The Man Who Owns 6 Businesses Reveals The One Skill That Made Him Millions in Ghana - It Has Nothing To Do With Money

Summary

Konnected Minds Podcast:
"The Man Who Owns 6 Businesses Reveals The One Skill That Made Him Millions in Ghana – It Has Nothing To Do With Money"
Host: Derrick Abaitey
Guest: Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza, CEO & Founder, Saka Homes (and 5 other businesses)
Date: April 10, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this candid, energetic episode, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza, a serial entrepreneur best known for Saka Homes but who owns six businesses across Ghana. Saka reveals that making millions is less about capital and more about the intangible skills of credibility, adaptability, and relentless grind. The conversation sweeps through his early hustle, gritty failures, real estate truths, and, most importantly, the mindset and skill that truly creates wealth in Ghana.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Redefining the Role of Education and Work Ethic

• University Should Be a Springboard, Not a Box:
  Saka challenges the common belief that a university certificate is only valuable for white-collar jobs. Instead, he advocates using education to develop unique business ideas—even if that means selling street food.

  • “The university is to give you sense to do the kelewele. Your kelewele will be different.” (42:12)

• Entrepreneurial Drive Over Capital:
  Saka insists that starting with limited funds is less important than having a strong, actionable idea paired with credibility and hustle.

  • “Your idea is worth more than capital. If you have a good idea, add credibility to it.” (11:45)

2. Learning From Setbacks and Embracing Resilience

• Losses Are Lessons, Not Failures:
  He details tough losses in business—lost houses, land, and even a shipping container. Each loss turned into a learning experience.

  • “I don’t call them failures. I call them challenges... They make you wiser.” (17:13)

• Letting Go to Move Forward:
  Saka describes “choosing peace over sunk costs” when legal struggles hindered his real estate projects.

  • “One day we went to court and I told my lawyer that this thing is draining me. Let them take the building.” (15:48)

• Exponential Growth Comes With Consistency:
  Early profits may be small but, with tenacity, success multiplies.

  • “Sometimes you start a business, you are not making too much... But if you grow the business well, very soon it will have exponential growth.” (14:19)

3. The Real Skill Behind Saka’s Success: Credibility

• Credibility Opens Doors and Funds:
  "Value your credibility. Let your yea be ye and your no be no." (12:15)
  Saka is unequivocal that trustworthiness—delivering on promises, particularly with money—matters far more than initial capital.

  • “No bank in Ghana can say Saka owes him till today. But I have friends...who can vouch for me.” (11:45)

• Building Networks Intentionally:
  Saka illustrates how maintaining genuine relationships and helping others—even when there’s nothing in it for him—has paid dividends.

  • “A lot of us don’t have a good network. I consciously call people. I keep in touch.” (51:15)
  • “Sometimes...give it to the person whose field it is. If you are lucky, they’ll bring you something.” (53:59)

4. Truths and Myths about Real Estate in Ghana

• Homes Will Not Get Cheaper:
  He explodes the myth that Ghanaian real estate prices will decrease, stressing that most building costs are imported and driven by global markets.

  • “Real estate in Ghana is not going to get cheap any day. The earlier we learn it, the better.” (01:00, 28:20)

• Spot Scams With Critical Thinking:
  Overhyped deals, especially aimed at the diaspora with slick marketing, often turn out to be scams.

  • “When it’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true. Trust me.” (21:46)

• Hard Truths on Affordability:
  Saka is blunt on what it takes to buy property in Ghana: increase your earning power instead of expecting the market to yield.

  • “Let’s make money, let’s think about ways we can make money to achieve our dreams and stop wanting real estate to be cheap.” (37:14)
  • "You can't do jack with that money ... that guy making 2,000 with a little vim can start a business that will generate 2,500 a week." (39:57)

5. Mindset, Motivation, and the Value of Starting Small

• Start Small, Dream Big:
  Embracing small beginnings and pushing for incremental progress is more effective than chasing shortcuts.

  • “You should learn to start small. If you start big, you can collapse. But if you start small, you will learn some mistakes.” (42:56)

• Life Is In Stages—Climb, Don’t Jump:
  Saka underscores steady growth over time; his story traces from humble neighborhoods to high-end developments.

  • “Life is in stages. And sometimes we should learn to climb. No rush, one step at a time.” (38:09)

• The Power of Persistence:
  He likens entrepreneurship to constantly showing up, even in the face of failure.

  • “Show up every day. Because one day it will happen.” (49:46)

6. The Importance of Continual Learning

• Never Stop Learning or Relearning:
  Saka emphasizes the necessity of constant self-education, even after earning multiple degrees.
  • “Every day, I learn... You should understand that you need to unlearn because what you thought was good yesterday might not be good today.” (09:20)

7. Book Recommendations & Practical Advice

• Essential Reads:

  • 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
  • Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
    • “These are the books that I read then. Now I listen to a lot of audiobooks.” (50:30)

• On Motivation vs Discipline:
  “You need a balance... If you are not disciplined you can get into a lot of trouble. But if you are not motivated, you can’t move.” (48:24)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “So if you have a certificate, you can’t sell kelewele. You are mad. Let me drink here. I need money. If it’s kelewele I’ll sell to get the money, I’ll do it.” — Saka (00:05)
• “Your idea is worth more than capital.” — Saka (11:45)
• “Losses teach you wisdom... I don’t call them failures. I call them challenges.” — Saka (17:13)
• “When it’s too good to be true, it’s too good to be true.” — Saka (21:46, multiple times through the episode)
• “Show up every day. Because one day it will happen.” — Saka (49:46)
• “No bank in Ghana can say Saka owes him till today. But I have friends...who can vouch for me.” — Saka (11:45)
• “My first landing, Ebri, when I finished university...was about $2,000. Today, that same land? $45,000.” — Saka (38:09)

---

Timestamps of Important Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------| | 00:00 | Debunking education/career myths | | 04:29 | Entrepreneurship origins; Achimota & hustle | | 11:45 | Building credibility and raising capital | | 14:19 | Water business story—starting from nothing | | 15:48 | Major business losses and learning curves | | 21:46 | How to spot real estate scams | | 23:39 | Entry into real estate and lessons learned | | 28:20 | Ghana’s real estate market—truth vs myths | | 34:49 | The real cost behind Accra luxury homes | | 38:09 | Life stages, scaling up in property | | 42:12 | Education’s real value in entrepreneurship | | 43:56 | Making money is “that simple”—if you persist | | 48:24 | Balancing motivation and discipline | | 50:30 | Book recommendations and networking advice |

---

Tone & Language

Saka mixes streetwise realism with motivational energy, using everyday Ghanian references (kelewele sellers, traffic hawkers, "vim and takashi") and blunt humor. Both host and guest push practical mindset shifts alongside gritty advice—never shying away from hard realities, yet always anchoring back to possibility: “Let your yea be yea and your no be no.” The episode is fast, fun, unfiltered.

---

In Summary

The true “millionaire skill” according to Saka?
Relentless credibility—doing what you say, staying consistent, learning relentlessly, and never being afraid to start small or get your hands dirty. Money follows those traits and the networks they build.

Listen if you need tough love about wealth creation in Ghana, actionable business inspiration, and the sharpest breakdown on why mindset and credibility—not capital—change lives in Africa’s fast-evolving business scene.

Transcript

[Derek Abite]

He should drop the certificate from university and go and sell Kelewele.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So if you have a certificate, you can't sell Kelewele. They are mad. Let me drink here. I need money. If it's Kelevele, I'll sell to get the money, I'll do it.

[Derek Abite]

So then what's the point of a university?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

A lot of people are planning to go to school and go and look for a job. But I encourage them to go to school and create a job.

[Derek Abite]

The young people are saying that they don't have the capital.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Your idea is worth more than capital. I started my business with thousand cities, but then I built a house.

[Derek Abite]

How?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Let's get to the more important thing.

[Derek Abite]

So let's talk about your journey to real estate.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I've lost money, I've lost land. I lost two houses that I built, I had roofed. Someone took me to court for a whole year. We're going to court, wasting our time. One day we went to court and I told my lawyer that this thing is draining me. You should let them take the building.

[Derek Abite]

When it comes to this real estate conversation, young people are saying that homes

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

are not affordable enough because they don't have money. They should look for money. Real estate in Ghana is not going to get cheap any day. The earlier we learn it, the better. Ah, you like cheap things. But no but let's be real here.

[Derek Abite]

The average salary of a regular Ghanaian, it's between 1,005 to about 2,000 average.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You can't do jack with that money and stop wanting real estate to be cheap. It's not going to get cheaper, it's even going to get crazier making money.

[Derek Abite]

That simple.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Hey,

[Derek Abite]

my guest today is Mr. Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza. He's the CEO and founder of Saka Homes. At least that is the business most people recognize him for. But he owns other five businesses which he usually does not talk about. But today, the reason you should sit through this conversation is because you are going to learn the truth unfiltered about business. On the 9th of September, we're doing connected Minds Live and this year is happening in Kumasi or Sakhrum. So if you want to be there and you know, network and engage with other entrepreneurs and learn a thing or two about business mindset and success. The link is in the description, it's also going to be in the comments. Click on it and grab yourself a seat. Also, there are times when we send emails on our email list to our faithful audience. So if you are on the email list, please always look out for an email from myself twice a week. My name is Derek Abite and thank you so much for tuning in to our beautiful podcast and an awesome time we are going to have with you. How you doing, sir?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I'm doing very well. I'm alive and I feel good.

[Derek Abite]

You're a very chilled man.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Well, I didn't start out as a chilled man, but I'm learning to take life easy because someone died yesterday, someone is dying now, someone will die tomorrow. Sometimes if you don't chill, you miss it.

[Derek Abite]

Is it a conscious effort to always live in the now rather than the past?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

And the future is something that I've developed in the last few years because I realized that most of us are only chasing. We are not taking a minute to enjoy. We should learn to enjoy our little successes. I was telling you before we came here, my mother always spoke about her pension and the things she would do during her pension. And she saved for her pension. She pensioned at 60, she died at 61. My sister and I went for the money. We chopped it all. The money she saved, all the enjoyment she deferred. She didn't live to enjoy that. So as we succeed, as we thrive, let's indulge in things that we enjoy. Let's enjoy our little wins. Because if you learn to enjoy your little wins, you'll be amazed the motivation and energy it gives you.

[Derek Abite]

If I take you like I want to really rewind this whole thing to the 19 year old Ebenezer. Hey, did you understand this concept at that time?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Well, I grasped life quite early. After Achimota, I had to stay home for two years to at the time, we who finished in 98 were due to go to the university in 2000. So I had to stay home. Then I had the opportunity to work as a clerk at snet. So I saw how workers woke up in the morning, caught the bus at 6, left the office at 4:30, came back on the bus, traffic in traffic, out. The whole time at work was busy. I was working in records, dirty files. It was tough, but I looked at those. I went with the older ones and how their lifestyle was end. I knew that's not how I wanted to live. So quickly I started thinking about what I could do to make my life better. Also in my time in Achimota, I was from an ordinary home. But I met kids from homes where kids turn on aces in their bedrooms. I met kids from homes where their parents had more than five cars. I met kids who travel abroad for vacations. And these kids became my friends. So I had the privilege of visiting them at home, seeing their lifestyle. And that also motivated me. I realized that, hey, so there are homes that live like this. And if I do well, maybe I can also live like this. I visited some of them, their dad's workplaces, their homes, and all these formed me. So me at 19. Actually, by 20, I knew entrepreneurship was what I wanted to do. And I started pursuing it when we were going to tech. I always say this at stc, while people were carrying their suitcases. Plus my suitcase, I carried a photocopier to tech because I'd visited the school a few weeks before, and I realized that there were a lot of photocopies there. Then reading Graphic. Two weeks later, I saw there was an auction for a photocopy. I put in a bid, I won it, and my blessed mom bought it for me. So I went to tech and started a photocopy machine along my first degree.

[Derek Abite]

Your mom and dad, were they entrepreneurs?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, no, no, no, not at all. They were the only co people who didn't do a lot of. I always make a joke that my dad went for Subopanka to sell, and even that my dad worked at snet. He worked at SNET all his life. To the best of my knowledge, in living memory, he was a worker at snet. My mom was a specialist teacher who specialized in teaching the deaf, the blind and the handicapped. Then she later became a clinical psychologist. She worked with the non formal education division. So she retired.

[Derek Abite]

Was there no pressure to become a doctor, a dentist, the regular.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I was lucky. I had parents who believed in me. And my parents didn't really force you to do anything you didn't want to do. I was a kubolo, right? I roam at 15, 16. I could take trot, trot to visit my friends in Cantonments. Osu Koko Blemle. Like I was independent. I could go anywhere. And I used to do business. No, some not too great business, but I used to do business from jss. I'll be selling things to people. I'll be. I had contacts in Kantamanto. I had contacts in tears. If you wanted to sell something, if you wanted to.

[Derek Abite]

You were a street boy.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yeah, I was that kind of guy who could make it happen. And it's. It's really helped me.

[Derek Abite]

What do you think is the difference between you at that time and the young people today?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Well, I believe they are young people like me now.

[Derek Abite]

Okay.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

But the. The real. I If I was 19 again, yeah. The way I would think and what I would do, I will be way bigger than I am now.

[Derek Abite]

Talk to me, what would you have done?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So I'm of the opinion that your thoughts become your reality. What you constantly think is what you become. So I'm very careful what I think now. Because if I was 19 again, I would realize that if I dreamed just a little bit bigger, if I believed in myself just a little bit more, if I pushed just a little bit further, it would have been much bigger and much easier than it is now.

[Derek Abite]

At 19, you didn't have this information?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No.

[Derek Abite]

When did you chance on this information?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

As I grow, I learn. Every day, I learn. When I came to you now, I was on a lecture, I was listening. You say that for a man my caliber. I have a degree. I have three master's degrees. What am I doing with more learning? I constantly learn because sometimes you need to unlearn. A lot of us don't unlearn. But you should understand that you need to unlearn because what you thought was good yesterday might not be good today. So you constantly need to learn, unlearn and relearn. If you incubate it into you and it becomes part of your life, life becomes less burdensome. So you don't carry any mini, mini, minim. So sometimes you're minim.

[Derek Abite]

Right. So that that 19 year old who is stuck somewhere don't know what they're doing with their life. What are you going to tell them?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I'm going to tell them that, look, we live in a developing country. There is enormous opportunity here, okay? A lot of people are planning to go to school and go and look for a job. But I encourage them to go to school and create a job. There are a lot of opportunities. If you look at the trajectory of developed countries, you can just study them. How did entrepreneurship start? How did people get into this? There are always little, little things people need and we should understand that. Rome wasn't built in a day. Entrepreneurship is tough, but it's worthwhile. I'm going to explain to you why it's worthwhile. If you build it well, it's for you. There's no sucking, there's no moodiness, there is no tomorrow. He decides to fire you, you are gone. It's not your. You put your effort in helping him build his dream. But if you build a business, you are diligent and you build it steadily. It is yours who is coming to sack you. You rather employ people and they work for you. And pursue their dream. If you structure it while a time is coming, your money and people will be working for you and you'll be sitting at home.

[Derek Abite]

The young people are saying that they don't have the capital.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You don't need capital. I have said this and I will continue to say it. I didn't have capital. I had an idea. Your idea is worth more than capital. If you have a good idea, add credibility to it. A lot of people are not credible and that's the real issue. Because I'm able to raise money from my friends to invest in business. The people who know me, when I go to them for money, they give me. Why? No bank in Ghana can say Saka owes him till today. But I have friends, at least about 10 of them who can say their money is with me and can vouch for me that whenever I sell, I give them back their money. And that is what is important. A lot of young people meddle in all sorts of messes and mess up with their credibility. If you are 19 and you are watching me or you are young and you are watching me and you want to start a business, my advice to you is simple. Value your credibility. Let your yea be yay and your no be no. Then let's get to the more important thing. What idea do you want to pursue? If the idea is good, you will have people fund it. When people give you their money, break your back and return them a good investment, you know what happens? They will instantly give you back the money. Because the money people invest is not money that they are going to eat today or money that they are going to spend today. So if you are diligent and you are growing their money, they always bring you back money and the business will grow. A lot of people say they don't have capital. What idea do they have? The idea is more important than the capital. I'm going to explain to you further.

[Derek Abite]

Okay.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

If you have a good idea and you need 20,000 to start.

[Derek Abite]

Yep.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

And you can get 2,000 cities from 10 people. Is that not 20,000? If you are in this country and you can't raise 2,000 cities to start your idea, then you should check who you work with or who are your friends or who you are. Yes. As a person. Because if you are someone who's built a good name, you should be able to raise 20,000.

[Derek Abite]

You think a 19 year old or a 20 year old should be able

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

to raise a 20 year old might not need to start with 20,000.

[Derek Abite]

Okay.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I started my business with thousand Cities. All right, talk to me how I was selling water. Tanker water. My major business was that that's how I blew. And I started it on credit. The guy will give me the water. I'll go and sell it in Ridge Tower. I'll come back. Fidelity bank will pay me. I'll come and pay him. I used to make 100 cedis on a trip. It got the time. It was costing me 100 cedis to go for my money. But I kept on. Then brawl came and they took over the buildings. And all of a sudden my business blew up. I had about four other towers to supply. Still making 100 cities on a trip. But if I do 80 trips a day. Or if I do 80 trips a week, that's 8,000 cities. So my life changed. We have to be consistent. Just don't give up. See the future. Sometimes you start a business, you are not making too much. And because of that, you want to quit. But if you grow the business well, very soon it will have exponential growth and your money will increase. We should also understand this business is profit and loss.

[Derek Abite]

Okay?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Most of us only focus on profit. We don't think about loss. So understand that sometimes you lose money. And losing money is not the end of the world. I know people who have started businesses and are the least challenge. You are the least loss.

[Derek Abite]

What should people do when the losses come?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Brace yourself up and go again. Think better. The losses teach you wisdom. You learn lessons. And what are lessons for? To make your life better. I lose money. Don't think I'm sitting there. I don't lose money. I've lost money. I've lost land. I've lost two houses in Pillar two. When I started this was in the early teens. I lost two houses that I built. I'd roofed. Someone took me to court. For a whole year. We were going to court, wasting our time. One day we went to court and I told my lawyer that this thing is draining me. He's taking me. He should let them take the building. I'm going. He didn't understand. But by letting that building go, I've built more houses. Because going to court every day. I don't know if you've gone to court in Ghana before you go. You are safe. You are not safe. Cases are joined. And because of that, it held me back. Because I wasn't moving. I was waiting to settle the matter, but. But once I let go of those buildings with a little I have. I moved on to other things. And by the grace of God, look at me now.

[Derek Abite]

That's some of the stories that a lot of, you know, successful people don't tell young people.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

The failure. We lose. We lose too. We lose. I've lost lands. Last year I did a transaction and I lost bigly. Like I'm talking serious money. But what did I do Quickly? I looked for other opportunities that I could do to make some quick money to show up for the cash that I'm losing. And by the grace of God, I'm on it. So don't think that we don't lose. It's risky. So there's profit and there's loss. Just make sure your profit is more than your loss. And tough times come. There was a day that I had house. I had about five houses sitting down. And my wife needed thousand cedis to go to the hospital. And I didn't have the money. And I was too embarrassed to tell her I didn't have the money. So I went for a walk, a long walk. I'll come. And I realized she's still at home. So I'll go again because I thought she would use her money. And later on. But that day I learned something that as a businessman, you shouldn't put all your money in stocks and materials, have a little cash for emergency. A lot of us put so much money in our business that we don't even have any cash anywhere for an emergency day like this day that my wife wanted to go to the hospital. So since that time, I've learned to keep some money for a rainy day. And these are lessons that you can only learn on the grind. Nobody can teach you. As for the losses, every now and then they come. I went into car business with my friend. We shipped cars. A whole container fell into the sea. There was a fire on the ship. The rescue people, or there was a fire on the ship and some people went to rescue it and they held the cargo hostage. Or there's this technology they use in marine. So they seize the goods, basically. So we lost the whole container of cars. Four cars. We didn't die. We moved on. Today we are bringing brand new cars from China to sell. I don't call them failures, okay? I call them challenges. They make you wiser. They make you stronger. Now when we ship, we do insurance. At the time, we're not insuring our goods. But now when we ship, we insure. How did we learn that? By losing that container. So I don't want to term them as failures. There are challenges that you face that make you better. Now when I'm going on a land before I pay for a land, I do a proper test. A proper test includes going on the land to pretend that I'm measuring it or I'm digging it or something. Because land speaks. Once you do that, whatever is on the land will come

[Derek Abite]

before you even pay for it.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes. Recently, someone wanted to give me some land at the airport. I called my guy. I said, well, do we have roofing sheet for hoarding? They said, yeah. I said, okay, go and hold this land. Saturday, where they're holding, we're holding a big man. I saw two calls. One from a top developer I know who is friends with a very big man, and another one from the big man's pa. So once I saw the call, I said, why are these people calling me? I'd even forgotten that they were holding the land. As soon as I picked a call, he said, my mind. Senior man said, hey, saka are stealing Mr. Susan so's land. I said, oh, chief, tell him not to panic. I'm just testing the land. Someone wanted to give it to me. If it's not experience, I would have given that guy $50,000. Because he wanted 50,000 me to commit $50,000 in day and day. I said, no, let me test the land first. And this comes with experience because the land was selling for so much that 50,000 was just a flash in the pan. So if he says the land is for him and give him 50 and go on the land and pay the rest later, you'll be tempted to do that. Yeah. Yeah. But one thing that I've also come to learn that I want to share is that.

[Derek Abite]

Let me stop you here for a minute. So if it's your first time watching Connected Minds 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.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

When is too good to be true? Indeed, it's too good to be true. Trust me, I know the luckiest guy. You're not the wisest guy. So always be careful when it's too good to be true. It's indeed too good to be true. So be careful.

[Derek Abite]

So let's talk about your journey to real estate.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Okay.

[Derek Abite]

When did that journey start, the real estate aspect of your businesses?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I went into real estate by chance. It's not like I planned to go into real estate. When I started making money from my water Business and other things that I was doing. I was into graphic designing, I was printing T shirts, I was doing all sorts. I basically do from Amina to Zenabu. Anything to give me good money, any opportunity. I see. But then I built a house, my first house. Because I was making decent money and I wanted to build a place for myself. When I built that house, I put a to let sign on it that I was going to rent it out because I wasn't married. It was a four bedroom and we had a place for playing pool. It was quite a nice house. Then a couple came and said that they had the house was on sale at the time. I was desperately looking for a business, a stable business. Because the water I was chancing on Ghana waters inefficiencies. I knew that eventually one day things would get better in Ghana and I wouldn't have the opportunity to sell tanker water.

[Derek Abite]

Right.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So it was that incident that brought my mind to the fact that I could be building homes to sell. And that's how I entered real estate.

[Derek Abite]

Because the couple came in and said they wanted to buy it.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes, I had built it to rent it. But by day saying they wanted to buy it. It brought my attention to the fact that I could build and sell.

[Derek Abite]

Okay, so after you sold it then what was the plan with the money you received? How did you turn it into okay?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

At the time I was selling it. Before they moved in, Ghana Highways Authority marked the road the house for a road highway.

[Derek Abite]

Right.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So I had to refund their money. But later on Atamil's first time I was compensated for the building. I was given $125,000. At the time was 125,000 cedis. And they demolished it. I went to demolish it myself. I took the roof, I took the doors. I took all I could take and I used it. Plus the money that I had and the money that I was given to build three houses in Paraguay state. And that's how I.

[Derek Abite]

Did you have the land there already?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, I acquired the land. That land was a low land. I filled it with 300 trips of sand. I got the 300 trips from the construction of the N1. At the time I bought a trip for 100 cities. So it was 30,000 for 300 trips. They needed somewhere to go and dump the trips and they wanted somewhere close and Paraku was close to them. So they filled the land for me was a low lying land. They filled it. I put three houses then

[Derek Abite]

these times you had no experience in real estate. You just built it and I knew that.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I knew the architects were there, I had the contractor.

[Derek Abite]

So from the time you finished building the like the next three homes to selling, how long did it take?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Oh, it didn't take too long. Let me say maybe I used because this one I was well funded. I think I used about a year to build those three houses.

[Derek Abite]

Okay.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

But at this time I'd already built another house I was living in. That's an uncompleted. I bought and finished. So one year to build those three houses. I sold them, maybe build and finish. I sold them, maybe within I sold two, then I moved into one and sold the one that I had already bought and that's how I started building and selling. So now I build, I sell, I build, I sell.

[Derek Abite]

When it comes to this real estate conversation, young people are saying that homes are not affordable enough for them because

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

they don't have money. They should look for money. Their homes are not going to be cheaper. From time immemorial real estate doesn't get cheaper anywhere in the world unless it's subsidized by government or a social housing. But if you want to buy a home, I'm telling you today homes are not going to be cheaper in Ghana. Not today, not tomorrow. We import. Most of what we use in finishing we import from the universal marketplace. And the universal marketplace thrives on competition and price. We spend hard forex to import these things. So how is house, how are houses going to be cheaper? Now that the city is stable, it's the best time. I think you should try and grab something because you can plan with it. Most of our salaries are low so people cannot apply for mortgages or they cannot afford a decent mortgage. So I'm hoping that things will improve and people's salaries will improve but the buildings are not going to get any cheaper. Any real estate in Ghana that claims to be selling for cheap, they don't last. They end up messing up people. I don't want to mention names. There was a company that came, did a lot of noise, pasted adverts on the whole of the highway stretch. They were quoting three bedrooms for miraculous prices. A lot of you fell into that trap. I'm asking you today, do you have your houses? No. At the time I said that this will crash, this will not work.

[Derek Abite]

So you knew that was a scam?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes, because it's a scam. You like cheap things. I told you when it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. The earlier we learn it, the better.

[Derek Abite]

A lot of people from the diaspora felt for that.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes, they should fall. Because they especially they should fall for it. I don't pity them. When it's too good to be true. It's too good to be true. Learn it.

[Derek Abite]

Over 800 homes they live promised.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes, they should go and live in them. When they were promising them at those prices, where were they? Don't you understand this? The price of a door in China remains the price of a door in China. Are you getting those any cheaper than China? So do you think we are greedy? As we are building and we are quoting what we are quoting people come, they use English. You know why the diasporans fell? Because the people came. They were slanging, they were using their terminologies, they were using their market. I don't pity them one bit. I had a friend who came. He was working with them. I told him this day. He said, oh, saka, no, no, no. The guy is the guy. A few months later I called Mr. Taka. What did you see that we didn't see? Now every day they are in court. And that is just one of those companies. When in 2005, when we finished, commercial investment came East Lagoon Hills. Now it's Legon Hills. He was promising people that they should pay money and their houses will be ready in three years. And they're moving. Look, do you know why it's called real estate?

[Derek Abite]

Talk to me.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

It is the only estate that is real. Even if the house burns, the land is valuable. That's why it's called real estate. And real estate is like gold. It's universal. Don't fall for scams. The only variation, the major variation, is the cost of the land. The energy it takes to build a cheap building is the same energy we use in building a nice building. The difference is in the finish and finishes are relative. Do you understand me? So when it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. Real estate in Ghana is not going to get cheap any day. The government said they were doing chokoli. How many years after. These are the deep things we need to talk about. If you are a young man, you are watching this and you want to buy a place, strategize, work hard, make money and buy when it's cheap. When it's too good to be true, it's too good to be true. If you are happy now, my prayer is that in the last few months, my prayer is that this big push idea that Mahamadou has started will thrive. Because this is what is going to do for most of us, if the road to Winneba is good and you can drive to Accra in an hour, land in Winnebagh is cheaper. So you can build in Winnebagh and drive to Accra. If pram pram and beyond the roads are good, you can live in Chokoli and come the railway service, the embarkadan service. That stretch has promise. There are a lot of decently priced lands there. If it's done well, government can put in incentives where developers like us can build there. People can come to Accra easily by rail. These are the things that can make real estate cheap in Ghana. But as per our current model, it's

[Derek Abite]

not going to be cheap.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, no, no way.

[Derek Abite]

There's somebody living in the diaspora. A person that fell for the recent scam that we have seen in the country. How do they differentiate between what Saka Homes is talking about?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

They live abroad.

[Derek Abite]

Yes.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So how do they have a great understanding of real estate? Because it works in their country. So why do they think that it should be different here? Ghana is no different from abroad.

[Derek Abite]

It's not.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No information gets here in real time. The doors they use in America for their houses is the same doors we buy from China and use.

[Derek Abite]

But in terms of checks, right. The person that is trying to purchase

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

rent is too good to be true. It's too good to be true. If everybody is selling at 40 and this guy says he's selling at 25 and you think that because he's selling at 25 you go for a go. Where are the 800 homes? Have you seen the development? Because you are speaking slangs and train English are about then another thing, another scam.

[Derek Abite]

Yep.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You know the diasporans, they like to hear some English. They like to see some adverts. They like to see something and these comers have noticed that. So now they bring diasporans to come and market and advertise the content creators. Yes, land. And remember, the content creators are paid to do this. So they talk about lands in the breed they can, they could some funny, funny prices. And I sit and I watch like you don't know what is coming. And it's the truth. They get scammed always because they like cheap side. That's the side you guys are not talking about.

[Derek Abite]

Yeah, but no but let's be real here.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You do your due diligence. You know the price of landing a bridge. Okay. So if someone is giving it to you for cheap and you think you are a lucky guy, then you are fool. You are not a Lucky guy. It's real estate, okay? Nobody, nobody will sell land that is valuable for cheap. It is land.

[Derek Abite]

So watch this. A four bedroom townhouse two roads behind KB Clay being sold at $580,000. Does it actually make clear sense to you?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

It makes perfect sense to me.

[Derek Abite]

You genuinely think it's worth the price?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes. Why is it not worth it? This is East Lagoon. East Lagoon has everything. There are schools, there are good roads, there are restaurants. You can live in East Lagoon and live and not go out of East Lagoon. So why do you want to pay less? Let's play it back to if you are abroad. I get a lot of these arguments from these diasporans that we are selling for 580 and there is what is here? What is here? The houses you are buying in Maryland and those places for 350, $400,000. What is there? You claim there's a mall close by. A and C mall is close by. There's a school you mentioned, KBE Leclerc. KBE Leclerc is close by. There are a lot of cornerstone and all these schools are in East Lagoon. What else? Roads. There are good roads in East Lagoon. So why should East Lagoon sell for less? And how many East Lagoons we have in Ghana? In the case of abroad, there are a lot of East Lagoons. Okay, so they can afford to go down on price. But here there's a market, there's competition and people want it. The 550 you are talking about, did he not sell?

[Derek Abite]

He sold.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

He sold in record time. He didn't just sell, it was about eight of them. I know the houses.

[Derek Abite]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

It sold in record time.

[Derek Abite]

Yeah. So he sold.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Look, let's be serious.

[Derek Abite]

And the people buying these properties are, you know, regular Ghanaians with regular income. These are some of the things that you know a lot of people.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I did a community of 15 houses in that same area you're talking about at the time. I sold it for 270 to 300. And apart from one Nigerian and two people from the diaspora, everything was bought by Ghanaians.

[Derek Abite]

Wow.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

People make money. People make a decent living. Some can take a mortgage, those who work in the banks, those who are rising. So please, let's make money. Let's think about ways we can make money to achieve our dreams and stop wanting real estate to be cheap. It's not going to get cheaper, it's even going to get crazier because Ghana is just a little bit of Ghana that is very well developed that you can get all you want to the Security, the comfort, the proximity to stuff is not much. So if you think Accra is going to become cheaper, forget it. It's not going to become cheaper. You need to make more money from time immemorial. Has it been cheaper? No. So what makes you think it's going to get cheaper? You are not realistic. If you are thinking that real estate is going to be cheaper in Accra.

[Derek Abite]

That 20 year old that is just finishing university is going to have a real hard time.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

He's not going to have a real hard time. He just needs to position himself in life and think about how he's going to make it. Don't start on the premise that he's going to have a hard time. My first landing, Ebri, when I finished university in 2004, I think I bought a plot for about maybe $5,000 or less. Today that same. No, I bought a plot for maybe $2,000. Today, that same land. I'll sell you a piece for $45,000. And this is just 20 years ago, but today I can afford it and I can afford more of it. So I didn't set out saying that it's going to be difficult for me. I took the rope, I climbed the steps, I made money gradually. Now I can afford it. That's life. I didn't start by living in East Lagoon or Cantonment. I've lived in Anya, I've lived in Domi Parako. I lived in Domi Parako for a long time. I was building my money, I was raising my business. We should understand that life is in stages. And sometimes we should learn to climb. No rush, one step at a time. If you jump, you come down. But if you climb, you can decide where you stay. Either you go up or you come down.

[Derek Abite]

You know what? Sometimes the issue we have is the average salary of a regular Ghanaian. It's between a thousand five to about two thousand average across board.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You can't do jack with that money. You can't even live a month without money. That's why most of us are thieves, huh? We are crooks. We are thieves. We steal, we defraud, we do all sorts to get money. But this is the catch. That guy making 2002 5, 3000 with just a little vim and a little believe in themselves, can start a business that will generate 2,500 a week. You're asking me what business? Selling kiliwole in traffic. Putting a hot pot and oil at a traffic prune zone around 4:30 to 6:30 in the evening.

[Derek Abite]

He should drop the Certificate from university and go and sell kelevele.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

So if you have a certificate, you can't sell kalewele. You are mad. I have a certificate. I was in dirty tankers fetching water to go and sell in my shorts and my T shirt. I went to Newmont to go and deliver water. I saw my mate, she didn't want to talk to me because of how I came. I was pulling the pump and the tank with the boys. You understand me? Yeah, but look at me. I put in the work. So most people are not putting in the work, they just want to take throttle. Go to work. Go and sit there. Yes, I s are closed. Come get there. 3, 5 or 2, 5amonth and that's it. But the Cleveland is just your evening money. Now let's go to the morning money. What will you sell? Will you sell cocoa in traffic? Will you chop fruits and sell in traffic every morning traffic? Prunes. When you have fresh fruits, you are selling. If you do a pack for 10 cities and your cost is 5 cities, you are making 5 cities on a park. If you sell 100 is 500 cities a day. If you're able to sell 5 days a week, 2,500 isn't no more money than going to work. And you sell this between 6am and 9am Then at 4 you do your kiliwilli, let's say Kiliwili. You're able to record 200 a day or 500 a day, is it not? Thousand cities a day.

[Derek Abite]

So that was the point of the university.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

The university is to give you sense to do the kiliwili. Your kiliwele will be different. Having to go on to a place where just the packaging made you see that somebody was thinking, has someone not made you a dress that you saw that, ah, where the only tailor or a designer. That is what they invest. It's universal education. That's what it's supposed to make you do. Do things better. I'm not saying you shouldn't go to school, but if you go to school, use it, use your brain. There are people in need, they need all sorts of things. You've gone to university, think about it and provide it for them. Start a school, start a hospital, start a clinic.

[Derek Abite]

But they're saying, where are they going to get the money from?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You see if you have a good idea about the clinic, it's a good idea. Your focus should be on a good idea. A lot of the. Listen, Listen today from this conversation, from this podcast. If you don't listen to Anything. If you don't hear anything, I want you to focus on a good idea. If you develop a good idea, you'll be able to raise money for it. A good idea has some uniqueness. Work it and grow it. A lot of us too are not willing to start small. You should learn to start small. Because if you. If you start big, you can collapse. But if you start small, you will learn some petty, petty mistakes. You will learn the ropes and you grow. It's as simple as that.

[Derek Abite]

Is making money that simple?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Yes. I've come to the realization that it's that simple.

[Derek Abite]

After how many years?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I believe that within six years, you will stabilize. The first six years can be very rough. But don't give up. I want you to also take from me that the darkest part of the night is closest to the morning. So don't give up. Most of us give up when this is gonna happen. Look, look, look. My guy, myself and many other entrepreneurs like me that I know started with nothing.

[Derek Abite]

Ibi, Vim and Takashi never traveled abroad. Never stayed abroad.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, no, no. I didn't go abroad anywhere. I went to Achimota school. I went to tech. I started hustling in tech. I had a photocopy machine. I had a popcorn machine. I was buying shoes in Kathamanto to sell. I wanted money. Most people are not desperate for money. Or they don't dream of. They don't have dreams. Me, I had dreams. I'm living my dream. I wanted to travel the world.

[Derek Abite]

So is there school system?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I've been to 79 countries because that was my dream. Do you know how much that cost me? And some of them, I've been there more than 10 or 20 times. But it's because it's my dream. And I work and I live it. A lot of us should pursue dreams. We should do audacious dreams that push us to work and make money. If making money is your focus, like you say, somebody should go and sell Kiliwe. I need money. If it's Kelly William, I'll sell. To get the money, I'll do it.

[Derek Abite]

I have a degree.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I didn't do my degree. I didn't do my degree to be sitting in old tankers distributing water to offices. And you see the hose they use. You see how dirty it is. You see the tank. Then me, Sakamo town boy, I'll be pulling it. Because I delivered water to a house once in Cantonments. And they had been waiting for the water. They had been deleted. And I don't know if I Should mention the woman's name. She had a foreign name on the phone, she sounded foreign. So I'd come to pack by her house waiting for the tanker. Then the tanker came. I went to the house. Mrs. Blair Myers comes out and she's some Ghana girl who has married an Obrone and acquired an accent. The insults and printable words she used on me for being late to deliver the water. I was just. Sorry, ma', am, sorry, ma', am, sorry, sorry, sorry. Found full respect. I kept my business, I got my money, I enjoyed my life. Somebody would have flipped, told her off because. Right, so you have the mid degree holder girl. You know, there's a tendency but when it comes to your business, you guard your heart, you use wisdom because people will say things to you that might not make you happy but because they are your clients and because they put food on your table, you will need to suck it up. Listen to them, food them if that makes them better and take your money. At the end of the day when you are chilling in your car and you are going, you are paid as your money because if you don't suck it up to them, you go and work for somebody and suck it up to him. But at the end of the day if you build your own business, the business is yours. Do you understand me?

[Derek Abite]

I get you. I get you 100%. And at this point on September 9, Kumasi connected minds live if you still want to be there, I'm gonna be around, Obindako is going to be there, Ekoishan is going to be there and a few other special guests that we're going to invite. So the details are in the description and then also the comments. So click and get yourself a seat. In the pursuit of building your life, what is most important? Motivation or discipline?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

You need a balance of both. I say you need a balance because if you are not disciplined you can get into a lot of trouble. But if you are not motivated, you can't move. So you need a balance. Like you should be afraid of poverty. Mimi Tree here. I hate poverty and because of that I always want to have money and I also think that if I go broke I don't know where I'll go for help. So I don't want to be broke.

[Derek Abite]

Is poverty a mindset or hell yes in her pocket?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Well, some people want to be poor because all they want to do is beg people. Ask people if you put your mind to it. Those making money, they don't have two heads. Those doing great things, they don't have three Heads. They are just motivated. They have vim, they have a zeal. They believe in their strides. What stops you from doing same? You've sat here, you've interviewed a lot of entrepreneurs. Most of them didn't come from rich homes.

[Derek Abite]

That's true.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

It's just vim and showing up. May I say you should show up every day. Because one day it will happen. Whenever I go to America, I play the Mega million, right? Because I'm of the strong belief that one day I'm going to win the Mega million. So every day I go to America, I chip in something a hundred or fifty. I play.

[Derek Abite]

What's the best advice you've ever received?

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

To build an early prime Accra Kwekube Diako told me that. I didn't listen for some time, but once I listened I realized it's the best advice he ever gave me.

[Derek Abite]

I've heard you speak on some books you read. But today on this pod, I want you to recommend a book for us.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

7 Habits of Highly Effective People. That's a book I'll never forget because that book helped me. And Rich dad poured that too. These are the books that I read then. Now I read all sorts. But I don't read as much as before. Now I listen to a lot of audiobooks. Audiobooks. And I take a bit from here. And then I go to school a lot. At least chance. I'm in school right now. I'm doing Institute of Directors. After that I'll look for something to do because I realize that when I go to school, I build my network, I meet more people, I make more friends. And one key thing. It's good you brought this up. A lot of us don't have a good network. The water contract is my mate for matching water who gave it to me. Some of you are so anti. So you don't keep in touch? You don't consciously keep in touch? You don't make friends? I consciously take my phone and occasionally call people. Oh, hello, how are you? I have a friend at the bank of Ghana. I always tell him he's going to be the governor. And when he becomes a governor, I'll have the contract to. To produce. To cut Ghana's money, right? And I've been telling him this for years. So if my friend becomes a governor and Saka gets the contract to cut the money, what will you say? I have a friend.

[Derek Abite]

You've earned it.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

I have a friend. He says that he's going to be the CEO of Vodafone when we're in tech. And I always call him. Every now I don't see him all, but every year I'll call him maybe twice. I tell him that when you grab the CEO, I'll be supplying the phones. You would think I'm playing. I have a friend, he's an mp. I always tell him that he's going to become a minister and I'm going to do some big contracts. I have another friend. I told him he's going to become the president. And when he becomes the president, I'm going to be in charge of. There's an institution that. I said I'm going to be the board chairman of that institution. And you think it's a joke. But trust me, because I keep in touch with them and because I've been saying this for years and because I've executed myself well in life and I'm credible, able and capable. When that day comes, you'll be surprised that I'll be the one doing these things I said I'll do today in life. I have my friends who are CEOs who are this, who are that. And they give me opportunity every now and then. It's just that my hands are full. And sometimes I tell them I cannot take it. That's another thing I want to share. It's not everything that you take. Sometimes when they bring you something and it's not your field, give it to the person whose field it is. Recently I was on vacation. Someone brought me an oil deal. Told them, I don't do oil. I have friends, Harry and Albert, they do oil. I called them, I said, harry and Albert, this is the deal. Will you do it? They said yes. I introduced the guy to them. I didn't do anything. Again, I was sitting there. These friends called me and said that oh, Saka. Because of the introduction you did. If this deal goes through every month, we'll bring you Tikku Natural.

[Derek Abite]

Yep.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

People bring me deals, events. I say, I don't know. Let me call my friend. Think Maho Kani. She can do it for you. They go, they get done. I'm not going to force myself and become an event organizer. Because someone has brought an opportunity and I'm able to. Sometimes we need to concentrate on what we know how to do best and do it well. Then the one that we don't know, we give it to someone. If you are lucky, they'll bring you no co fiu you enjoy. People come to me. They want houses I don't have. But I know that my brother Kwando or my friends Mahogany Boulevard or Spike. Like, I'll just call another developer or say, oh, if it's a senior Imperial Homes chief, can you sell? Do you have this? And I sell. I don't say that because I don't have it.

[Derek Abite]

You throw that deal.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

No, I'll call other developers with capacity and give it to them. I have brought about four different people into real estate. It hasn't diminished me. It hasn't taken anything from me. Every now and then, I call them. We brainstorm, we share experience, and that's how we grow.

[Derek Abite]

We have been speaking with the owner of Saka Homes. Thank you so much. I appreciate this. And to the people that I've made it this far to the end, can you drop it in the comments? I really want to know if you're one of my champions. And help me say a very big thank you to our man here, because this has been one of the rarest conversations I've ever had on this podcast. Thank you so much.

[Ebenezer Kwejo Saka Adomenza]

Don't mention it.

[Derek Abite]

Yeah, I'm gonna put the details of Saka Homes as well. And in the website, there are a lot of properties going on that if you don't want to get scammed, you can click on the link and get one. Thank you.