Lions led by sheep…!

Ekow Mensah on Entrepreneurship

Its sickening the way politicians find a way to politicize everything. It’s sad how they forget to be leaders but rather set themselves up like robots ready to engage in battle of words and supremacy. Until we learn to be discerning and wise, setting our priorities right, taking responsibility, being accountable and addressing issues dispassionately…this dear country of ours will be but without the hope of making it anywhere great.

With faith, some of us will make it no matter the deplorable state of Ghana’s economy but it’s truly not all about us. Majority of Ghanaians are going through tough times, businesses especially small businesses are struggling, entrepreneurs are desperate, students are clueless, the youth are getting agitated, parents are getting frustrated, girls are being exploited, workers are disheartened…Ghana, my motherland, a land of Gold, Silver, Diamond, Oil, Cocoa, Land, Water, Passion, Freedom, Love, Hospitality (mostly to strangers and foreigners though). Ghana, a country with so much water, yet its citizens are dying of thirst. Ghana, a country with so much food, yet its citizens are dying of hunger…it’s sad.

My name is Ekow Mensah and I am a proud Ghanaian. I am a lion and even though I feel I am being led by sheep, I shall do my very best to give hope to the other lions following me, to ensure that in my own big way I will leave my corner of Ghana & indeed Africa far better than I met it. To my fellow lions, find your path and dominate it. Politicians may choose to always be politicians and work just to win vote and secure their next opportunity to serve themselves but you have what it takes to be Africa’s next Economic Giant and they will come seeking your wisdom, direction and support. The era of “POLIPRENEURS” is drawing near and be sure to catch the train. Remember Proverbs 29:2 – “When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan”. I rest my case but not my purpose.

 

GhanaGives – Raising Funds to Support Young Social Entrepreneurs in Ghana

Having a Good Heart and a Passion to do ‘something’ to positively affect the lives of many and to give hope to the less privileged is not easy. It’s even harder when you are young and you are ‘forced’ to abandon your passion in order to work to survive.

Many young social entrepreneurs in Ghana are struggling daily to live their dreams and to support humanity the best way possible despite the lack of assistance and the intense presence of heartbreaking challenges. Indeed, being a ‘full time’ young social entrepreneur is nearly impossible despite the priceless contribution they make in wiping the tears of the underprivileged and making life better for the abandoned.

GhanaGives is an initiative of CAYSEP…https://www.facebook.com/caysep to raise funds to support social entrepreneurs and humanitarian projects especially by the youth in Ghana. CAYSEP seeks by this initiative to bring hope to those who give hope to many daily and to make it easier for especially young people to concentrate on making Ghana and the world at large a better place to live in.

Support GhanaGives today by making a kind donation of any amount or send to us something you hardly use anymore which can bring a smile to someone today. Call 0203-918142 or send an email to info@ghanagives.org to express your interest.

Thank you for your support and stay blessed!

GhanaGives….https://www.facebook.com/pages/GhanaGives/268324793241152?sk=wall

 

Ghana Start-Up Capital Fund

The African Network Of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) is a limited by guarantee organization that seeks among other things to assist African entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses. TANOE serves as a hub of hope for entrepreneurs who desire to live their dreams and are passionate about gaining the requisite knowledge to better position them to move ahead of their competitors and build sustainable businesses

Ghana Start-Up Capital Fund is an initiative by TANOE to meet the need and demand for support and resources to create an enabling environment for entrepreneurs and people with innovative ideas to be able to grow them into dynamic businesses. This will greatly contribute to the development and capacities building of the youth, reduce unemployment, increase entrepreneurial activity and promote entrepreneurship as a viable career option.

We seek to mobilize funds from all entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs, individuals and groups who are interested in supporting the creation of a hub of hope for entrepreneurs, dreamers and inventors in Ghana.

As much we recognize the high risk involved in funding and investing in start-ups, we believe that with the necessary training and a little financial push, Ghana would experience the most tremendous boost in entrepreneurship with its resultant massive growth in the private sector which is the engine of growth for the economy.

2.1 Objectives of Fund:
The GSC Fund seeks to meet the following objectives:
2.1.1 To create an enabling environment for the massive growth of entrepreneurs and the actualization of innovative ideas and sustainability of start-up businesses through the provision of needed resources and support.
2.1.2 To build the skills and capacity of the youth in Ghana
2.1.3 To contribute to Nation Building and Economic Development
2.1.4 To help eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by reducing unemployment especially among the youth in Ghana (MDG 1)
2.1.5 Support and empower women to build global entrepreneurial businesses thereby promoting gender equality (MDG 3)
2.1.6 To develop global partnerships to ensure the sustainably of the Fund and the continuous fulfillment of the fund’s vision, objectives and functions (MDG 5)
2.1.7 In influence, challenge and advocate for favorable policies to ensure the sustainability and global competitiveness of Ghanaian entrepreneurs.

2.2 Functions of Fund:
The GSC Fund will be used for the following purposes:
2.2.1 Equity investment in entrepreneurial start-up businesses and economically viable and innovative ideas
2.2.2 Establishment of micro-finance schemes to provide small and soft loans and financial literacy training to entrepreneurs
2.2.3 Investment in Entrepreneurship Research, Awareness Creation and Development
2.2.4 Investment in Assets and Entrepreneurial Resources
2.2.5 Establishing and financially supporting Business Support and Start-Up Advisory and Coaching Centres
2.2.6 Establishing and financially supporting skills development and capacity building centres
2.2.7 Continuous Fund raising activities, supporting TANOE programs and initiatives and operation of GSC Fund.

 

Harnessing the Power of Synergy

by Christian on May 27, 2011

Synergy can be defined as the energy that is created when parts or processes work harmoniously together as a whole. When you think about it, that is the perfect definition of a joint venture as well!

When two businesses come together with the sole intention of boosting the bottom lines of both, synergy really can occur. We’ll take a look at the synergy of joint ventures in this article to inspire you to the many heights these partnerships can achieve.

Synergy in Business

When two companies come together for the purpose of creating a higher performance level together than they can achieve separately, that is synergy in the business world.

To demonstrate this concept, let’s take a look at a math problem involving horses. When two horses are able to pull 9,000 pounds together, how much can four horses pull? If you said 18,000 pounds, you would be incorrect. Four horses working together in synergy can actually pull as much as 30,000 pounds.

Now consider your business. Let’s say you have a current customer list of 5,000. You partner up with another company that has a customer list of 10,000. While the short response will be that you expand your customer list to 15,000, consider word-of-mouth recommendations, additional marketing and the advantage of business endorsements from your joint venture partner. Instead of an increase to 15,000, your new customer base might be exponentially higher simply because of the synergy created by the strategic alliance between your two businesses!

Finding Synergy in Your Joint Venture

To assure synergy in your own joint venture endeavors, you must focus on three key factors:

Vision – You and your joint venture partner should combine strategies and opportunities to make the most of your partnership. The visions you have for your separate businesses become that much more powerful when they are combined into a single joint venture.

Creativity – When you combine creative efforts, you inspire one another to achieve well beyond your initial goals for your business. This takes your vision to a whole new level by finding paths to make that vision a reality.

Execution – The practical element of synergy, execution actually involves putting the vision and creativity into action. Execution combines your talents and resources to achieve the highest possible goal for the least amount risk. Execution requires teamwork – both from the joint venture standpoint and within each individual staff – to achieve the goals you set for your companies.

Synergy is not something that happens randomly; it involves preparation and communication to bring synergy into a joint venture. Before you and your joint venture partner sign on the bottom line, it is important to discuss your vision, goals and resources for your joint venture to ensure you are both on the same page and will be working together for a common purpose.

Synergy combines energy, power and resources to create something much bigger than either individual can do alone. In the case of a joint venture, synergy provides the necessary force to take your marketing to the next level so you can build an effective customer list, increase the quantity and quality of your sales and significantly boost your bottom line.

 

The Need for the Formation of Productive Synergies in the Creation of an enabling environment for Entrepreneurship Development by Ekow Mensah

By: Ekow Mensah: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ekow-Mensah-Entrepreneurial-Minded/152289474845005

It is disheartening indeed that the moment you decide to defy the status quo and be unique, being an entrepreneur instead of looking for a well-paying job; the odds seem to turn on you and the joy of being innovative and seeing your vision being transformed into reality through your products and services, seems to diminish. The life of fulfillment that comes with being an entrepreneur or an innovator seems to turn into a life of struggle, immense difficulties and survival. Indeed, nobody said it will be easy but does it have to be so ‘damn hard’ especially in Ghana, a country that seems to be blessed with everything but strained with massive lack in resources to promote innovation and entrepreneurship!

Of course the government is doing what it believes will help and most importantly gain them political points, so most of their interventions, as they call it, are tailored to meet the ‘needs’ of the indigenous masses who by the way, work just to put food on the table and really are not too much concerned with innovation, international standards and going global with their crafts. As needful as these interventions may be, they still lack the elements worthy of putting Ghana on the global economic map. Initiatives such as the Ghana Venture Capital Fund, whose operation is not too different from the banks now, with back-breaking requirements and unbearably long waiting times for funds, make it impossible for young, talented, passionate, innovative and educated individuals and groups to access the funds. So, obviously, we can not depend on the government alone to ease the burden of entrepreneurship and innovation.

The way forward I believe, is the formation of formidable and productive networks. I don’t know why but i guess it’s a human thing or particularly a ‘black’ thing. We never work together, never! We all prefer to work in our own small corners, doing our own small things and as most people put it ‘minding our own business’. That wouldn’t even be a problem if we were minding our own businesses but we get caught up in being copy-cats and imitators and eventually mess up great initiatives. Predecessors; our mentors and role models feel threatened by our innovation, passion and speed and secretly and even openly shamelessly sabotage us…it’s sad.

Henry Ford once said “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” Evidently success in entrepreneurship lies in building productive synergies and instead of talking and complaining, we should come together, each with their skills sets and resources to create that enabling environment we so much desire in Ghana. In Genesis 11:6 (on the tower of Babel), God said “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.” (NIV) God realizes that when people are unified in purpose they can accomplish impossible feats…it’s time to come together to build our destinies…join us make the GHANA START-UP CAPITAL FUND a reality and a tremendous success… http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_185907504791286