Author name: Dr Maxwell Ampong

We often discuss attracting investment into rural areas, focusing on agriculture, infrastructure, and essential services. Usually, the conversation revolves around how to draw in urban or foreign capital. Yet, after years working across agriculture, finance, technology, and community empowerment, I found a compelling alternative while writing my last article: What if the village itself was the investor? It’s a practical challenge to the prevailing narrative. A brain-scratcher. I hope to compel us to rethink capital, community participation, and rural agency fundamentally. The Origin of This Question Through my extensive interactions with farmers, traders, processors, local cooperatives, investors, and policymakers, it has become increasingly evident that rural communities often receive minimal benefit despite their vital role in value creation. The pattern remains consistent: villagers bear the risk, supply the labour, and contribute the land, yet they see little financial reward. Why should value always flow towards urban centres while risk remains rooted in rural communities? Perhaps villages possess more hidden economic strength than traditionally acknowledged. It is essential that we explore this untapped potential, recognising villagers not just as recipients but as architects of their economic futures. Reframing the Conversation The dialogue should move from “Who owns the village economy?”, the subject of my previous article, to “What does the village economy own?” This reframing transforms rural residents from passive recipients of aid to active stakeholders. It redefines charitable support as sustainable investment and shifts marginalisation towards strategic economic importance. Imagine if villagers pooled resources through cooperatives and community trusts, investing directly in local or regional enterprises. What if smallholder farmers jointly invested in solar-powered cold storage, boreholes, or technology platforms? Furthermore, community investment could extend into urban ventures, enabling rural capital to flow towards a wider range of potentially profitable opportunities. The aim is not to romanticise local capital but rather to recognise, harness, and strategically deploy it, enabling rural communities to actively participate in wider economic systems. Practical Implementation Models There are viable models to consider, each with significant potential. Pooled Land-Use Trusts: Villages consolidate land into trusts, negotiating stronger collective leasing terms with agribusinesses or developers. Such arrangements ensure ongoing dividends instead of mere rental fees, creating sustainable income sources and strengthening local bargaining power. Community Investment Funds: By shifting traditional contributions from social events (funerals & weddings) into structured investment vehicles, communities can acquire equity stakes in infrastructure projects, local businesses, or diaspora-focused housing. Financial literacy and organised training would enhance this model’s effectiveness. Micro-Equity Infrastructure Ownership: Villages share ownership of infrastructure (e.g., boreholes, energy grids) through micro-equity models, encouraging communal maintenance and allowing revenue from service provision to be reinvested into community development. Promoting local ownership of renewable energy infrastructure could further boost resilience and sustainability. Digital Crowdfunding Platforms: Digital platforms, similar to successful models in Kenya (M-Changa) and Nigeria (Farmcrowdy), can enable direct community investment in agribusinesses or larger enterprises, supporting local and national value chains. Collaborations with fintech firms could accelerate these initiatives, ensuring transparency and easy participation. Also, I need to get me a crowdfunding licence.  Global Trends Validating Village-Based Investments Far from being utopian, community-driven investments have demonstrated success worldwide. In the U.S., towns often partially own broadband networks, ensuring fair access and generating local revenues. Farmer cooperatives in Asia successfully handle profitable exports, showcasing rural communities’ capacity to participate effectively in global markets. Latin American indigenous communities have created their own banks and investment funds, fostering economic independence and resilience. These examples demonstrate feasibility, with mobile money and fintech tools increasingly making contributions, tracking, and dividend distribution easier. The existing cash flow in the informal sector, combined with youthful entrepreneurial energy returning to rural areas, further strengthens the business case. Learning from these global examples, Ghana could adopt best practices to fit local contexts and needs. The Business and Economic Case Businesspeople might rightly ask, “What’s the benefit if villages become investors?” Consider the following expanded points. Lower Investment Risks: Local stakeholders with financial interests will safeguard, uphold, and improve their investments, greatly decreasing operational risks. Loyal and Engaged Markets: Communities that invest in products or services become committed consumers, enhancing market sustainability and reliability. Lower Capital Costs: Local contributions can cut reliance on costly bank loans, particularly for medium-scale infrastructure, making the model more financially sustainable. Regulatory and Community Goodwill: Projects with local ownership usually face fewer bureaucratic hurdles and community opposition, making approval processes quicker and timelines shorter. Addressing Potential Challenges Naturally, complexities can emerge. Trust and Fund Management: It can be challenging to ensure transparent, accountable oversight mechanisms, with community-led committees or independent oversight bodies managing investments. Legal Frameworks: Modifying existing legislation to support community-owned financial structures may necessitate collaboration among communities, legal experts, and policymakers. Financial Education and Cultural Shifts: There are barriers to promoting community acceptance and training stakeholders in financial literacy and investment strategies, ensuring ongoing participation. These challenges, however, are solvable design issues rather than insurmountable obstacles, achievable through structured planning and stakeholder engagement. Broader Horizons: What Else Village Investment Unlocks Beyond the clear economic case, there are several often-overlooked areas where community-driven investment can quietly but profoundly shape rural futures. These perspectives are worth serious consideration. Environmental and Climate Resilience: By pooling resources into renewable energy, agroforestry, or water conservation, villages can go green while safeguarding their livelihoods. Community-funded solar microgrids or reforestation efforts can generate income, reduce reliance on external energy sources, and buffer against droughts or floods. It’s long-term thinking, rooted in the land. Diaspora and Rural–Urban Linkages: Many rural families already receive support from relatives in cities or abroad. However, those remittances often flow informally and unpredictably. Transparent, village-level investment platforms can turn that flow into structured support, directed towards boreholes, ICT centres, or agro-processing. The emotional bond already exists. What is needed is clarity, credibility, and coordination. Women and Youth Inclusion: Too often, the same hands hold the reins. But when women and young people lead enterprises, whether it’s shea butter cooperatives, digital services, or poultry farms, you get innovation, adaptability, and fresh energy. And practically speaking, these

The question seems simple, perhaps even rhetorical on the surface. But there’s a reason I write these articles. They reflect different snippets of my discoveries and realisations as I draw from my experience across agriculture, logistics, technology, and community empowerment. Some things become clearer, and some questions highlight our stark reality.  From my perspective, Ghana’s village economy, and indeed much of rural Africa, has been quietly losing value. Although a lot of effort has been made to improve the situation, it is what it is. Rich lands, vibrant labour, unique cultures, and abundant produce generate wealth, yet strangely, little of this wealth stays in the villages. A Quiet Transfer of Power and Wealth Consider a typical rural district in Ghana today. It has active markets, fertile soil, and resourceful people. Yet, fundamental questions don’t get immediate answers. Who really sets the prices for produce? Who owns the storage facilities? Who builds and manages the roads and sets toll charges? Who supplies fertilisers and controls the flow of credit? Yes yes yes Google has some answers but hang in there with me. The average smallholder typically does not own processing facilities. Local mills, if they exist, are usually externally owned and extract value from the villages. Does local processing infrastructure also benefit the community? Yes. But did I lie? No. Inputs such as fertilisers, improved seeds, and technical advice often come from companies based far away in cities like Accra or Kumasi, just like my own company I admit. Village shops frequently stock imported goods distributed by foreign-owned enterprises, imposing non-negotiable markups on local consumers. Even mobile money kiosks, symbols of modern commerce, sometimes operate on behalf of absentee urban owners. Consequently, wealth leaks outward, transaction after transaction, diminishing local economic power. Decisions are remote, profits externalised, and when crises hit, assistance rarely arrives. We’ve seen this happen many times. Examining this flow reveals deeper systemic issues of economic control, centralisation of decision-making, and disproportionate risk allocation. The Myth of Local Empowerment At numerous forums, “empowerment” is frequently mentioned, yet tangible empowerment remains hard to achieve. Ghana’s agricultural policies, although well-meaning, often focus narrowly on inputs rather than ownership. Who truly owns the land? Who controls the data generated from that land? Who has access to machinery and logistics networks essential for planting and harvesting? I recently told a delegation that it is my hope that my farmers will not need me after 1,000 days in our MIG Ecosystem, but will choose to work with us. I have observed farmers compelled to sell their produce early at low prices to meet urgent cash needs, only for that same produce to later re-enter the village, processed and packaged, selling for higher prices that benefit distant urban businesses. It’s injustice, and plain inefficient, and a deep disempowerment of rural communities.  Do I have that magic solution that fixes everything? No, and that’s not the point. Let’s concentrate on the question: Who Owns The Village Economy? Empowerment should be redefined to include real ownership, decision-making authority, and strategic involvement rather than just providing resources. Who Really Owns the Infrastructure? Infrastructure extends beyond physical roads and bridges. It encompasses digital systems, logistics networks, credit facilities, warehousing, cold storage, and information networks. Yet, in Ghana’s villages, these vital infrastructures are predominantly externally controlled or managed. Consider specific scenarios: Local economies continuously become hollowed out, reduced merely to labour and land resources that enrich outsiders. Reversing this trend requires infrastructure designed and managed with explicit community involvement, shared ownership models, and prioritising local needs over external extraction. Easier said than done, but needs to be said nonetheless. Cultural Commodification Without Returns Rural Ghana boasts a vibrant culture full of festivals, storytelling, and indigenous knowledge. These are often commercialised without meaningful benefits to local custodians. Who receives royalties when traditional patterns appear in global fashion? Who profits from sacred spaces turned tourist hotspots? We risk creating value flows that drain rather than enrich communities. Cultural exploitation without financial returns damages the economic vitality and dignity of rural areas. International examples from countries like Australia and Canada demonstrate how cultural intellectual property protections can safeguard local communities, ensuring a share of the profits from their heritage flows back to its true custodians. Additionally, policy frameworks promoting fair trade and equitable revenue-sharing from cultural tourism could further protect and empower rural communities. Data Ownership Is The New Economic Frontier In today’s digitised world, data is among the most valuable commodities. Rural Ghana sees limited benefit from the data it generates daily. Mobile money transactions, satellite imagery of farmland, telemedicine health data, and USSD-based surveys are all captured and controlled by external operators and intermediaries. The villages generating this data rarely see its value, yet this information shapes credit assessments, political strategies, and land-use decisions. Establishing community-owned data cooperatives could transform this landscape by enabling villages to monetise anonymised, valuable data streams. Successful examples exist in Kenya and India, and Ghana can follow suit, reclaiming economic control and empowering local communities. Such initiatives can build local capacities, fostering innovation and inclusive digital literacy. The Shadow Role of Middlemen Middlemen, often overlooked players within supply chains, hold significant influence. They operate trucks, manage storage depots, and handle export permits. These entities often prioritise profits through their strategic positioning rather than value creation. Platform cooperatives, digital logistics marketplaces owned by producers themselves, and transparent pricing tools can challenge and rebalance this power structure. Such initiatives are practical as East Africa already offers practical models that Ghana could follow. Public-private partnerships and government oversight could further disrupt exploitative practices, ensuring fairer trade relationships. Inheritance and the Silent Erosion of Control Ownership isn’t always actively taken. It can also quietly erode. In rural Ghana, productive assets such as farmland and homes are often passed down through custom and oral tradition, often lacking formal documentation. As younger generations migrate and elders pass on, these assets become vulnerable. Gradual land reallocation without explicit consent, leases granted by traditional authorities without family agreement, and government designation of

We’ve grown accustomed to talking about unemployment as if it’s a traffic light we’re waiting to change colour. But something deeper and more hazardous is creeping in beneath the surface. What if, even if and/or when opportunities arise, we don’t have enough people with the right skills to seize them? That’s the real danger. I’m not referring to a lack of degrees or certificates. It’s the growing gap between what our economy requires and what our population can provide. This mismatch could hinder Ghana much more than inflation or currency fluctuations ever might. The Old Problem Has Evolved We’ve long faced a youth unemployment issue. But that conversation is beginning to change. Ghana is modernising in parts. Agriculture is becoming more tech-driven, logistics is more digitised, and even informal retail is moving online. However, our education systems, training routes, and national mindset have not yet fully caught up with these developments. Think about this: All the while, many of our graduates are still emerging with outdated theory, limited practical experience, and little exposure to real-world problem-solving. I’m not criticising our educational institutions. I’m merely urging us to confront the gap. When This Became Obvious to Me I run companies across various sectors such as agriculture, logistics, tech, insurance, finance, hospitality, and more. I’ve noticed the same pattern in all of them: we receive CVs, yes. We interview graduates, yes. But often, the technical or operational fluency is lacking. We employ people who are expected to possess certain skills because, well, they graduated with specific credentials. Yet, we almost always find ourselves training them from scratch. This isn’t a one-off occurrence. It happens consistently across our operations. Every year, we need to onboard new staff to handle seemingly simple tasks. Instead, we often spend weeks, sometimes months, coaching them on what they should have known before starting. It slows down the company, increases costs, and delays project outcomes. Not because the recruits aren’t smart, but because their education never prepared them for the tools industry actually uses.  The other day, I found myself teaching our top-tier accounting intern how to calculate a moving breakeven point, adjusting for variable costs like rent. I shouldn’t be doing this. But that’s our reality. He’d learnt the breakeven formula: fixed costs, variable costs, unit price, unit cost, and that’s what he knew. It was clean, linear, and static.  But real-world finance doesn’t work that way. Costs fluctuate, revenue moves, and breakeven isn’t a fixed destination; in a real business, it shifts with the business. What struck me wasn’t just the gap in knowledge, but the mindset that finance is something you plug into a formula rather than interrogate.  Frankly, it’s part of our passion for the Africa School of Entrepreneurship. Because if we don’t prepare for complexity early on, we end up with technically brilliant minds that are unready for reality. And that costs far more than time. Key Observations I Have Made 1. Credential Inflation vs. Competency We’re seeing more degree holders, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the talent pool is stronger. Credentials are becoming more common, while core competencies, the real ability to perform the job, lag behind. Employers sift through piles of CVs only to find the skills they truly need are missing. We need to start valuing portfolios, apprenticeships, and practical experience just as much as formal education. I’m not devaluing education. I’ve only realised that a certificate is only as useful as the competence it indicates. 2. Lost Talent in the Informal Economy Across Ghana and much of Africa, the informal sector is filled with individuals who solve real-world problems every day, yet they remain invisible to the formal job market. The trotro mate who calculates change faster than a POS machine. The market woman who tracks rotating inventory mentally. Abochie shakes a wad of cash and can tell you how many bills are missing from the stack. These are highly capable individuals with no formal recognition. If we created mechanisms to identify and upskill this talent, we’d be surprised by how much economic value we’re leaving unclaimed. 3. Soft Skills Are Now Hard Assets Gone are the days when communication and teamwork were ‘nice to have’. Now, they determine an organisation’s success or failure. I’ve seen more projects stall due to poor collaboration or a lack of initiative than because someone couldn’t write code or operate machinery. Emotional intelligence, adaptability, negotiation, these need to be taught with the same rigour we apply to technical subjects. We must begin to see soft skills not as side dishes, but as a main course. 4. The Curriculum Isn’t Broken. It’s Just Slow. Our educational content remains highly useful. However, respectfully, it is simply not fast enough, and this is not their fault, because the world is moving so quickly. The market evolves quarterly, but curricula take years to update. That delay is costing us. Imagine if university syllabi were revised every two years, with input from private sector partners and employers. We would bridge the gap between learning and relevance.  5. We’re Over-Indexing on Jobs, and Under-Indexing on Problem Solvers We often tell young people to ‘get a job,’ but what we truly need are those who can create value in complex, uncertain environments. Builders. Solvers. Initiators. People who see a broken system and find a way to fix it. The Africa School of Entrepreneurship (ASOE), for instance, trains for both employment and enterprise. And in today’s volatile landscape, that mindset might be our most important national resource. What Businesses Can Do Now While we wait for public policy to catch up, businesses can take the lead. Mentorship, apprenticeships and support are essential for personal and professional growth. These should not be seen as charity but as investments in future capacity. Upskill your current team. Don’t just hire: build! Create internal programmes that enhance their value. Collaborate with platforms like Africa School of Entrepreneurship (ASOE), the MIG Impact Platform, and local tech hubs that are training tomorrow’s workforce. Create real learning environments. Let interns and junior