General

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 Think about this: All the while, many of our graduates are still emerging with outdated theory, limited practical experience, and little exposure to real-world problem-solving.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

In Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and even the smallest communities across Ghana, you’ll find markets that never sleep and side hustles that never end. From the trotro mate collecting coins with digital precision, to the young woman selling airtime while taking mobile money payments, entrepreneurship is everywhere, even if it doesn’t always look like it. But the issue is that too many Ghanaians still view entrepreneurship as something reserved for tech bros or people with capital and corner offices. That mindset needs to change. Because today’s Ghana needs more entrepreneurs and more people who think like businesses, whether they are formally registered or not, as Alhaji Tanja will attest to this. There’s a certain fire that lives inside you, and it lives inside everyone who ends up being an entrepreneur. Sometimes it shows up as a big, bold vision. Other times, it’s just a quiet, restless itch to do things better, faster, smarter. But that fire doesn’t belong only to CEOs or business owners. It can live in the trader in Makola, the nurse running a side hustle, the student selling on campus after class, or the driver saving up for their own ride. Entrepreneurship is more than owning a business. I work with so many agro-aggregators and farmers and I can confidently tell you that it’s more about how you think, how you solve problems, how you take initiative, and how you create value even when resources are tight. And in today’s Ghana, whether you’re employed or unemployed, in the informal or formal sector, thinking like a business isn’t optional anymore. It’s a survival strategy and the bridge between struggle and stability. Ghana is a country within a continent whose ancestors’ ancestors have been hustlers, not just job seekers. THE REAL MEANING OF AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET Let’s strip away the buzzwords. An entrepreneurial mindset means three things: This is why a woman selling waakye at dawn can outperform a shop manager with a university degree. It’s more than the job title. It’s very much about the mindset too. The Ghanaian economy is largely informal, making up about 80% of the workforce according to the Ghana Statistical Service. That means most people are not in structured employment. Salaries are not guaranteed. Opportunities are not handed out. So we must create our own. WHY NOW MORE THAN EVER? It’s because the cost of living is rising. Global economic pressures. Currency fluctuations are still possible. Youth unemployment. I am not just taking this from headlines. They’re a daily reality for millions of Ghanaians. But here’s the paradox: these same challenges make this the best time to think like an entrepreneur. Hard times force creativity. Scarcity sharpens skill. And technology levels the playing field. You don’t need a big office to start a venture. You need a phone, a plan, and the right frame of mind. You can use WhatsApp to run a delivery business, Instagram to sell fashion, and Mobile Money makes things much easier compared to decades ago. It’s happening already. The question is, are you in the game or watching from the sidelines? HOW TO START THINKING LIKE A BUSINESS (EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT ONE YET) Knowing your value is the first step to packaging it into a product, service, or solution. This discipline separates a hustle from a business. It’s also what banks, investors, and even partners look for. You need suppliers, mentors, marketers and other people who can help your business, even if informally. One relationship can change your entire trajectory. WHAT ESTABLISHED BUSINESSES CAN DO BETTER Even if you already run a business, adopting an entrepreneurial mindset can help you grow. WHERE TO FIND SUPPORT IN GHANA Don’t ignore these. Look them up. Apply. Follow up. Your breakthrough might just be in that one opportunity. EVERYONE IS A BUSINESS Your skill is your product. Your phone is your shop. Your time is your capital. If you don’t treat yourself like a business, who will? It’s a new culture you have to adopt. One where every Ghanaian feels empowered to create, not just consume. One where we teach entrepreneurship not only in lecture halls but in life. Because the truth is, this country needs millions of thriving small businesses. And behind every one of them is a mindset. A habit. A way of seeing the world, from the eyes of a Ghanaian just like you. That’s the entrepreneur in you. Let it lead you. I hope you found this article both insightful and enjoyable. Subscribe to the ‘Entrepreneur In You’ newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/d-hgCVPy. I wish you a highly productive and successful week ahead!  ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or beliefs of Maxwell Investments Group or any of its affiliates. Any references to policy or regulation reflect the author’s interpretation and are not intended to represent the formal stance of Maxwell Investments Group. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should seek independent advice before making any decisions based on this material. Maxwell Investments Group assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content or for any actions taken based on the information provided.

There is quiet gold beneath our feet. Yet, I can’t find plantain to buy, and it frustrates me. Some time ago, watermelon was also so hard to come by that its price soared from 10GHS to 40GHS for one. One guy offered me 75GHS, for one. I said “Take it!” There is a quiet revolution waiting to unfold beneath our feet, one that doesn’t shimmer like gold or flow like oil, but holds just as much long-term value. I am talking about food. Not merely the calories themselves, but the systems that produce, store, distribute, finance, insure, and export them. These systems, collectively known as the African Food Economy, are often underestimated, fragmented, and undercapitalised. However, they are poised to become a significant, structured asset class. You might expect me to advocate for investment in the sector, but that’s not what this is about. Ok perhaps it is but it also serves as a call to reimagine Africa’s food systems as a high-impact, climate-resilient, commercially viable sector. From land and logistics to agri-tech and cold storage, every element is measurable and trackable. And when these elements are coordinated, they become attractive for investment. WHY ‘FOOD AS AN ASSET CLASS’ IS NOT A METAPHOR Institutional investors already participate in agricultural markets. Examples include commodity markets, farmland REITs, and futures contracts. However, what Africa offers presents a different type of value. The food system here is not yet financialised, yet demand is immense and the need for resilience is vital. Africa’s food import bill is projected to exceed $110 billion by 2025, according to the African Development Bank. By viewing food systems as an asset class, we begin to ask different questions: How can we develop revenue-generating storage systems? Where do we integrate fintech for farm-to-market financing? What are the returns on irrigation compared to rain-fed risk exposure? In short, we should stop viewing food security as solely a humanitarian issue and begin considering it as economic infrastructure. These systems generate value, and that value ought to be captured. WHAT MAKES A FOOD SYSTEM INVESTABLE? Every strong asset class has five things: Africa’s food economy ticks all five, at least in parts. But it’s fragmented. The goal now is to link the pieces into financeable instruments. Let’s break down some of those investable nodes: Primary production: High-value crops such as cashew, shea, maize, and soya are commercially viable when bundled through aggregators and cooperatives. Ghana’s northern corridor is seeing an increase in cashew farming, but yields remain inconsistent due to a lack of technical and financial support. Storage & aggregation: Warehouses, silos, and digital inventory systems decrease post-harvest loss (sometimes up to 40%) and can generate rental income. In Techiman or Tamale, community grain banks could easily serve as micro-logistics hubs if adequately financed. Processing infrastructure: SMEs transforming raw inputs into shelf-stable or export-ready products generate value and create jobs. A shea nut is much more valuable when processed locally into butter or cosmetics. Cold chains: These are especially vital for meat, vegetables, and dairy. It requires coordinated investment in off-grid solar-powered refrigeration. Automation is also an idea I explored with a cold store once. It significantly changes how financial institutions view things when technology and predictability are high. Logistics and last-mile: From haulage to motorbike delivery for urban markets. Fleet financing models (like Pay-As-You-Go) are already in use, and platforms like MAX.ng in Nigeria or Jetstream in Ghana demonstrate what’s possible. Insurance and fintech: Index-based weather insurance, mobile payment-linked lending, and blockchain traceability are already being piloted in Kenya, Nigeria, and parts of Ghana. Products that reward yield improvements and climate-smart practices could help build a credit profile for farmers who have never used a bank. Each of these nodes can attract private equity, development finance, and even sovereign wealth participation if bundled with the right data and de-risking instruments. FROM GRANTS TO GROWTH CAPITAL One of the most urgent transitions for the continent is from grant-funded agriculture to commercially structured agri-finance. That doesn’t mean abandoning subsidies or development aid. But it does mean recognising that subsidies should spark, not replace, private capital. Food system investments should be structured similarly to infrastructure deals, featuring blended finance, layered risks, and exit pathways. For example, a $50 million agro-industrial park might be supported by a development loan from AfDB, complemented by equity from Ghanaian pension funds, and protected against risk through crop yield insurance backed by the Ghana Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL). When these layers work together, expected returns can be achieved across different risk levels from concessional lenders to institutional investors. GHANA’S POSITION AS A TESTBED FOR ASSET-CLASS THINKING Ghana is uniquely positioned. Here’s why: This makes Ghana the perfect testbed. Not for experimentation, but for demonstration. If we can build structured agri-finance products here, the model can scale continent-wide. We should view Ghana not as a pilot site, but as a proof-of-concept for a continent-wide transformation. INVESTOR APPETITE IS SHIFTING AND AFRICA MUST BE READY Climate-aware investing is no longer niche. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has announced climate as a core investment principle. Others are following. That makes food systems, especially regenerative, localised, climate-resilient ones, a top opportunity. But readiness matters. Investors want: Africa’s job is not to beg. It is to prepare. Let’s turn high-potential projects into bankable deals. Let us demonstrate that food is a reliable, even superior, store of value. Transform tractors and silos into instruments of economic security. FEEDING PEOPLE SHOULD BE PROFITABLE Profitable. Not exploitative. Just profitable. When the basic act of feeding cities becomes a smart financial decision, capital will follow. And when capital flows in for the right reasons, systems strengthen. I have tried not to be all “give us money” “give us money” “give us money”. But rather, “giving us this money is a smart financial decision oo and not different from the other asset classes you invest in”. Let’s not wait for donors to fix the food economy. Let’s structure it to attract growth capital, deliver climate outcomes,