A (1:16)

I think entrepreneurs are nurtured. They are not made or born, they are nurtured. So cause of the upbringing and me seeing that's all they did. Yeah, by default, subconsciously, you've seen them doing it, you know the pain that comes with it, but then also the reward if you get it right. So you are nurtured into it. So you see it. It's just, it's time. Even all my siblings, who I say the other four bet you mean five, ten years time. If you talk to, I'll tell them they are now all entrepreneurs.

B (1:43)

Why do you believe so?

A (1:44)

Because they see it. They saw it. They see their mom doing it, they see me doing it, they see other siblings doing it. So because you see it, it's just natural.

B (1:52)

Why did they not do it before?

A (1:54)

Because I think it's just time. You know, when I went to Canada, I wasn't an entrepreneur till I decided in 2014 that this is what I wanted to do.

B (2:00)

But every, every, every story you've told me today, this is your real life story.

A (2:04)

Yes.

B (2:04)

Proves that you had the seed in you from the beginning.

A (2:07)

Yes.

B (2:08)

Did you guys not have the same upbringing growing up.

A (2:10)

Actually similar. Similar upbringing, yes. Okay. So as I said, you know how everybody takes their path is different. Maybe mine started early but I knew for a fact that in time theirs also come into the entrepreneurial stream. It's just a matter of time. If you like. Market on the wall. I've marked it. Yes. All right. In about five, 10 years. You come here to. I'll tell you, they are all entrepreneurs.

B (2:30)

Now the business you started in Ghana.

A (2:32)

Yes, sir.

B (2:33)

What was your startup capital?

A (2:35)

Over time, the tax man be happy, they'll be fine.

B (2:38)

Business cost, you don't tax cost.

A (2:40)

Around 500,000 US over time? Over a period? Over maybe 10 years.

B (2:45)

Over 10 year period, you've put in your personal income.

A (2:49)

I said I have a group of us. Me, my wife, my big brother and then my colleague Kofi. All right.

B (2:55)

And everybody's helping to support.

A (2:56)

Everybody helping. But a chunk of it is more. It's more me.

B (2:59)

That's amazing. Yeah, you've done fantastic.

A (3:01)

Yes.

B (3:02)

Now if I. This capital is coming from your work.

A (3:08)

Yes.

B (3:08)

You've worked for years.

A (3:09)

Yes. In. In Canada and then also strategy.

B (3:12)

Okay, talk to me about the strategy.

A (3:14)

Okay. I think I've shared this on a couple of platforms. If you live in the west, the fastest way to get access to capital is through real estate. Okay. So initially I purchased my first home in 2011. Back then it was easier. You didn't need as much capital. But I was going to say something, I think it might not be appropriate. But I put in some hard work. Hard work. I used to, I was a professional. So I go to work from 7 to 3:30, come home quickly, go shower, sleep and go to my second job as a factory hand at 9:30 to 6:30. I don't go home because where I was working was just a stone throw from my workplace. I did that for one year to raise the needed capital. That's a down payment for my first house and that was what I needed. So you stay in the house because you know homes kind of appreciate over time. So that's your startup capital. So you put that money as down payment and then you watch it grow. So when you. And then don't get emotionally attached to a house, people get emotionally attached to a house. It's a house. You are using it. It's a tool for you to get money, you understand? And this works for people abroad. So you stay in the house. You read the market this day, how much you bought the house in X amount of years. It's worth this amount. Two things either you take the capital, sell it, take your money, invest it where you don't have to go, borrow money vis a vis. That's Ghana. And then take some of the barest minimum and buy another house. Repeat that cycle before you realize that's the money you need to start a business.

B (4:50)

I've said it on a few consultations that people should. If you live abroad.

A (4:55)

Yes.

B (4:57)

And you want to be able to live in Ghana comfortably.

A (4:59)

Yes.

B (4:59)

Get some properties.

A (5:00)

Yes.

B (5:01)

Because when you're living in Ghana, your properties abroad, they have to support you.

A (5:04)

Exactly.

B (5:04)

So if you're trying to do a business here, your business got bent.

A (5:07)

Yes.

B (5:08)

Twice. If you didn't have any investment back in Canada, you would have struggled.

A (5:13)

And one more insurance in Ghana to work. So if you have that, also get insurance, right? Yes. Insurance in Ghana works. We've benefited from it. Twice. Yeah.

B (5:23)

They actually came to your rescue because we pay. Amazing.

A (5:27)

Yeah.

B (5:27)

Fred, what do you think is the correct path to fulfillment?

A (5:32)

Entrepreneurship. Any problem in this world that money can solve is not a problem. Any problem in this world that money can solve is not a problem. Go get money. Solve the problem. Think about it.

B (5:42)

Yeah, I'm thinking about it. Break it down.

A (5:45)

Any problem that money can solve is not a problem.

B (5:48)

You just need money.

A (5:49)

Get money and you solve the problem. If you are sick, you need X amount of money. Get that X amount of money, they take care of you.

B (5:56)

How do we get the X amount of money?

A (5:58)

And that's why entrepreneurship comes in. Derek. People underestimate the power of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship runs the world. The global economy is entrepreneurship. We fight wars over entrepreneurship. One is entrepreneurship. Because that's the economy right there. Tell me any business in this world that is not entrepreneurship? Tell me one. You are the interviewer. But there's none. Entrepreneurship is the path to fulfillment.

B (6:23)

How about how hard it is, Eric?

A (6:26)

Everything is hard. Nothing in this world is easy. Everything. Even life. Why do we build shelter? We can walk around like animals. Everything. So have it in your mind. Maybe it's the research and development in me. Because if you do research, the number one character you build is acceptance of failure. Because most of the time all the things you work on will fail. So I think maybe that has built that personality trait in me that you have to master. Accepting that everything is hard and failure comes with it.

B (6:57)

What would be your best advice for the young entrepreneur coming up?

A (7:01)

Know as many people as possible. If you see somebody walking in the street, somebody that you admire, don't be shy. Go talk to the person and you'll be Surprised? I've met because of business. You know, the beauty of business is you meet so many people. Big men, small men, small men in between, big women in between. You'll be surprised how much they are willing to share. I've gone into offices of some of the biggest men. If you go there, keep quiet. You're not there to argue. Because if you know what you, if you are, if you are really that brilliant, you'll be better, bigger than him or her. Keep quiet and listen to everything they tell you. Let me tell you a story. I worked for the second largest coatings manufacturer in the world. The largest in North America. The second largest in the world. When I got there, high flying chemist. I met some older chemists there. When I went, I kept quiet. He showed me how to make products. They had been working on this particular product for two years with zero sales. I went there, oh, this is how we make it. This how we do this. This how we do this. This is how we do it. And they went for a conference. I didn't argue, kept quiet. They were using no measurements. They add this, go and check. Add this, go and check. I knew that what they were doing was wrong. I just kept quiet. He taught me everything. He went for a conference in Cleveland, Ohio, for three days. When they came, I solved the problem. Because all I did was once again, the brilliance in me is I took different ratios of the raw materials, all types of raw materials. I built a spreadsheet, built a formula. So as soon as I punch it in there, it gives me this, the expected number to get. And when I used to, I do the lab work and it used to correlate. When they came, I solved it. When they came back, I solved the problem. Six months. I joined in June. By the end of December, we sold $800,000 worth of good. The following year, 2.6 million, just me alone, outselling 30 chemists in Norfolk, North Carolina, won me Chemist of the year.

B (8:49)

You know, you're a very humble man, right? I, I was speaking to, I was speaking to you on the phone and I said, I'm coming to your factory to come and look at it. And then you go, oh, it's a very small factory. It's a very small factory. And then I saw the videos and I saw the picture and I said, small factory. This is a huge factory. You know, you've done fantastic. You believe in Africa?

A (9:15)

Yes.

B (9:15)

You believe in the power of us?

A (9:17)

Yes.

B (9:18)

Why is Africa struggling to rise globally, Derek?

A (9:22)

Because we have, we don't put emphasis on science and engineering any. Breaks my heart. Let me tell you something. From 1990 to 1997, America produced the most number of engineers. 1997 to 2023, Russia didn't relinquish that position. So China. China. From 2023 to now, China produces the most amount of engineers. Russia, 120 million people, produces 423,000 engineers a year. China, 1.2 or 1.3 billion, produces 500,000 engineers. Now, people ask me, oh, why need engineers? Derek, if you step outside of your compound or if wherever you are in Ghana, if you look outside, what do you see? You look on the background, what do you see?

B (10:07)

Tiles.

A (10:08)

Background. Like. Like on. If you look on the land, raw land, what do you see? The color. What color is it?

B (10:13)

Green.

A (10:14)

That's the grass. What is the earth? What's the color of the earth? Red. Have you asked yourself why is it red? No. Because as an engineer, as a scientist, have you asked yourself, why is it? Red is iron oxide. Ghana is abundant in iron oxide, but yet we import iron. That's why we need to train as many engineers as possible, because engineering correlates so strongly with economics. Connected Minds podcast.