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The most frequently asked question is also the most logical. What do I do for money? Any one moving clear across the globe has to give much thought to how they will continue to sustain their living expenses. In a world where you pay to breath, life would be short without an income. There a several viable enterprises that are generally suited for repatriates. That is, we make use of skills, knowledge and/or connections that we would otherwise take for granted. Tourism is the latest booming industry in Ghana. It has grown exponentially in the last 10 years, with the vast majority of tourists being Africans born in the Diaspora. We presently account for greater than 70% of existing tourists to Ghana. This lends opportunity to two areas of concentration, the first being Tours. Tours that help first time travelers to make that first crossing is widely needed. It is a natural tendency to fear the unknown and it has been a deterrent to many hopefuls. For those of you that have come and gone, you know just how much you were flogged for information and directives. If by your third trip, you organized a tour to include 10-15 other people, with ample planning and a package that offers both the excitement and security desired by most travelers, you can expect a positive response. The main benefit to this plan is that you can arrange discounted deals with the airlines that will allow you an average of 1 free ticket per 10-12 persons. That is a savings/earnings of no less than $1,200, when added to the associated fees normally charged for the service, one can net an average of $2,000. The objective is to get paid for doing what you have to do anyway and to make use of your easy access to Ghana’s most sought after market. Once you enter the tourism sector, you will find the next most important component is accommodations. Guest Homes are usually only extended personal living quarters. Many people have built before coming and left homes in the hands of caretakers. On the other hand, many have built mansions they could not live in for lack of a means to sustain their cost of living. I propose building moderate, with at least 1-2 guest rooms, in a location easily accessible or regularly frequented my tourists. This project will provide a flow of hard currency and will rely, initially, on your existing friends and family. (You may not know too many people trying to leave now, but as with everyone who lives here, that list just grows.) Export is the next most logical enterprise on the list. We, who have been exposed to the consumer’s capital of the world, we know the value of things undervalued and we can pin point several outlets from our old stomping grounds. Ghana’s wealth is immeasurable. There are numerous, non-traditional exportable products that can be packaged to a finish and exported for a profit. All too often, our products are shipped out in bulk, at rock bottom prices and repurchased at high premiums, in fancy containers. I encourage ones to add value to Ghanaian goods by packaging as we would be expected to anywhere in the world and exporting directly to the Mom-and-Pop stores that are ready to retail them to the consuming public. This endeavor should begin on your first trip. Most people that live here fund their travel expenses with a bag of goodies that they are able to fence on the other side. Your product should obviously be unique and light. The lighter the product, the more you can carry or ship, without attracting heavy weight expenses. A short list of practical items include clothing, cloth, paintings on canvas, black soap, shea butter, honey, molasses, gold, etc., etc. Another plus to this endeavor is that Ghana’s Promotion and Invest Center requires no minimum investment to any prospective exporter. As an investor into the country, every other area of business requires a minimum investment of $10,000 in cash or kind. Not so for exporters. However, you may have to run your finished product by Ghana Standards Board, which could cost between $300-$500 annually, for their certificate. Agriculture is the largest most demanded industry in Africa. In spite of this, farmers cry broke. Thanks to wicked subsidies and counterproductive trade policies, employed by the same U.S., who has U.S.AID workers all over, giving handouts. For decades now, Africans have been fleeing the fields in colossal numbers, with dreams of becoming rich in the burgeoning cities, or with more modest aspirations in the mines. Both due to abandonment and hostile takeovers, much of southern Africa’s arable land was conquered by the Europeans. In such places, our brothers are just beginning to realize the true value of the land, but right here in Ghana, huge tracts of land go unused, for lack of skill, machinery and/or market in which to sell its yield. The president of neighboring Nigeria actually invited those white farmers that were ejected under the Honorable Robert Mugabe. Land is no problem in West Africa and if we don’t make use of it, by all means, they will! I implore those with the know-how and the wherewithal to delve into farming. Choose your crops wisely and secure advance contracts with the Farmer’s Markets of the world. There is also an opportunity to introduce higher processes of cultivation, as basic as organic farming. Presently no crops coming out of Ghana are certified organic. Education tops the list, even though I saw fit to stick it at the bottom. It requires an existing skill and substantial knowledge, thereabout, which may exclude many of us from endeavoring, however the need demands our attention. Though schools abound, 95% are an extension of some missionary’s church or other charitable colonial, thus reflecting the interests of the imperials and rearing our children to become manageable workers. Those with the expertise must apply themselves in this area. From a teacher’s stand point, education seems to be a altruistic undertaking, but from the founder’s stand point, it is the kind of investment that will benefit your children’s grandchildren. Unbeknownst to many, schools actually generate very attractive fees, once off the ground. The initial start can be cash intensive, but not cost prohibitive. With proper planning and structure, schools would be the wisest investment. The key to the success of any business we decide to venture in Africa, is that we rid ourselves of capitalist ways of thinking. It’s already burning and has no place in the New World, our New World. Though you will find it a great challenge to go through the many parasites that you meet on your way in, you will soon realize you can’t seriously make any progress without the cooperation of those around you. Select brethren have been assigned to each of us, by the Most High, to lead us to the doors for which we hold the keys. Only when that connection is made do we realize our full potential. To secure it, we must only make sure that all those who helped us, go up with us, simple.
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