Segment: 100 Kilowatt Solar Powers My Farm - How I Beat Ghana's High Energy Costs to Build Wealth

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

Episode Segment: 100 Kilowatt Solar Powers My Farm – How I Beat Ghana's High Energy Costs to Build Wealth
Date: April 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode showcases an inspiring story of entrepreneurship, resilience, and innovation in Ghana’s agricultural sector. Host Derrick Abaitey interviews Mr. Machidanko, the founder of Modikai Farms, who details his journey leveraging solar power and forward-thinking management to build a sustainable, wealth-generating farm business amid Ghana's notoriously high energy costs. The conversation delves into his strategies for risk-taking, structuring family businesses for generational wealth, and adapting to the realities of the local market.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Building the Farm: Vision, Challenges, and Innovation

• Fish Farming Under Tunnels and Aquaculture Setup

  • Mr. Machidanko describes starting with tank-based fish farming under greenhouse tunnels for worker accessibility and 24/7 productivity (00:00–01:52).
  • The goal expanded to include a hatchery and processing dried and packaged fish for better returns:

    “If I sell the raw fish, I can make some money. But no, I can't make a lot. I need to… The return should be high. So I brought in machines to dry the fish and package them.” (A, 00:38)

• Navigating Information Gaps & Market Fragmentation

  • He notes the misinformation online and the lack of trustworthy data, leading him to carry out his own research and implementation:

    “The industry is so fragmented… And you see a lot of lies on YouTube. People are getting conned… People should just tell us the truth.” (A, 01:28)

• Addressing Ghana's High Energy Costs: Going Solar

  • After experiences in Asia where industrial electricity is cheaper, he decided solar was the only feasible solution in Ghana:

    “So I decided to go Solar. We have 100 kilowatt solar on my farm. It powers everything. And then ECG is backup. I have two generators as backups.” (A, 02:18)

Sustainable Systems and Creative Problem Solving

• Abandoning Aquaponics and Repurposing Wastewater
  • Initial plans for aquaponics shifted because of local dietary preferences:

    “Organanians don't eat vegetables. So let me forget about aquaponics… Now I'm stuck with wastewater. What do I do? EPA will come in. How do you dispose of this wastewater?” (A, 02:56)

  • He creatively repurposed the waste for irrigation:

    “So I'll just direct the wastewater into tanks and use it to irrigate the greenhouse. So that's what we are doing right now." (A, 03:24)

  • Expansion into greenhouse farming: bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, with new greenhouses soon to be installed.

Risk, Wealth, and Succession

• Risk Appetite and Wealth for Future Generations

  • Derrick references a saying:

    “A man going on retirement is more concerned about losing their money than their life. Now for you, you've invested a lot of your money into this.” (B, 03:53)

  • Mr. Machidanko highlights his vision for generational wealth and business continuity:

    “Setting up Modikai Farms is a kind of generational wealth creation… The workers will have jobs… My focus [is] to structure it very well that when I'm not here, this business will be able to [continue].” (A, 04:09–04:41)

• Structuring for Generational Survival

  • He references Japanese companies (Toyota, Honda, Panasonic) as models where strong structure allowed for generational success, contrasting this with the fate of many Ghanaian companies.

    “Knowledge, wisdom doesn't reside in only one person. You put together ideas even at Modikai Farms… I meet the workers and we talk… Sometimes they don't want to talk. I call them one by one… and they give me wonderful ideas. These are not graduates. These are junior high school. They're from the village.” (A, 06:45–07:15)

Management, Ethics, and Employee Empowerment

• Inclusive Decision-Making & Team Empowerment

  • He stresses collective management and buying into the company vision:

    “Who is managing the business? What is the vision? The vision is clearly sold to them. They buy into the vision… People should learn ethics. They should know where the company is going. They should know what you stand for… You have to let them feel that, okay, I'm not only working for money.” (A, 07:35–08:07)

• Ensuring Lasting Impact

  • On sustainability:

    “You need to have results. If you have all those and then you're not making money…” (A, 08:23)

  • On generational transition:

    “They may say, I don't want to be in the farms… You let them go and bring on new people who will buy into your [idea].” (A, 08:45)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Solar’s Necessity in Ghana:

  “How do you grow industries with this higher cost of power? …That’s for some people to think about. So I decided to go Solar.” (A, 01:52–02:18)

• On Business Legacy:

  “If I'm not around, my wife will not suffer, my daughters will not suffer… The workers will have jobs to do… That's my focus, to structure it well that when I'm not here, this business will be able to…” (A, 04:19–04:41)

• On Learning from Workers:

  “These are not graduates. These are junior high school. They're from the village… Sometimes they don't want to talk. I call them one by one to my office and they give me wonderful ideas.” (A, 07:05–07:15)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–01:52: How the farm operation started and rationale for fish farming and processing
• 01:52–03:53: High energy cost in Ghana–why solar became essential; initial thoughts on aquaponics and sustainable wastewater solutions
• 03:53–06:09: Philosophy of risk and creating a business built for family and worker legacy
• 06:38–08:45: Defining and building business structure for generational wealth; inclusive management and vision communication

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Tone & Language

The conversation is candid, practical, and rich with insights drawn from both local and global experience. Mr. Machidanko speaks with humility and depth, often referencing personal anecdotes, lessons from international business culture, and challenges unique to Ghanaian entrepreneurship.

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This episode is invaluable for listeners seeking practical insights into navigating systemic challenges in African agribusiness, sustainable energy solutions, and structuring a business for generational legacy.

Transcript

[A]

I said, okay, I'm going to do my fish. Breed my fish in tanks. So I'm breeding the fishing tanks under a tunnel. Okay, greenhouse, so the workers can go in anytime, they can do whatever they want, walk around even when it's raining. So that was the first thing. And then I said, okay, I need a constant supply of fingerlings, so I want to have my own hatchery. So the hatchery is part of it. But my aim was I'm going to process this fish because if I sell the raw fish, I can make some money. But no, I can't make a lot. I need to. The return should be high. So I brought in machines to dry the fish and package them. And that's what we are doing now. To do a project like that, first of all, you have to look for off takers before you start something like that. But because I was not living in Ghana, I couldn't do that. I shouldn't say I couldn't do that. I didn't do that because I didn't trust people who were going to do that research for me. There was nobody to talk to. See, the industry is so fragmented. Everybody does, oh, I'm doing thousand catfish, I'm doing 500 this, I'm doing 5,000 this. And you see a lot of lies on YouTube. And people are getting conned thinking, oh, if I buy thousand catfish and do this, this and this, I'm going to get this amount of money. No, it's not like that. And unfortunately, people are falling for such advice. But what can you do? It's a broad thing and people should just tell us the truth. So I came in, did that, and I told myself, okay, energy cost is very high in Asia, where I worked. I didn't check in South Africa, but in Japan, electricity for industrial use is actually cheaper than electricity for housing.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Singapore is even cheaper. Now when you come to Ghana, it's like, so how do you. How do you. How do you grow industries with this higher cost of power? Well, that's for. For some people to think about. So I decided to go Solar. We have 100 kilowatt solar on my farm. It powers everything. And then ECG is backup. I have two generators as backups. So initially I wanted to do something called aquaponics, where you have fish, and then the fish, the water from the fish, the dirty water from the fish will flow through floating beds, and then you plant lettuce, all those kind of things on Styrofoams on the floating beds. And then the plants will pick up the Nitrates, nitrites in the water. So they filter the water for you. Of course, the water will also have to go through another filtration process before going back to the, to the fish.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But if you do that, you don't use, you don't waste a lot of water. You top up the water. Maybe, maybe every three months or. Yeah, maybe every three months you top up the water and you can, you can harvest a lot of vegetables. Unfortunately, I, for me, I made it. I, I decided that organians don't eat vegetables. So let me forget about aquaponics. So I converted everything into, into tanks. Now I'm, I'm stuck with waste water. What do I do? EPA will come in. How do you dispose of this wastewater? Some people will just flush the water out into, into gutters. So I said, oh, I can build greenhouses. So I'll just, I'll just direct the wastewater into tanks and use it to irrigate the greenhouse. So that's what we are doing right now. We're producing red and yellow bell peppers. We were doing tomatoes, cucumbers. I bought three greenhouses from SM bank which will be installed very soon and then we'll have six. And then we know what we're going to do. Just have to optimize my revenue. So I have to go back to the computer and see which products, vegetables we have to grow.

[B]

You know, an old friend told me something funny, that a man going on retirement is more concerned about losing their money than their life. Now for you, you've invested a lot of your money into this.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

That's high risk appetite.

[A]

Yeah. At this age, how long am I going to live? I have a wife, I have, I have, my, my daughters are there. Yes. I'm going to get grandchildren. What am I leaving behind for them? What am I using the money for? So, you know, setting up Modikai Farms is a kind of generational wealth creation.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Okay. So if I'm not around, my wife will not suffer, my daughters will not suffer. My. Gradually they will not suffer. The workers will have jobs to do jobs. Jobs. Well, my aim now is to structure it very well that when I'm not here, this business will be able to. And that's what I'm doing right now. That's my focus, to structure it. Well, when I'm not around, people are going to have jobs.

[B]

But was the thought always with you to create something that will live beyond you when you're working actively?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yes. Okay. So this is you look at Japan, look at Toyota, look At Panasonic. Look at Sony. Study the history of Honda. Suzuki, one guy started it. He took Toyota. The guy who started Toyota, his son became the boss of Toyota. But the structure was there listed. His grandson became the boss. And I'm sure he's. I don't know who is the CEO now, but there was something around it. If you look at Suzuki, I think Suzuki, when I was leaving Japan, he was still alive probably. Maybe he's passed away. Now Honda is gone. But you see what they did. The family has interest, but because the structure is there, the company survives. How many companies? You can mention a lot of Ghanaians set up great companies. So my wife is from Akropon. A lot of people from Akropon set up companies in Ghana. Now when they pass away, where are the companies? Because maybe the structure wasn't great. I'm just speculating. Maybe the structure wasn't great. So when he passed on, he passed away, somebody took over and said, oh, I'm not going to do this. And gone. The company is gone. Workers are in trouble. They don't have jobs. They need to find jobs somewhere else.

[B]

Mr. Machidanko, when we talk about this structure, what do we mean by that? Let me stop you here for a minute. So if it's your first time watching Connected Mind or you have been here before but still have not subscribed, do us a favor because majority of the people that watch our videos have not subscribed. This doesn't help us grow beyond what we expect. So help us by hitting the subscribe button. Thank you. Now let's get back to the conversation.

[A]

No structure. Okay. I would say management, who controls the company.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Is it a one man show that if I'm not here, Mr. S cannot do it? We need to move away from this one man show thing. Because knowledge, wisdom doesn't reside in only one person. You put together ideas even at Modikai Farms, we meet. I meet the workers and we talk. Hey, what should we do? Don't be shy, just tell me what we should do. Sometimes they don't want to talk. I call them one by one to my office and they give me wonderful ideas. These are not graduates. These are junior high school. They're from the village. I said, yeah, okay. Because it's basically selling. And selling is not rocket science. You don't have to have a university degree to sell the row machine right

[B]

behind the business is more than the selling.

[A]

So the structure that is needed to

[B]

keep the business beyond.

[A]

Yeah, right. I, I have two graduates with me there. So you need to have, okay, who is managing the business? What are. What is the vision? The vision is clearly sold to them. They buy into the vision. This is where we want to go. This is what I, I want Modai Farms to be. When somebody comes here and insults you, don't respond. Don't get upset. Just say, yes, mom. Yes, dad. Let them go and come and complain to me later. People should learn ethics. They should know where the company is going. They should know what you stand for.

[B]

Okay?

[A]

They should know why you are. You are. They are doing what they are doing right now. Are they just working for money? But you have to let them feel that, okay, I'm not only working for money.

[B]

Is that enough to keep a business for more than three generations?

[A]

That is not enough. You need to have results. If you, if you have all those and then you're not making money.

[B]

What if they say that they are not interested in the business that you're doing? As young people are growing up, there are new ideas that are coming. There are better ways of making money, faster ways of making money and you know, different types. So they may say, I don't want to be in the farms. You know, I want to trade.

[A]

Sure. No, no, no. They can do that, but you let them go and bring, bring on new people who will buy into your. Your idea Connected Minds podcast.