such a way that young men and women will come out of college and they have already jobs. It makes me sick. So every money that I get, I don't keep the monies in the bank. No Recycling it. Whatever money that comes, I put it in the business. I put it in the business. I put it in the business.
Speaker 1:You know, today the topic, the biggest topic on a lot of our episodes, is there Derek and many of the guests he's had, they all went abroad to get a capital to come back, yeah. So the young people are saying, even though we are telling them go into entrepreneurship, they're saying, well, but you got a capital from abroad. It's very similar to your case, you know.
Speaker 2:I was definitely going to be rich because what I've told you I started hocking on the street selling, then later graduated to selling lead baths, bucket and all those things. Then later, even when I was in sixth form, I was selling pijopas and taking bags from here, from Kweku M Rikus' daughter, to Lagos to go and sell and buy pijopas and come and sell here. It tells you that I was focused and I knew what I was about.
Speaker 1:So location or mindset, which one do you think is more important In terms of In terms of becoming successful in life?
Speaker 2:Mindset, yeah, mindset, yeah. Location is when you want to establish business, then you say location, location, location. If you want to build, you say location, location, location. But the most important thing is your mindset, okay, how you perceive life, your vision, your dreams. So mindset is way important than the location. It is the mindset that gives you the drive. Okay, that somebody has bought this car, I can afford it, all right, but I don't need to. I need to put it in the business, because when you drive the car out of the showroom, the value goes down right there. When I buy the business okay, I bought a business for about 3.2 million and I tried to change the place. The last time, last one, the profit was $273,000 from 2, from 3.2 million. Okay, that's why I'm saying that buying properties and renting them, have made a mistake.
Speaker 1:Do you think it's the biggest mistake you've made on Arvo?
Speaker 2:oh no, it's not a mistake, because it's still a collateral. I can use it as an equity and all those things. But first money, or seeing big monies you put it in industries you make more money than real estate that you are renting. Or seeing big monies you put it in industries you make more money than real estate that you are renting.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's what I'm saying. Honorable, I want to test your knowledge in your own business Because I know you have a few ventures, so I would love you to all the businesses through which you are employing over 7,000 people in the country. Can you take me through some of the names? If you remember them, I can take you.
Speaker 2:When you go to the media, you have the Kent City media. You have Netoo TV, oman FM, hfm and NAP Radio. When you go to the coastal, you have ASEMPA, adishimang, adipa, agbinipa. That gives you 61,000 tons. I have a steel plant and I'm trying to buy another one. I have equipment, heavy-duty equipment, adts for mining, companies called Coastline Logistics. Okay, I have the platinum plastics. I have companies that deals with electricity cables, streetlights and all those things Hibis, Magnoliaolia, cactus all of them are there, but you might not even know that it's for me. So I have about in total 16 companies. How do you manage all of this? If you know where I'm coming from, you will not ask this simple question. I don't want to go back to where I was before, so I'm always thinking about it. You know, thinking about the business, thinking about the business.
Speaker 1:I kind of have the answer to this question, but I still want to ask you, because coming from you would be much better what legacy do you want the young and the average Ghanaian to remember you for?
Speaker 2:Legacy. There was one politician who was a businessman that created job opportunities for the youth of his country.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's a beautiful one. That's a beautiful one. The next question is is there anything that I could have asked you that we can still discuss in terms of business and entrepreneurship that I haven't, but you still think we can talk about?
Speaker 2:Well, I think I've spoken at length, I've exhausted it. Maybe another time if you think of something else, but I only want to give you how you're going to be. I started with we call it seven strategies. To be a successful businessman, you should have a vision, courage, integrity, humility, foresight, dreams and cooperation.
Speaker 1:You know, honorable for someone who where did you learn? A lot of this acumen from. Is it on the job, or is it because you've acquired quite a lot of?
Speaker 2:I read Tracy Bryan. When you read Tracy Bryan about leadership, the seven qualities of a leader is what I've mentioned to you, and we have seven determinants of a business success Profitability. There are so many things that I can mention. When customer satisfaction, all these things come into play, but that is not where we are now. But you want to know how to be successful, then you need the seven qualities first, or you need a gospel the goals, objectives, strategy, planning and activities. When we have that, then for somebody to know that you have these qualities, you yourself should have a vision, you should be courageous, you should be honest in your dealings, you should be stay focused. Okay, what now? I'm mentioning and say cooperation and all those, the seven qualities I mentioned earlier. You know, if you are able to follow it religiously, definitely one day you will succeed.
Speaker 1:If I ask you this question, what's the best advice you've ever received? You've met many entrepreneurs billionaires, millionaires. What's the best advice you've ever received?
Speaker 2:Save and invest, whatever you make. Okay, any businessman who goes to Dubai have a friend. One area is it financial center or something that they introduce him to me? One area he has 10 most expensive restaurants Right there. He goes to Dubai more, everywhere he's there. And when you go to Dubai Mall, everywhere he's there. And when we are talking to him you get so inspired or motivated that, look, I want to be a billionaire. So when we come here and they are mentioning these small, small figures $1 million, $2 million and they say my mind is somewhere else. One guy I met him and we were discussing and I said the projects with ethanol and all those things. Then he asked me how much do you think? Could he say about 800 million. And all he did was harass His 21 year old boy should deal with me. I said, ah, whoa, yes, he just said harass and told his son was in a meeting and he asked him to deal with me.
Speaker 1:To him the number is $800 million my. God Honorable, I think you've already mentioned the book, so I'm not going to ask you to recommend the book again. But our last question on our podcast today is motivation or discipline. Which one do you think helps a lot in building wealth?
Speaker 2:Discipline, okay, discipline, you have to be disciplined in all spheres. Okay, discipline is saying that you have $20,000. Your friend has $20,000. Your friend has $30,000 or $40,000. His capacity to spend is twice as yours. That's right. He goes to buy a $20,000 car and your lender of last resort is a $20,000 car and your lender of last resort is a $20,000. Then you're also competing with him to go and buy the $20,000 car. What have you left with Zero? He has $20,000.
Speaker 2:So you have to be disciplined. You don't have to be envious of him. You only have to be happy that he's been able to buy it and say that one day I'm going to invest my $20,000 and I'll also be able to buy this. So that discipline will be there. Because you could have afforded the $20,000 car, which you'd be left with zero, but you restrained yourself and invested the $20,000 car, which you'd be left with zero, but you restrain yourself and invest the $20,000, which eventually you can use the profit over time to buy the car. So discipline, controlling your expenditure very, very important if you really want to succeed in life. Then, of course, motivation, sharing my ideas and experience with you it motivates you. Oh, honorable Canadian, upon born at a syndrome, him has been able to do this. If I follow his steps chronologically and religiously, I'll be able to do it, obviously. So if you follow all this and you are not disciplined, you can't do it.
Speaker 2:You heard it so discipline comes before the motivation.
Speaker 1:Honorable. We would all like to say thank you very much. You've shared so much. I think people need to watch it three, four, five, six, 7, 8, 9, 10 times. Thank you so much. I really appreciate this you're welcome and to everyone. If you made it to the end, can you leave a note, a comment, and let me know that you did? Thank you so much for watching and we are done. Stay connected. My name is Derek Abaite.