Starting a business can be quite challenging as it requires a tough mind-set and clear vision in order to succeed. In this edition, we highlight the stories of three young Ghanaian entrepreneurs who have trodden slippery roads to establish viable ventures.

They are Ms. Ruby Buah, the Founder of Kua Designs and Kua Kids, Mr. Kevin Okyere, Founder & C.E.O of Springfield Energy, as well as Kimberley and Priscilla Addison, Founders of ’57 Chocolate brand.

Ruby Buah

In 2009, she transitioned from working as a Financial Analyst to start her fashion business. She worked at Coca Cola Enterprises in Atlanta, Georgia, before looking for a creative outlet and began experimenting with various types of art in her leisure time.

What began as a pastime in jewellery-making swiftly grew into a company. She moved to New York three years after starting her part-time jewellery company to get a degree in Jewellery Design at the famed Fashion Institute of Technology.

Unsurprisingly, she expanded her jewellery range by adding an equally exciting handbag line. After a few years of running her elegant store in Ghana, she expanded it further in 2015 by introducing a children’s brand.

Ruby says “she makes an effort to appreciate the less glamorous aspects of her profession as much as she treasures the finished items that line the shelves of her luxury store in Accra.”

The brand name ‘Kua’ has a dual meaning: It is Ruby’s mother’s name and also means “Keeping us Authentic”. The name, according to her, “is most appropriate for her collection which incorporate authentic gemstones and original African fabrics straight from Ghana.”

Kevin Okyere

The CEO and philanthropist displayed entrepreneurial potentials at a very young age. By the time he was 11, he was already selling iced water to football supporters at the Kumasi Sports Stadium to make extra pocket money.

During his family’s annual summer vacation trips to London, he would take on jobs with textile companies in the U.K. After completing his High School education in Ghana, he proceeded to the United States where he studied Accounting at George Mason University in Virginia. While studying, he took several jobs at varying points.

He moved backed to Ghana in 2004 and joined his elder sister in her business to understand how the country worked. A year after working for his sister, he put together a small team of investors and established Westland Alliance Ltd, a telecoms company that provided international call routing services for AT&T and several international calling card companies.

The company was extremely successful, but it was not long before he got tired of the telecoms business and decided to opt-out.

Later, he started working with a business acquaintance who supplied crude oil and condensates to the Tema refinery. As he interacted frequently with this associate, he learned that there was a shortfall of storage facilities for petroleum products in Tema.

Flush with cash from his telecom adventures, he acquired land and began building a storage tank farm in Tema, close to the refinery. This marked the genesis of Springfield Energy’s flagship trading business.

“Unlike in the U.S, Ghana was virgin territory for a lot of businesses. There were too many opportunities to explore in Ghana and I knew I could be more successful home than abroad. I knew I wanted to run my own business, but I wasn’t even sure of what I was going to do,” he told Forbes in 2018.

Kimberley & Priscilla Addison

Starting a bean-to-bar chocolate business in Ghana was not the sisters’ original career trajectory.

Kimberly studied French and International Relations with a concentration in social justice at Boston College while Priscilla majored in French and International Development, with focus on food security, at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania.

Both were interested in non-profit sectors addressing women’s education, human trafficking, value chains and agriculture. But a visit to one of Switzerland’s largest chocolate factories inspired their venture into confectionery.

Once they returned to Ghana, they started by roasting raw cacao with a standard kitchen oven in their home. They took courses on chocolate making and confections and trained with people in the field and did lot of research and reading about the industry.

They developed their chocolate recipes through trial and error and received feedback from family, friends, and visitors who worked within and outside of the chocolate industry, while seeking advice from people who worked in the industry.

The Chocolate was first launched in 2016 with five signature flavours: 73 per cent dark chocolate, 55 per cent milk, white, mocha latte (coffee flavour) and bissap (hibiscus flavour). The company name ’57 is short for 1957, the year of Ghana’s independence.

“57 is about patriotism and sparking the entrepreneurial spirit among the Ghanaian youth and using unique Ghanaian symbols.

“Over the long-term, we aim to create an African chocolate brand that is known world-wide, but most importantly one that surpasses our lifetime. We are working towards having our chocolate sold across the continent of Africa and around the globe.

“We hope for our chocolate to continue to reflect and build upon the unique traditions and culture that make us call Ghana and Africa at large home! We hope that ‘57 Chocolate inspires people from Ghana, and across the continent especially the youth, to create, develop, and consume made in Africa products of premium value,” the sisters noted.

By Spectator Reporter