APRIL 2020 FORBES AFRICA| 57FORBESAFRICA
ENTREPRENEURS• NANA KWAME BEDIAKOFORBESAFRICA.COMIf youbuilda
companyanddoit
well,youcanmake
a lotof money.
ThenGodtoldme
to come to Africa.becomea petrochemicalclusterinAfrica.Theproject,oncecompleted,
willbea 2,000-acrecitydevelopmentprojectthatwillprovidethe
firstfully-integratedbusinesshubforWestAfrica’soil,gasandmining
industries,accordingtothe40-year-oldentrepreneur.
“Tosecuretheland,I hadtoconvince 60 families,sixchiefsand
threesub-divisionchiefstoembracemyvision,”recallsBediako.
Featsliketheseandotherremarkablelandmarkprojectshavemade
hima householdnameinGhana.ButevenwhileBediakobecamea
nametoreckonwithinthecountry,it hasn’tbeensmoothsailingall
theway.A mixoffactorssuchasluckandambitionhaspavedtheway
forBediakotosucceed.Aboveallelse,hecreditsthatinnervoice,for
helpinghimidentifytherightmovestomake.
A voicehefirstheardinKumasi,a suburbofGhana,located300km
fromAccra.“Mymotherwasbrokeandpennilessbutmyfatherhad
money.Oneday,hegavebothmybrotherandI moneyandI toldmy
brothernottospendit anduseit tohelpmymum.ThenextthingI saw,
hehadgoneouttobuybreadandeggs,whichwasa luxuryatthetime,
withhismoney.I wasveryangrywithhim,”saysBediako.
Hisangerathisbrotherquicklyturnedintoa hungertomake
money.Hedecidedhewouldbuya henandcockwithhismoneyand
starta poultrybusinesstohelphismother.
Verysoon,thebusinesswasproducingover 200 eggsa month.
Thencamethesecondinstructionheheard.
“MyfatherwasextremelyrichandmymotherwasbrokesoI
hearda voiceagainthatsaidI shouldpursuemyfathertogeta better
education.So,I movedtoAccraandstartedgoingtosecondaryschool
beforeI wenttoLondontoattendWalthamForestCollege,”says
Bediako.
Ashegrewolderandsucceededinhisventures,Bediakobegan
tocreditthatvoiceto‘God’.Oneofthosedirectionsledtohimselling
clothesfromthebackofhiscarincollegeandturninga tidyprofitin
theprocess.
“IwassellingVersacejeansandYSLshirtswhichwerefakeand
I wasbuyingthemfroma guycalledJohnwhousedtobringthem
fromChina.Thewholeschoolwasbuyingfrommeandthat’swhereI
startedmakingmyendsmeetandboughtmyfirstcarbytheageof16.”
Anothermomentofcrisiswouldproveinstrumentalincreatingreal
wealthforBediako.
“Theyclampedmycarincollegethreetimes.Thefirstandsecond
timeI paid£45andbythethirdtime,I wasangryandI thought
thesecuritywastakingadvantageofme.So,I loosenedthetireand
removedtheclampoutofthetireandoutofanger,I tooktheclamp
withmeandputit inthebootofmycar.Atthattime,I hada white
friendcalledPeterSmithwhowasa locksmithand he offered me £65
fortheclamp.”
ThatwastheEurekamomentforBediako.
Thescrapmetalindustryremainsa vitalsectorfortheUKeconomy.
It is estimatedthatabout 10 milliontonnesofscrapmetalis recycledin
Britaineveryyear.Accordingtoa reportpublishedbymetalrecycling
specialists,MaxileadMetals,theUKscrapmetalindustryis worthan
estimated£5billion.
“So, I thought if I could get a clamp, I get £65 but then later on I
realizedI neededthesteelitself,nottheclamp.
I startedbuyingscrapfromscavengersand
crushingthemandturningthemintothesteel
yardandsellingit,”saysBediako.
Anideatodayis a fortunetomorrow.
BediakodroppedoutofWestminsterbecause
hefelthehadnothingmoretolearnabout
business.Theyoungbloodserialentrepreneur
movedswiftlyfromsellingscrapmetalintothe
telecommunicationssectorwithhisnextbusiness
idea,GlobalTelecommunicationsandUtilities
(GTU).Fortunewassoontofollow.Theyearwas
1999 andtheinternet,whichwaswidelyknown
astheGlobalMarketatthetime,wasstill in its
bubblestage.
Bediakocreateda companythat
billedpeoplewhentheywentonline
tocarryouttransactions.Helpedby
the dotcom sensation, an Indian
investorsoon approached him to
buyhiscompanyfor£327,000.
“Mylawyertoldmetorefusethe
offerandtheinvestorcame back
with £410,000which I tookand
thenjustaddedit tomysavingsand
itshotup.That’showI mademy
firstmillionpoundsandit inspired
metogoahead.I realizedthatif
youbuilda companyanddoit well,
youcanmakea lotofmoney.ThenGodtoldmeto
cometoAfrica.”
Thatfinalinstructionis whathasmadeBediako
thepropertytycoonheis today.Hisrapidgrowth
and success is based on one simple principle,
maximization.
“Fromthebeginning,whenI gotmyfirst
land,somethingtoldme‘whydon’tyoubuildtwo
housesononeplotinsteadofonehouseonone
plot’?I hadfourplotsofland.So,whenI didthat,
eventually’I builteighthousesononeplotinstead
offourhousesandsubsequentlysoldthemand
that’sthesecretofmybusiness.”
Today’hiscompanyeasilybuildsabout 108
apartmentson1,500sqmofland.Hispassion
is tofreethemindsetofAfricanentrepreneurs
fromtheirlimitingbeliefsinordertostrivefor
excellence.Afterconqueringthepropertysector
inGhana,Bediakohashiseyesfirmlyseton
Hollywoodwherealongwithhisnewmoniker,
FreedomJacobCeasar,hehopestoshow
America’sA-listers,thatAfrica is the next bastion
of economic development.