Story by Fada Amakye
A Ghanaian businessman and philanthropist has opened up about how political hostility and regulatory decisions collapsed his companies over eight years, warning that local entrepreneurs risk becoming “collateral damage” when state power is applied unfairly.
In a personal account titled _What 8yrs in the wilderness taught me about business in Ghana_, he traced his rise from selling rice, sugar, and cooking oil in Accra’s Nima Market to building investments in media, finance, education, manufacturing, and services. “I offloaded rice, helped manual trucks cart them to market women traders, and also acted as accountant, driver and CEO all put together,” he wrote.
That momentum, he said, was broken between 2017 and 2024. “Growth was grounded and existing operations weakened and we were forced to switch from momentum to survival,” he said, describing it as watching “years of disciplined effort, sweat and dreams break under forces that were sudden but overwhelming.”
:Class FM fire: He recalled a fire that destroyed Class FM, which hosted multiple stations and dozens of jobs. “It was an attempt to incinerate a voice and its trust,” he said.
:Court battles: “For almost eight years, my life was reduced to the courtroom. From Monday to Friday, I reported to court from 8 a.m. until sunset, under constant threat of warrants if I faltered.”
*- Heritage Bank collapse*: He called the Bank of Ghana’s revocation of Heritage Bank’s licence “perhaps the most significant” blow, insisting the bank was solvent and chaired by the late Prof. Kwesi Botchwey. “Meanwhile, other indigenous banks in distress were supported finally to stand alone or guided to merge,” he noted.
The BoG’s “not fit and proper” tag, he said, had sweeping effects. “Banks immediately closed my personal and corporate accounts, effectively locking me out of the formal financial system. Company registrations were blocked. In official circles, I was increasingly portrayed not as an entrepreneur in distress, but as a risk.”
He said Heritage’s assets, including branches refurbished with millions of cedis, were auctioned and abandoned. “Some of those buildings remain vacant and deteriorating to this day, serving as silent monuments to how politics destroys value rather than preserving it.”
:Lessons learned: The businessman said he learned that “legality and compliance alone do not guarantee protection” and that “for indigenous businesses, rules may exist but their application can be selective.” His advice to young entrepreneurs: “Build with resilience, not bravado. Document everything and prepare emotionally for reversals.”
To politicians, he added: “Business has no party colors. When companies collapse, families face the high possibility of life without a decent meal, lifesaving drugs and relevant education for kids.”
He stressed the account was “not written in anger” but as a reminder that “business confidence is fragile.” Indigenous enterprise, he said, “should not become collateral damage in the exercise of authority.”
“Fortunately, I am still standing, believing in Ghana and hoping to pick up the pieces,” he concluded.
