Accra, Day 1: Lessons from Ghana.
Monday, May 7 2017.
It's almost midnight and I'm so bowled over by the day that I can't stop writing, but I also need to sleep (!).... sharing some very rough observations from my first day here...
Today I saw first hand and really learned how so many walks of life operating in such different environments can have such similar experiences as women working in the world...
This trip I am on brings together women from around the world: entrepreneurs and bankers living and working here in Accra and women working at asset owners, development banks, and corporate finance in the US and Europe.... and it turns out: we are all hard on ourselves. We are all impatient. We all struggle to balance our ambitions to be the “perfect” wife/mother/sister/daughter/friend and the “best” we can be in our jobs. We all judge: ourselves, mostly, and each other. We all worry, sometimes about nothing at all. We all work hard. We all love. We all want to learn and improve. We all build. We all take it personally. We all connect with other women. We all need support, strong partners, and our families around us to be the women we want to be.
Today I learned about operating a business in Accra, about raising a family and building a support network, and about the challenges and opportunities unique to the environment, the culture and the history here.
- Capital is hard to come by. The exchange rate for the local currency Cides is volatile.
- The economy relies heavily on importing goods, prices for raw materials can fluctuate, another variable to manage around when pricing products, engaging customers, and managing the business.
- Businesses need capital to grow; banks are constrained by many factors, including exchange rate and portfolio lending limits
- Banks are not always fully trusted by the business community; they can be perceived as rigid and focused on their targets. Entrepreneurs can be viewed as “flashy” and indifferent.
- The “corporate” culture is demanding: one must be “seen” and be always available; there is not a “24/7” availability remotely as in other cultures, or an acceptance of working remotely
- Solar energy is a cheaper source than traditional (and not always reliable) energy from the system here
I had the chance to join a family for dinner; Emelia, a CEO of a subsidiary within a family business whose flagship product is local favorite Alomo Bitters, hosted us. We had jollof, tilapia, spicy roasted chicken, pork, fried rice, mashed potatoes, and local Ghanian cuisine called "banku" which is made of corn and cassava and eaten with your hands along with pepper sauce, and of course: bitters and other cocktails! We discussed everything from the drinking behaviors in Ghana to boarding school and university across cultures, to parenting, to competition in Nigeria, to the complexities of getting a license to operate in the US, to flexibility for working moms, to "face time" at work to our various responsibilities in our jobs to nannies and kid activities! The story of Amelia's family business is a fascinating one I will aim to tell over the week...
I learned and observed and took in so much more than I can process right now, more to come!
Very humbled and grateful,
Mags
