21 minutes with KKB

Sydney Scott Sam is of the view that although entrepreneurship is the big thing to move Africa to where it needs to get, branding is the vehicle to drive the agenda.Sydney Scott Sam is a renowned leader in Africa’s brand marketing space. Young Scott Sam is leading a mission to help one million African entrepreneurs build a strong brand.Through the online platform, Workspace Global, Sydney and his team have built the go-to brand-services marketplace that connects hundreds of African businesses to remote creative talent across the continent.Listen to the full interview with Sydney Sam on the business edition of #21minuteswithkkb here.

He has styled celebrities and artists in UK and US produced movies and series such as Treadstone, popular Nigerian series, Tinsel and a host of others. From styling the wives of Heads of States to working with the Africa Union and an endless list of celebrities in Ghana and Nigeria, Stickz is redefining the game in otherwise unfamiliar territory for a gender like his. Today, Adetola Adesegun Babatunde (Stickz) is not only a celebrity hairstylist managing @stickzbeautyplug. He has also gone into the production of hair products, set up a training hub for young people and consulting for startups.Listen to the full story of Stickz on The Business Edition of 21 minutes with KKB #21minuteswithkkb #stickzbeautyplug #stickz

Dr Maureen Acquaye is a specialized Physician Anesthesiologist who sometimes plays the role of a General Practitioner in the United States of America helping save countless lives in the in level one trauma centers where she works in several hospitals across the United States.A fulfilling mandate, she says of her chosen profession, except there remains a void which is to be filled, that is how BENYIMA FARMS came into existence.The creation of jobs as a way of saving lives and livelihoods in her home country, Ghana.And so the story begins.Years on and Dr Maureen Acquaye’s Benyima farms now employs several hundreds of indigenes on a piece of land covering over 250 acres of tree crops.From Mango to pineapple, coconut etc, Benyima farms is looking to not just produce raw materials but also through its processing plant in North Legon in Accra, process fresh, health centered products for consumption and export.

In 2013, the harsh economic conditions of the country would push a section of Ghanaians who would ordinarily be focused on running their business to form a ‘cult’ with a simple agenda, “campaign for change”.The movement saw the middle class of the country’s populace take a stance against what they termed bad governance at the time.Tonyi was one of such persons who took that stance and went on a demonstration which would send a clear signal to the leadership of the country that it was indeed time for change, except, few months to that protest, Tonyi and his Horseman Shoes brand had received an endorsement from then President, John Dramani Mahama – an endorsement money could not pay for.Seven years on, and Tonyi Senayah is living in regret. Regret for taking part in a movement that some say, got John Mahama to suffer the worst electoral defeat any sitting President has ever suffered. His principle was solid – campaign for a better Ghana, but in the end, Tonyi is bitter about the ‘changed’ Ghana he now lives in.

He was young and smart. So smart that he saw a business opportunity when friends continuously complimented him on how good his feet looked anytime they met.To them, he wore good quality custom made shoes from Italy. The truth, they were the handiwork of Master Effah whose rickety shop was only a few meters away from where Tonyi lived during his National Service days.Tonyi would tell his friends that the shoes were made locally in Ghana, and these friends, the doubting thomases they were, would sometimes place orders with him to get some of these shoes in order to satisfy their curiosity, of course, to also look good and receive compliments from their colleagues as well.This would go on for some time until one friend of Tonyi who worked at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) also placed an order for a shoe. When the order was met and this friend wore the shoe to work, Tonyi would then realise a real business opportunity.

For four years, Gwen sold hair from the trunk of her car during lunch breaks to colleagues at the bank. On weekends, she would move to salons and attend to referrals she may have gotten in the course of the week.Today, she’s the Chief Executive Officer for The Hair Senta, a Luxury Human Hair company focusing primarily on providing luxury hair extensions on both retail and wholesale level to clients all over the world.

She’s the daughter of a Captain. Not just any Captain but one who bossed affairs in both the military and corporate world – Prince Kofi Amoabeng, the man described by many as the key architect of transformational banking in the West African country, Ghana.For a girl who grew up not knowing exactly what she wanted to do in life, it was easier walking in her father’s steps but a sore lip would one day change all that.

It was his dream to secure a prestigious job at one of the leading banks in Ghana and an education from a top tier secondary school in the country – Achimota School, as well as further studies at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom was enough to put him on the right track to achieving greatness in the field of banking.But 12 months into securing such a job and living his dream as a member of the ‘white-collar family’, John Nana Addo Francois quit. His reason? A lack of fulfilment.With no knowledge whatsoever in farming, interest was enough to get the ball rolling for the 31-year-old Akora who now produces Africa’s finest premium coffee and is exporting to several countries on the continent and in the United States of America.

From the humble streets of Asamankese in the Eastern region of Ghana, not many would have predicted that George (Jorge) Appiah will one day grow to become a colossus in engineering in Africa to the extent of creating significant change not only in the lives of family members, but also several others through job creation. The story of the technopreneur, as he chooses to call himself, is one of determination, perseverance and hope. After enduring several years of hardship, including a lack of access to electricity for a significant part of his childhood, Jorge decided to pursue a career in engineering, all in a bid to provide electricity for his grandmother.