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Published: October 10th 2008
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I m tempted to start like 80% of the blog entries: I really don t know where to begin. I keep myself reasonably busy and I really like it.
First apologies for the delay in answering email and giving news but it is actually easier to have me on my mobile than by internet. We have had no electricity during a wide part of this week and the internet is, let s say, relatively slow (I ve been trying to load a news website on the financial crisis but it is still charging after 30 minutes).
So I ll try to group the news by topics
1- The Microfinance project
This project is getting indeed very interesting. I have nearly finished the business plan and we have already met a number of government officials and NGOs. To give you a clearer picture: the idea is to give interest free loan or loan with very low interest to groups of women + Susu savings scheme (you can wikipedia it if you want more info) + training on basic entrepreneurial skills.
The most interesting thing is really the experience of trying to launch such a project here in Ghana.
In order to get the thing started properly, you need to network with the right people, sell it constantly to "important people" (got my speech all worked out :-)), etc.
You have maybe a stereotype of an Africa, slow and corrupted. Well, you quite often have to travel 1.5 hours to go to the targeted building (traffic jam are permanent here), try to get to the right people (which often involves talking to 30 people before) and then wait when they have the time for you (if you have a nice smile). Sounds like I m complaining, but I find it nearly fun at the mo.... but I can imagine that might be annoying for the business people here. For the other point, well... Let s say the first thing you are told when you need to complete a certain process is: "the process is very very long. It needs to go through a lot of people and this takes some time. And we are very very busy at the moment (hence they were all sleeping before you arrived)." To which of course you need to answer: "we are really willing to start this project as soon as possible
(which means, we don t want to wait 1 year to be told the file was lost), is there a chance to accelerate the process?"... Well, the conversation ends up usually in the corridor and involves... mmm... I leave you to guess.
At the same time, you meet some people that are really enthousiastic by the opportunity, especially because microcredits are so demanded at the moment in Ghana because of the development of the country... And let s say that some credit institutions takes up to 7% monthly interest on credit, without counting the individuals improvising small loans and who can charge sometimes 100% interest...
It is however interesting to enter into this world where influences and informal networks are so important (specially as there are important presidential election on 7 December in Ghana), and where the titel of people give me headaches: they are all chairmans or managers of something.
2- Informal business life
I keep meeting some business type people here and it is actually very interesting to assist to some meeting or deal arrangements at the back of a cafe/restaurant. Informal markets are taking such a huge importance here. Second hand products
bought somewhere in the other side of the world and sold on the streets of Accra. Mobile phones (which are tax free in Ghana) which are transported in fridges by boat.
The importance of the middle man: There are middle men everywhere. One guy is gonna ask another guy if he knows someone who does this and so on. Each of these guys get a commission and something that would have been done easily directly in Germany for example (ya ok germany is super efficient), can end up being quite an expensive process here. To summarze, you want things quickly you pay, you want things cheap, you wait.
3- School
After my first experience teaching without any preparation to a class of hyperactive kids, I just thought that I ll try it again but work more seriously on the topic. So I ll be starting on Monday and teach for 2 hours a day on top of my work in the project. It ll be an early start but hey, I have only one life. I am fairly nervous about it to be honest. I realized that you put me in front of an executive from
a big company and I ll feel fairly all right talking my way through. In front of a class of 15 ghanean kids, I am really not that confident.
I m also gonna try to start some percussion lessons, so will see.
On this, I wish you all a very good weekend. Look at the pictures if u get the time :-)
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