Ten Ghanaian Entrepreneurs who influenced me in 2012

Many people influenced me in 2012. It has been a wonderful journey of rediscovering myself, unlearning and learning new things. In the spirit of gratitude, I would like to present ten out of the many people who have made impressive strides in their various fields who I feel have a lot more to offer in 2013. So below and not arranged in any order, are ten Ghanaian entrepreneurs you should look out for in 2013.

Benjamin Gregory Aggrey (Woman 2.1 Summit)

Benjamin is an inspiration and a living testimony of what passion, vision, patience and perseverance can accomplish in the face of hardship, difficulties and impossibilities. His flagship summit for women and young girls in Ghana has brought talented and seasoned speakers from all over the world. His summit is currently the only Ghanaian event I know that has won a United States Congressional recognition award. Whatever you do, do not miss out on the Woman 2.1 experience in 2013. Mark it on your calendar and follow him, he is set to shock you.

  

Esi Yankah (Ticklz N’ Gigglz)

There are not enough words to describe this bundle of energy, creativity, humility and passion. They say big and impressive things come in small packages and I believe, they had Esi in mind when they coined that particular phrase. You will make the worst mistake of your life if you are too quick to assume anything about Miss Gorgeous when you see her. She launched a baby fair, baby seminar, personal website, maiden book and a personal reality show in the space of 12 months and did it with such grace that it seems impossible. But like she would say, “hey waiiiiit a minute,” impossibility is not a word.  Grab a copy of her book, mark the date for her events in 2013 and watch out for the Esi Yankah Show and her second book. Esi, is set for the stars.

 Lurick Osei Annor (Lurick Concept)

Cool, calm, collected and extremely creative is the basic description of Lurick. He is the brain behind numerous world class websites, graphic concepts and logos. The thing this gentleman does with a computer is simply awesome.  If you require a new look on your website, company logo or interested in concept branding or rebranding, Lurick is your man. Watch out for his Stars Gh platform and Elive concepts. He is bound to blow your mind.

  

Mabel Simpson ( MSimps)

Stylish, classic, simple and gorgeous. Exactly how you would describe the person and her work. Mabel has mastered the elusive art of presenting beauty and class in simplicity. Her creative genius has continued to expand and develop into an amazing talent of making very ordinary accessories look awesome and amazing. Msimps is the flagship company that produces bags, slippers and sandals and other accessories with an African touch. Make sure you have an Msimps bag or purse in your wardrobe. You are not dressing responsibly if you do not have one yet.

 Randy Impact Osae Bediako (Kharis Media)

Impact or Die and that is the mantra of the brain behind the award winning Kharis Media Ltd. Randy continues to impact the lives of all those around him and beyond. His nationally and international acclaimed magazine, “Kharis magazine” is a best seller every time. His eye for quality and diligence is manifested in all his work and influence. He is a young visionary who knows where he wants to go and how to get there. Watch out for the next edition of the Kharis magazine. It is a wellspring of wisdom.

 Marian Yabe (Bridge of Hope)

With a heart of gold and a soul of light, Marian took hold of a dream, put her hand on the plow and worked with such energy that, it was no wonder Bridge of Hope accomplished so much in so short a time. Compassion and love is the hallmark of her dream and she does her work with such humility and patience. Marian is truly an angel with no wings. Look up Bridge of Hope and support in their activities. Truly love makes a difference.

Alloysius Attah (Farmerline)

Innovation, creativity and vision. Such are the stuff that Alloysius is made up of. From the dream and creation of a concerned young man, Farmerline has transformed into an international award winning project that is set to bring farmers all over Africa with a new hope of productivity and liberation from hunger and poverty. He is truly a pan African and a young African leader.

Ekow Mensah (IConcepts, em&a, TANOE)

A wellspring of innovation and imagination. Ekow dazzles me with his creative genius. His ability to churn out ideas and new things is simply extraordinary. After what I’ve seen of the ideas and projects he is working on for the coming year, you better pay attention and stay tuned in. This young man is destined for greatness and the world cannot ignore him, neither should you.

Yaa Owusuaa (YEG Designs)

Kind, creative and innovative. YEG designs are a delight to experience. Locally made shoes with local print and environmentally friendly materials that give you a delightful, comfortable feeling every time you wear them. Accessories made with careful attention to customer choices and preferences. Yaa combines quality with affordability like you have never seen before. Whatever you do, get a YEG Designs shoe or accessory to compliment your wardrobe. You can thank me later.

 Jojo F. LeMaire (Cross Radio 1)

Bold, creative and visionary. Jojo LeMaire is on!!! Creating an unprecedented international online radio station from scratch is nothing less of awesome. Committed to only the best and most excellent options available, Jojo has become the inventor of another kind of media in Ghana and Africa. Blending profound sermons, speeches and talks with conscious music 24 hrs a day at the convenience of a click is truly what genius is made of. Tune into Cross Radio 1and prepare to be mentally liberated!

It is obvious these are just a few of numerous influential people I had the opportunity to experience in 2012. I am sure you most certainly have your own list and perhaps might be even completely different from mine. The bottom line is that, Ghana, Africa and the world has got a very bright future with these people and several others. I am glad I am living in these times and seeing these world changers go ahead to change the world. What are you also doing to impact your generation?

Paa Kofi Tinagyei

(2012)

Letters to my future wife part 5.

My dear,

I know longer find words to describe your intelligence, politeness and discipline. Your words of advice and love just makes me want to run out and scream your name in the streets. Hahahaha. Do not worry, your sweetheart will not exhibit any signs of psychological constipation. I just want you to know that, I am taking every single admonition at heart and working very hard to be your Mr. Right. I must say, the curiosity of our readers is getting the better part of me and I know I promised to not to reveal your identity, but it is becoming harder and harder to contain the suspense. But for you, I will endure. I have been getting lots of encouragements and support from friends and readers and I keep telling them it is all about you. My dear, you inspire me to be a better man at everything I do. Thank you.

Today I want to talk to you about kindness and legacy. It is very rare to find young people thinking about what kind of legacy they would want to leave here on earth. It is as if, we have concluded that legacy is just for the old and ageing folks. However I beg to differ. Legacy is for everyone. I daresay, the earlier you work on what kind of legacy you would want to be associated it, the better it would be to shape and construct it. The word might sound complex and sophisticated and some have explained it in sentimental innuendos, but it is really a simple issue of what memory of yourself and impact you would want to be remembered for. In other words, if you are no longer alive and your name is mentioned, what effect and impact will your memory incite.  Will people cross themselves, shake their heads and thank God you are no longer alive? Or will they wistfully smile and thank God for the life you lived and the lives you touched? My dear, a good legacy is just like receiving the gift of immortality. Your name and deeds live on in all the lives you touched and all the people who had a better life and future because of what you did in their lives. 

Whether we are aware or not, our actions and inactions affect people. Everything we do, whether good or bad, publicly or in private, intentionally or otherwise has a rippling effect on everyone who is connected to us, regardless of wherever they are. So my dear, every action you take should be carefully evaluated and assessed on the basis of its effect on others. There can no longer be selfish acts or self-seeking causes. Believe me, if everyone lived with legacy in mind, oh what a world this one will be. My dear, can you imagine how Africa will transform and the kind of developments will occur? Can you fathom the transformation that will appear in our homes, institutions, schools, companies and societies? I believe this can happen. Maybe not as quickly as I hope but if everyone decided to start thinking legacy and act accordingly, this dream might not be that far off in the future at all. My dear, think good legacy always and let your actions reflect it.

Secondly, I want to talk about kindness. Kindness is perhaps the most important distinguishing virtue that a good wife and mother could ever possess. It is the foundational determining factor on which every other quality stands. It is the perfect demonstration of selflessness. Simply put, it is love in action. My dear, kindness is the not the same thing as pity. Pity is from an elevated position of self and a desire to alleviate a certain form of guilt or to feed a certain kind of vanity. Kindness however is from an equal ground of selflessness and a desire to bring people to the point of joy and peace one has had the privilege to enjoy. It is that pure delight in seeing others also enjoy the good things in life. My dear, being kind should not be an occasional gesture on special days in the year, which is just a cliché. It should be a permanent characteristic of your life every single day of the year, all year round.

 The most exciting thing about kindness is that, it actually brings pleasure to both the one showing it and the one receiving it.

My dear, you do not have to be rich to be kind. It does not matter how much you make or how much you have accumulated because kindness is not just the giving of things or money. It involves the selfless commitment of whatever is needed or necessary at any point to someone who might be in need of that particular resource. It could be your time, your love, your concern or sympathy or even just your presence. My love, be kind. No matter where, when or to who. It is one of the most precious virtues you can ever possess.

Finally, I will like to leave you with this quote

“You can gain more friends by being yourself than you can by putting up a front. You can gain more friends by building people up than you can by tearing them down. And you can gain more friends by taking a few minutes from each day to do something kind for someone, whether it be a friend or a complete stranger. What a difference one person can make!”

Sasha Azevedo. Take care of yourself and hope to hear from you soon. Till then, it’s me Your future husband, Paa Kofi.

letters to my future wife part 4

My dear,

It is always such a delight to read your flowery constructions and the flair with which you paint words with poetic delight is simply amazing. Thank you for describing me as wise and in truth I am extremely humbled to hear such words from an equally wise young woman.  I know there are a lot of your sisters who could not easily swallow the salient points in my last letter, but I am glad you got the message.

Going natural or going light on make-up and artificial hair apparently is not as easy a lifestyle change as i hope it would be for our young African ladies. For me, it just goes to show how terrible the real situation of adulteration of our own culture has become. I am once again very glad you are willing to consider and take heed to my advice.

My dear, this time, I want to talk to you about financial smartness. It is apparent frugality is a lost art in our current generation and I wish to alert you of this critical issue. Many people live from pay check to pay check and seem to be programmed to spend exactly as much as they earn. There is no allocation for savings much less investments. It is as if, they are allergic to saving. My dear, in this current economic dispensation, not having any savings or investments is a dangerous thing. Relying solely on your monthly salary or pay check is simply not enough to have peace of mind. 

My dear, financial security is the ability to survive for at least six months without your monthly pay check or salary. The longer, the better. As young people starting life, I will like to advise you to develop the character of consistent savings and investments.  Many people, especially ladies, assume that, their husbands will handle the finances of their families so they are at liberty to spend as much they can get. It is rare to see an unmarried woman who is consistently saving for her future and that of her family. My dear, I would like you to be different.

Let me propose to you a formula that I have also started using. I call it the 70, 10, 10, 10 formula. It just means that, you divide your monthly salary or any monies you receive into four parts. 10% is your spiritual giving, which is your tithe. The next 10% must go into your savings account and the next 10% into your investment account. The remaining 70% is your spending or real allowance. It might be difficult at first, but my love, human beings are creatures of habit and hence after a while, you will adapt to living on 70% of your monthly salary. This combined with the thought that, you are securing your future will spur you on and give you the strength to go through. My dear, you have convinced me you are a very wise and pragmatic young lady, so I hope you see the wisdom in this suggestion.

Secondly, I would like to talk to you about financial discipline. My dear, there is no need acquiring financial knowledge if it will not translate into discipline. Discipline in committing to a well-structured budget, discipline in spending and commitment to savings and investments and discipline in living below your wages. This will take time my dear, so do not be worried if you begin to struggle. The most important point is to stick to the plan and get back on track whenever you go off track. 

My dear, it is not necessary to get every new electronic gadget that comes around. I find it hard to understand why some ladies would want to carry two or three phones around when it is obvious they only use one most of the time. The worst part is that, most of these people have no idea what their expensive smart phones can do except make calls, send sms and visit a few websites. 

These days, even fruits have become extremely expensive. You cannot hear apple and blackberry without panicking. Gone are the days when these fruits were just simple delicacies. My dear, if you do not need a gadget, do not buy it. Better still, if one phone can do all you want to do, why buy two more?

My dear, one very important issue too is the damaging habit of impulse buying. I am sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. This phenomenon is so dangerous that, many find themselves in chronic debt because they simply cannot control their buying habits. Shop owners and traders, understand this natural tendency to desire what one sees, and hence their job is to take your money from you whether you have planned to spend it or not. The essence of financial discipline is to equip you to keep your money. So I advise you to develop the habit of making a budget anytime you go out to shop and sticking religiously to that budget. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

Finally, about your request to meet me, I am sure eventually we will meet. You have refused to tell me any more about yourself, nationality or even complexion, but I am a very patient young man. I feel I already know you, so I will just content myself with your beautiful words and my own very active and animated imaginations. My dear, do take care of yourself and be financially disciplined. I am working hard towards my own financial security too. Waiting to hear from you once again, and so till then, be good.

Your husband to be

Paa Kofi.

Charlie Chaplin, have some fun.

letters to my future wife part 3

My dear,

How are you feeling today? Ahh I can feel your smile right now and it sends tingles down my spine every time I imagine it. You are truly the oil that lubricates the mechanical parts of my heart. My dear, it is amazing the number of people who are asking me about you and why I seem to be completely captivated by your love. All I know and tell them is that, Oboade3 just took my rib and made you, so as soon as he told me about you I knew I have found the one. , I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that you feel exactly the same way and therefore let us work out our love with all commitment, passion and dedication as partners living and fulfilling our destinies. My dear, they also keep asking of your name, nationality and complexion, but since you have pleaded with me to keep it a secret, I am gladly carrying out your request with all my heart. I know in the time of times and the appointed time, you will introduce yourself to them. Sweetness, just as I promised, I have your poem ready. Here it goes,

I call you my African queen

Your beauty is timeless,

Your skin is fadeless,

Your lips drips sweetness

Your wisdom is ageless

and your heart is priceless...

You have a soul of gold

like the saints of old

Your skin is like polished brass

You are in your own class

Classic like jazz

Your eyes shimmer like moonlight in a stream

Mesmerizing, like a sweet dream

Cool, calm and precise

Intelligent, kind and concise

Your smile is like the sun

Radiant, splendid, like a master plan

Your face is shaped like an almond

Your nose set, like a diamond

Your laughter is like many waters

It flows and blossoms like pretty flowers

Your confidence is overwhelming

Your intelligence is compelling

Your manner is compassion

Your advice demands reflection

Many have sought to win your affection

But you still remain pure, without distraction

You are my heartbeat

With you, I am never off beat

I will hold on to you

 Because this love of ours is true

Many people have no clue

But we know, so we are cool

They sometimes call me a fool

But I only use that as a tool

You are my sweetness

My one and only.

I hope you enjoy reading it, nearly as much as I enjoyed writing it. Be safe and expect my third letter.

Your future husband

 Paa Kofi