# His Father’s Last Words Changed Everything | Jeph B. Acheampong’s Journey & Building Blossom Academy

An episode of [The Peswa Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1781537541), 13 Jul 2025, 55 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/110e1ce70/podcast/play/117753067/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-2-31%2F421135800-44100-1-4110cb17126374be.mp3

Send a text From his father’s profound final message, Jeph B. Acheampong found his “why” — a reason that continues to fuel his passion for creating sustainable solutions and helping others unlock their full potential. In this powerful and thought-provoking episode of The Peswa Podcast, we sit down with Jeph, Founder and Director of Blossom Academy, whose entrepreneurial journey began with one deeply personal mission: to put others first. In this honest conversation, he opens up about building and sustaining a business in Africa, navigating the tough realities of raising funding, and staying rooted in purpose while creating real impact. In this episode, we explore: •The life-changing final words from Jeph’s father •Why putting others first became his driving force •How Blossom Academy is reshaping access to data education across Africa •What it takes to raise funding as a young African entrepreneur •The mindset shift every student and young professional should make •How to identify your strengths and turn them into opportunity Whether you’re a student, a rising founder, or someone seeking clarity and direction, this episode offers insight, motivation, and practical wisdom. 📩 Connect with us: • Follow Bill on Instagram: @billcobbinah • Follow us on all socials: @thepeswa 📢 Subscribe The Peswa on all Platforms: https://linktr.ee/thepeswa Get access to amazing royalty-free music for your projects — sign up for an Uppbeat account using the referral link: https://share.uppbeat.io/cy9fcqqxj4tg Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations like this! The Fresh Patch Podcast - Where Good Pets Get It. Welcome to the Fresh Patch Podcast where we talk about everything, from dog... Listen on: Apple Podcasts Support the show

## Transcript

[0:00] So now here you are. Yep, founded Blossom Academy.
[0:05] You're in the USA, founding member of a Unicorn.
[0:10] You had an IC global going. NYU graduates, why did you
[0:15] decide to come back to Ghana? You know, every year the stats
[0:19] say that 12 million African youths into the job market, but
[0:22] only three million fine for more work.
[0:24] So as I'm thinking about systems change, how do we really create
[0:28] jobs at scale and how do we create jobs that are relevant to
[0:32] Africa? The founder of the person that
[0:35] designed the toilet seat cover is probably sitting in a private
[0:40] jet right now. So when you go try and build
[0:43] something, try and find something to solve.
[0:46] So when I got into NYUI, literally had on my dorm wall.
[0:51] Get rich in college or graduate regretting.
[0:54] You need to figure out what is it that comes naturally to you
[0:58] and how do you essentially take that and really turn it into
[1:04] something meaningful for society.
[1:06] Funding How have you managed to, like, sustain what you've done
[1:11] over the period? Skillet How have you enticed
[1:14] investors to commit to this course?
[1:16] So the final words that my father said to me before he
[1:19] passed away when I was 10. Over the years it became my why.
[1:24] Why I decide to help other people, Why I decide to put
[1:27] others first. He shared that.
[1:29] You know what? He's going to the hospital,
[1:32] he'll be back. But.
[1:43] To the community, thanks for telling you again.
[1:46] So the conversation you're about to listen to is one with Jeff
[1:49] Champo. Jeff is an amazing young man
[1:51] building an amazing infrastructure at Blossom
[1:54] Academy. Essentially at the core of what
[1:56] they do is to train young people and then connect them to
[2:00] economic opportunities. And I think it's a very
[2:03] substantial way of dealing with systemic economic, what's it
[2:08] called, disadvantage and in empowering people economically.
[2:13] And so it was an interesting conversation.
[2:15] We spoke about the demands of his father, his journey as a
[2:19] young man through NYU, used by a single mom, going to Harvard,
[2:24] the building blossom and the future.
[2:26] And I can't wait for you to listen to it.
[2:29] And as the match of ghosts build something.
[2:35] How are you doing? I'm good, thank you.
[2:38] Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me.
[2:40] It's a. Pleasure the the last time we
[2:41] spoke we spoke in was in March I.
[2:45] Didn't remember. It was March and you told me
[2:48] you're out of the country and you're going to be around in
[2:49] July after. Oh, God, is July ever going to
[2:51] come? Yeah.
[2:54] So this conversation happened in July is like, for me, it's a
[2:57] testament to the fact that the year is really running.
[2:59] Yep. Because you felt so far away.
[3:02] Yeah, it's happening. Yeah.
[3:03] Anyway, thanks for what you do and I really appreciate an
[3:06] interesting conversation today. Looking forward to it.
[3:09] Thanks again for having me. Amazing podcast.
[3:12] Really, thank you. Take care of your mother and
[3:18] brothers. What does that mean to you, that
[3:22] statement? Yes, that was that.
[3:27] Those were the final words that my father said to me before he
[3:29] passed away when I was 10. And I am the first born of three
[3:35] boys. And this was in our living room.
[3:39] And he shared that, you know what, he's going to the
[3:42] hospital, He'll be back. But while he's gone, I should
[3:46] take off my mother and my brothers.
[3:49] And for me, over the years, it became my why, why I decide to
[3:53] help other people, why I decide to put others first because it's
[3:58] just deeply rooted in me to really help other people as
[4:00] well. And it started from just helping
[4:02] my siblings, helping my mother make sure that you're OK.
[4:05] And now it's just transcends to helping other people through the
[4:08] work that I do. OK, interesting.
[4:10] So essentially from 10 to the money become raised by a single
[4:15] mother, two other siblings was it was in Ghana or the US?
[4:21] Yes, yes. So raised in Ghana till 13.
[4:26] So we all moved to the US when I was 13.
[4:29] So that's my mother, two brothers, myself.
[4:32] And we moved for greener pastures as most people move
[4:36] for. And fortunately, it happened at
[4:39] a time where things were becoming very difficult because
[4:43] we passed away. We just went through a lot of
[4:46] turmoil, a lot of challenges, but going to the US was a fresh
[4:50] start for us to be able to really live a new life, explore
[4:54] other opportunities. Yeah.
[4:56] So I gather you went to Forest Hill?
[4:58] Forest Hills. Yep.
[4:59] OK. And then you went to NYU?
[5:01] Yes, study economics. Exactly.
[5:04] Why? Why that choice?
[5:06] Well, in all truth, the goal is not to study economics like most
[5:11] African students. You're going to be a doctor,
[5:13] lawyer. I was going the the medical
[5:16] path. I was very sure I was going to
[5:18] be a cardiologist, saying that from God knows how old I was.
[5:22] But so actually back at Forest Hills, I was on this track
[5:26] called the Carl Sagan honest track.
[5:28] So these are usually students that end up going the medical,
[5:31] going to the medical field. But NYU actually came by chance.
[5:38] So I remember this very explicitly.
[5:40] One afternoon, I went to the college admissions office.
[5:43] I used to spend a lot of time there.
[5:46] And one of my friends came by the office who is called Steven.
[5:52] And Steven shared that, oh, he got into this school called NYU
[5:55] Early Admission, and he was sharing with everyone.
[5:59] Everyone seemed very excited. And I'm like, what is NYU?
[6:02] I've never heard of the school before.
[6:04] So before he left, he said you should apply as well.
[6:07] You're smart. And the college counselor
[6:10] overheard the conversation and gave me a voucher and I
[6:13] literally took one of my college application letters.
[6:16] I took out the name of the school and I put NYU there.
[6:19] Password. A few months later I got in.
[6:21] But being at NYU is what brought in the whole idea of you can
[6:25] actually make an impact through business.
[6:27] You can actually make an impact through economics.
[6:30] It doesn't have to necessarily be through the medical field.
[6:33] So it exposed me to a lot and seeing people who come from
[6:36] families where their family state economics business, I
[6:39] think really helped me actually figure out that this is the
[6:41] pathway I should choose as well. Talking about NYUI, where you
[6:46] started this thing? I'm announcing global?
[6:48] Yep. Your research.
[6:52] Yeah, humanitarian fashion. What is that about to explain?
[6:55] Yeah. What led to that, you know?
[6:58] What led to that was a conversation for me.
[7:03] I truly believe that God speaks through people and it was just a
[7:08] very simple conversation that I had with a gentleman in the gym
[7:14] right before I entered NYU. So I had on the NYU T-shirt and
[7:18] he shared with me that oh, young man, are you, you know,
[7:22] attending the school? I was like, oh, I'm about to
[7:24] start now. And he shared something that
[7:26] really stuck with me. He goes that just know that the
[7:30] founder of the person that designed the toilet seat cover
[7:35] is probably sitting in a private jet right now.
[7:38] So when you go try and build something, try and find
[7:42] something to solve. So when I got into NYUI,
[7:45] literally had on my dorm wall get rich in college or graduate
[7:50] regretting. So very similar to that, you
[7:53] know the $0.50 get rich or die try.
[7:56] And I have always been someone who's loved fashion.
[8:00] I used to design clothes for my friends back in school.
[8:04] By the way. Thank you.
[8:07] Thank you. Did you design that to me?
[8:09] I didn't design actually. So my wife and I have a designer
[8:12] and they work together to actually make me this.
[8:14] It's actually a graduation present.
[8:16] So thank you. So I would always stare at that.
[8:23] And one day I remember it was around, I think one of our
[8:27] winter breaks, and I saw this bracelet sitting on my desk and
[8:32] I got the slide ball moment that I've been doing spoken word
[8:35] poetry on on campus. And when I usually do, these
[8:38] poems will come to me and I'll share a line from the poem that
[8:42] really resonated with them. So I felt, why don't I actually
[8:45] take some of these quotes, put them on a bracelet and sell them
[8:48] after my performances. It was a very simple idea, but
[8:52] then as I started essentially selling it, I started getting
[8:54] feedback from different people saying that, wait, these
[8:59] bracelets that you're selling, you have this model called the
[9:02] One for One model. If I buy one, I'll give one to
[9:04] an orphan in a developing country.
[9:06] I worked enough. It's just people started
[9:08] challenging me to say, you know, why don't you actually go to
[9:10] these countries and build a mentorship program for them?
[9:13] So we ended up doing mentorship programs in Bangladesh, India,
[9:16] Mexico, Dominican Republic and Ghana.
[9:19] But the trip back to Ghana is what changed my life and so it
[9:22] was just started with a bracelet, what's in my hand, and
[9:25] then I actually became an NC Global, which eventually evolved
[9:28] into Blossom Academy down the line.
[9:30] Yeah, cuz now that you're seeing it, it's actually jotting in
[9:32] that it feels like that's the connection.
[9:34] Yeah, interesting. I know you had a you did this
[9:38] data consultancy. You had a data consultancy in
[9:40] laughter NYU. Yes, experience, experience.
[9:43] Yep. OK.
[9:44] And from there you helped Co found ISUSU?
[9:47] Yeah. So a founding member.
[9:48] Founding member, yeah. So actually I was doing that
[9:51] while at experience. So I joined Isuzu while I was in
[9:54] school. Brilliant company.
[9:56] Thank you. I met with OK, so by the way,
[9:58] I'm my startup is called a diarrhea.
[10:01] So we basically like Isusu, but in contextualize for the Gandian
[10:04] markets, OK, but you know we are not only on the data side, but
[10:07] given a meet of our market, we have to also be on the capital
[10:10] side. So providing capital to pay
[10:12] their rent and you get a data. Yep, I think I met with Samir
[10:15] and Abby two years ago and this guy called Billy in Kobili.
[10:20] I don't know if you know him in. Kobili number, yeah.
[10:23] We're considering like investment options on the
[10:26] continents, but I mean, eventually end up in Nigeria.
[10:29] So Isusu, yes. How did you get involved?
[10:34] Because it's a Unicorn now. Brilliant.
[10:35] Yeah, no, absolutely. It's such an amazing success
[10:39] story. So I, I think this, this all
[10:43] goes to the power of just starting with what you have.
[10:46] For me, the way I got on the ISUSU radar was because I
[10:49] started with the rubber bracelets.
[10:51] And at some point I'll be going to class and I'll see people
[10:54] wearing my bracelets that I actually didn't know them or, or
[10:57] I didn't know how they even bought it.
[11:00] And so I came back from Ghana through the after the mentorship
[11:03] program, I actually ran into Samir in our entrepreneurial
[11:07] center. And I ran to him primarily
[11:11] because we are applying for a very similar competition.
[11:14] So Anancio was applying for it and his former company, which
[11:17] focuses on reducing food waste was applying for that as well.
[11:20] So a friend made an introduction crystal, I introduced the both
[11:23] of us. So we had been meaning to meet.
[11:26] And so when he actually saw an entrepreneurial centre, he was
[11:29] like, oh, let's actually grab coffee sometime.
[11:32] And Fast forward, I remember this very explicitly, December
[11:35] 2015, we met at Fresh and Co by the NYU campus.
[11:42] And he was like, oh, there's this idea where it's a
[11:44] rotational savings platform. People chip in money to a pot
[11:48] and they take turns, get in the full pot of money.
[11:50] So that's how it started. And I was like, I know this
[11:54] idea. My mother pulled me through
[11:56] school with this idea. My father passed away.
[11:58] Like it just resonated right away.
[11:59] Very. Commonly like African circles.
[12:02] And not even just Africa, actually, it's in a lot of other
[12:04] continents as well. In, in in Latin America, they
[12:08] have it there, in Asia, they have it there.
[12:10] I think it's just, it just cuts across and has different names
[12:14] in different places. So the idea was that simple, but
[12:17] I realized it was very hard to really get people to pay for it.
[12:21] So when I joined in, it hadn't become a platform for helping
[12:24] renters build credit was rather help people actually get access
[12:28] to loans quicker. As a founding member, you know,
[12:31] my role was pretty much going to, you know, different school
[12:34] business conferences to market it, to build a London page to
[12:37] really spread the word fast for it.
[12:40] The company going to accelerate a program.
[12:42] It pivoted and that's what it is today.
[12:44] But such a phenomenal story. Interesting.
[12:46] Interesting. OK, so now here you are.
[12:50] Yep, Founded Blossom Academy, you're in the USA, founding
[12:55] member of a Unicorn, You had an IC global going NYU graduates.
[13:03] Why did you decide to come back to Ghana and how did that lead
[13:06] to Blossom Academy or whichever came first?
[13:09] Yeah. Hello friends, so sorry to
[13:13] interrupt you. I know you're enjoying this
[13:15] conversation here and I'm so sorry about rudely interrupting
[13:18] you. But then it's come to our
[13:19] attention that about 82% of you guys who consume our content
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[13:38] Thank you. So coming to Ghana, actually, I
[13:41] would say that it wasn't my I hadn't thought through that, you
[13:47] know, come to Ghana, come build this company and this house
[13:50] going to, you know, manifest is rather I felt almost haunted to
[13:55] actually come primarily because when I came to Ghana, I remember
[13:59] reconnecting with one of my childhood friends and you're
[14:03] sharing with me that he actually had finished school and he could
[14:09] not get a job. It was a bit older than me and I
[14:13] was very baffled because I because he was someone that
[14:15] people used to praise growing up.
[14:18] So I'm like, how couldn't get a job and it was just because he
[14:20] didn't have access to the right networks.
[14:22] At the same time, the orphans we are working with through a Nancy
[14:26] global. I remember that a lot of them
[14:27] didn't want to pursue higher education primarily because they
[14:31] realized I don't be able to get jobs afterwards.
[14:33] So I'd literally dream about it. I would just see signs
[14:37] everywhere that you need to come and solve this problem.
[14:40] So while working at Experian, I actually took two weeks off,
[14:42] came to Ghana. It's a market research.
[14:45] I remember this actually in airport, I went to one of the
[14:48] buildings and spoke to and visited a lot of doors asking
[14:51] them, hey, why are you hiring talent?
[14:53] What kind of skill sets are you looking for?
[14:55] And one person actually decided to sit with me and have an
[14:58] extended conversation. Who was the HR business partner
[15:01] at IBM? He shared with me that data
[15:04] science will be the future and that's what IBM is thinking
[15:06] about as well. And I just felt like the stars
[15:09] aligned because it's used as a data company.
[15:11] I was working at a data company slash credit.
[15:14] And I feel like, you know what, it might be time to actually
[15:16] make that leap. But before that, I moved to
[15:18] Kenya to go work as a President Africa fellow.
[15:22] And I did Kenya primarily because they are a bit advanced
[15:25] when it comes to the technical system, at least back then.
[15:28] So I thought if I can work with a data company in Kenya, I can
[15:30] understand what the pain points of these companies are.
[15:34] So we designed a curriculum, we can actually address those pain
[15:36] points. But it rather felt like, you
[15:38] know, it was, I say obedience to will, obedience to the will of
[15:42] God. I feel like God called me to
[15:43] say, you know what, go and start this then.
[15:46] And if I hadn't actually taken that leap, I feel like it would
[15:50] have just kept haunting me for years to come.
[15:52] And I just had to take that leap.
[15:54] OK, how old were you at this time?
[15:56] Which year was 25 Which? Year was this.
[16:01] I came to Ghana in 2019, OK. I went to Kenya in 2018.
[16:05] Yep. OK.
[16:05] Yep. So went to Kenya, went with a
[16:08] data company. Yep.
[16:10] How long were you there for? So almost a year.
[16:12] So it was about seven months. OK it.
[16:14] Was like 7 to 8 months. Yep.
[16:16] And you came back to Ghana? So I left the states.
[16:20] So left my job without a plan and I started to pilot Blossom
[16:25] Academy from my apartment with six people.
[16:29] Right in Kenya. No, no, no, I was in, I was in
[16:32] the US and I found someone at Kenya UST who was willing to
[16:37] work with me to pilot, to Blossom Academy for six people.
[16:41] We successfully got five of them jobs.
[16:43] So that was like the data point that we had.
[16:45] And then I moved to Kenya to go do the Prince and Africa Fellow
[16:49] fellowship. But while in Kenya, I kept
[16:51] applying for opportunities based on that success that we helped 5
[16:55] people get jobs. Fast forward, I left the
[16:58] fellowship primarily because we were invited by the UAE
[17:00] government through expert training in Dubai to come and
[17:03] pitch. And that's what actually led me
[17:05] to leave Kenya, go pitch. We got the grant then came to
[17:08] set up in Ghana. OK, nice.
[17:10] So what are you trying to achieve with Blossom?
[17:12] You know, like what's what's the goal here?
[17:16] So you know when it first started and it's still the the
[17:19] case. The whole idea is how do we
[17:21] democratize access to economic opportunities for young people
[17:25] across Africa? And in truth, if I were to tell
[17:29] you that we have a firm blueprint of this, what we're
[17:33] going to do next year, 2 years from now, that would be a lie.
[17:36] I think the reality is I rather listen to the the needs of those
[17:39] that we are serving and we keep iterating to actually serve
[17:42] those needs as well. But ultimately what it boils
[17:46] down to is making sure that we are providing economic
[17:48] opportunity for those that we are serving.
[17:50] So you might go through training them to become entrepreneurs if
[17:53] that's what the market is asking for.
[17:55] But data, why we really care about folks in their data and
[17:58] have really doubled down on that is primarily because it allows
[18:02] us to create new employment markets.
[18:05] Many companies that we actually engage with over the years do
[18:08] not have a data department. The first time they hire a data
[18:10] professional is through Blossom when an intern goes in there or
[18:14] a professional goes in there and it really help them understand
[18:16] the importance of it. They build an entire unit of
[18:18] data professionals so far as helping us create jobs through a
[18:22] very indirect and non scalable way.
[18:25] But at least it's also helping, you know, boost that ecosystem
[18:28] that is important to use data for your competitive advantage.
[18:32] OK. So I want to understand the
[18:34] model on 2 fronts. Yep, on the side of the people
[18:38] you're recruiting, that's one the people we are trying to
[18:42] upscale and connect to economic opportunities.
[18:45] So let's take me for example, I joined Blossom, right?
[18:50] Walk me through the process of eating like getting into
[18:52] Blossom. How does the curriculum look
[18:54] like? The schedule look like?
[18:55] Is there like my on site? Is it remote?
[18:58] How does that look like? Absolutely.
[19:00] So very merit based because what we essentially our competitor is
[19:05] nepotism, right? So essentially we need to make
[19:07] sure that people who don't have access to the right networks can
[19:10] still get into the program. And when you do in such a way
[19:13] that there aren't any barriers for allowing them to get into
[19:18] the program, which could be Internet connectivity and things
[19:21] of that nature. And I have an access to teachers
[19:23] who teach them at home, things like that.
[19:26] So let's say, you know, a use case could be Amma.
[19:29] Emma found out about Blossom Academy's programs through
[19:32] Instagram 'cause she saw a flyer.
[19:34] Emma applied for the program and Emma went through a rigorous
[19:38] recruitment process. So started off with a critical
[19:40] thinking test, a gamified online course, then interviews.
[19:44] Emma successfully gets into the program.
[19:46] She goes to the program for three months.
[19:49] However, she's spending four days, three days online and one
[19:53] day in person. OK, Then we leave one day open
[19:56] where they can work on projects independently.
[19:59] Now the idea is after the three months or four months, depend on
[20:01] the course, Amazon is guaranteed an internship.
[20:04] That's something that we pride ourselves on to make sure that
[20:07] you're able to get a work experience because you realize
[20:09] that work experience is what gets them into the door and work
[20:13] experience is what actually really helps them even thrive
[20:15] when they even get into these organizations.
[20:18] And so once you know Amazon with the internship.
[20:21] Either the company says that I'm really happy with how I'm
[20:23] performed, I'm going to retain her, or she doesn't get it
[20:26] retained because maybe the company doesn't have the budget
[20:28] or Amma is not a good fit. But the beauty of others are.
[20:31] Now Amma has work experience that allows us to be able to now
[20:34] get into another company. So we've seen that within 45 to
[20:37] 60 days, Amma gets a new job somewhere else.
[20:39] Within a year. Some of them didn't get remote
[20:41] jobs without our help as well. Oh, OK, yeah, interesting.
[20:44] Does am I pay school fees? No.
[20:46] No, no. So it's fully funded.
[20:48] Oh, yeah. So we work with different
[20:50] foundations. We do a lot of service contracts
[20:53] with development agencies to fully fund it.
[20:56] We do have services where people actually pay to go through their
[20:59] programs, but those are working professionals.
[21:01] OK. But people who are unemployed?
[21:03] Fully funded. And then the partnerships, OK,
[21:06] so now on that side of the just they're called the merchants of
[21:09] the businesses. Do you have like any like a
[21:13] partnership that OK, well, see Isusu, right, Bruce has a
[21:16] partnership with Isusu. And so every year or every three
[21:20] months Isusu has agreed to admit see three people from Bolosom
[21:24] that looks like. So do they pay any sort of
[21:26] Commission or anything to you guys for the service?
[21:30] Yeah. So it's not that structured
[21:33] where it's like every three months we're going to come to
[21:35] blossom primarily because more of a need based and we are
[21:40] really niche and focused on data.
[21:43] So data analytics, data science, AI.
[21:47] What we do see is that let's say you know Isuzu hires 2 people
[21:51] this year, maybe next year they might come and hire one person
[21:54] digital marketing or maybe 3 depending on their needs.
[21:58] But what we do is that we consistently are reaching out
[22:00] when we have accord that just concluded and let them know that
[22:03] actually we have people who are readily available to work.
[22:05] Are you looking to hire at the moment?
[22:07] So that's how it works now because it's placing pointed
[22:11] internships, we actually don't charge the companies.
[22:15] So our goals really help people actually get their foot into the
[22:17] door and get work experience, OK, where companies would pay us
[22:20] as if they are hiring from our alumni community.
[22:23] So we have a robust alumni right now.
[22:24] We fully sponsored over 700 people over the years.
[22:27] OK, So a company we talk to us usually from the UK, US, usually
[22:31] you get a lot of those remote opportunities.
[22:33] And so, you know, we want to hire someone from the alumni
[22:36] community. We're willing to pay a
[22:37] Commission to hire someone who's a good fit, maybe an AI
[22:41] engineer. And that's how we make
[22:43] additional revenue. That's exciting.
[22:45] So from helping Fife people in 2018-2019 and I just mentioned,
[22:52] I've got 700 by 700 people, that's exciting, right?
[22:56] But I'm aware you've skewed out of Ghana too.
[22:58] Yep. Which other countries are you
[23:00] in? So we're in Nigeria and Rwanda.
[23:02] OK. Yeah.
[23:03] So is it the plan to be like Pan African and to be on every
[23:06] African country? What does that look like?
[23:07] So it goes back to my point, right?
[23:09] It was, it was never intended to even expand.
[23:11] I think it was rather the beauty of our excellence.
[23:15] What I mean by this is that when we work with the funder and they
[23:19] are really happy with our execution about how we're able
[23:23] to get people with jobs, about how people get retained in these
[23:26] companies. They come to us and say, you
[23:28] know we want to do a similar program in Nigeria, are you
[23:30] willing to go there as well? And we're not going to say no.
[23:33] Similar happen with Rwanda as well.
[23:35] So we didn't kind of have a blueprint and say we want to go
[23:37] into this markets. It's rather the founder saying
[23:41] that you know what, this is working in Ghana.
[23:43] It should not just work in Ghana alone, Other people should
[23:45] benefit. Then we essentially expand with
[23:47] them. I was talking to a friend about
[23:51] Blossom, and I think I was telling him that when I think
[23:55] about what you're doing, Patrick, what comes to mind?
[23:58] You know, I don't see that's where you what what the goal is
[24:02] probably be a university of sorts, you know, train certain
[24:07] quality China, certain quality students or graduates, you know,
[24:12] commitment to excellence. Yeah, maybe that that's what God
[24:16] lead you to. Yeah.
[24:17] You know. It all boils down to where God
[24:18] leads. That's right.
[24:19] I think out of the day, it's more about if it's aiding
[24:22] economic opportunity. That's what really makes our
[24:25] soul sane, right? Ultimately, if you're doing
[24:28] university, but it does not get them jobs afterwards, and it
[24:30] sees the purpose of why you're doing this work.
[24:32] So I think it all boils down to what direction leads to that
[24:35] opportunity. Harvard.
[24:38] Yeah. You said your outfit is a
[24:41] graduation gift. Yes.
[24:45] Why did you decide to go back to school?
[24:47] Yeah, I didn't sorry. Finish your question.
[24:54] No, I'm done. Why you didn't go back to
[24:55] school? Why haven't?
[24:56] Why you did What Organization and entrepreneurship?
[24:59] Yes, so it's a mouthful leadership organizations and
[25:01] entrepreneurship, so pretty much more of like leadership and
[25:05] organizational settings, OK. It's a very customized program
[25:08] one year and I like the one that was in and out.
[25:13] So couple of things. I think anyone who knows me very
[25:16] well knows that the plan was not to go back to school, primarily
[25:21] because I just really enjoy building.
[25:24] I enjoy figuring things out, getting my hands, you know, in
[25:27] the weeds. But it happened actually three
[25:32] years prior to Harvard. I went to go visit one of my, I
[25:37] call him my big, my Big Brother. Actually, I want to go visit
[25:40] him. He was a student at the Kennedy
[25:41] School and it was a surprise. It was his birthday, so I was
[25:44] going to, I was going to give him a birthday gift.
[25:47] And I went to the Harvard campus and, you know, I was coming.
[25:50] So I was just waiting around like the Harvard Kennedy School
[25:53] lawn. And for some reason I just felt
[25:56] this urge to be in that setting again, that academic setting and
[25:59] hearing people debate about, you know, what they studied in
[26:02] school, in class, things of that nature.
[26:05] So funny enough, I guess that mistake and the blessing that I
[26:08] did was I planted that in the head of my girlfriend then who
[26:12] eventually turned fiance, then wife, and she would urge me
[26:16] every few months I need to apply, needs to apply.
[26:18] So literally Harvard was applied for during a honeymoon.
[26:22] And the doers. Yes, it wasn't, it wasn't the
[26:25] plan, but I, I see why it happened, though.
[26:29] It, it really, I realized that the mindset or the skill sets
[26:37] that we've used to build blossom to this point is not what we may
[26:41] require to take to the next level.
[26:43] And being in such an environment exposes you to a lot, whether
[26:47] it's the relationships, whether it's the understanding of how
[26:51] systems work. So just being there really kind
[26:55] of fueled that ambition that this thing can scale.
[27:00] This thing can be more than what you're doing right now.
[27:02] So it was all part of Gatsby, a plan.
[27:05] But the reality was that it was not my plan to go back to
[27:08] school. Exciting.
[27:11] I know you've been you're part of the Ghana National Artificial
[27:15] Intelligence Strategy team. Yep.
[27:17] How's that going? It's going so actually since
[27:21] I've been out of the country, I've not really been as involved
[27:25] by the very early stages. We would meet as a team and
[27:29] we'll just definitely, we'll just brainstorm what solutions
[27:33] the government should essentially be designing to
[27:37] ensure that we are AI ready. We are part of the AI revolution
[27:43] and they bring different stakeholders from different
[27:45] backgrounds. So for example, my background is
[27:47] in capacity building, talent development.
[27:49] So all my insights align with AI capacity building.
[27:54] But it's going well actually. And I really do believe that
[27:57] having a document like this could really help us not be
[28:00] behind when it comes to this AI revolution, primarily because we
[28:05] have a plethora of young people who are very intelligent, but
[28:10] unfortunately, they don't get access to the opportunity that
[28:14] they deserve to get access to. And I'm excited about the AI
[28:18] revolution. But at the same time, I also
[28:20] wonder what it means for youth employment because you're seeing
[28:24] companies who are now, you know, leveraging tools to get the work
[28:28] of some software engineers done. I had Microsoft just, you know,
[28:32] laid off thousands of people recently.
[28:35] And so I also wonder what that means.
[28:38] But I feel like where we can have an advantage is rather
[28:41] start to build our own products, empowering people to build their
[28:43] own AI products customized to fit the needs of our local
[28:47] market. Maybe that's actually when we
[28:49] can get to a point where we wouldn't be displaced as quickly
[28:53] from the job market. I see on your Wikipedia page,
[28:58] right, It's it's this question I'm really I was really excited
[29:01] about asking you. I think now that you've spoken
[29:05] at I kind of have an understanding economic
[29:09] empowerment, right. I personally believe that I
[29:12] mean, as a continent, we were we attained some substantial level
[29:16] of political empowerment in the 60s and but then we lag behind
[29:21] so much when it comes to economic empowerment or economic
[29:24] liberation, right. And two of the central, should I
[29:30] say flag bearers of that is poverty and unemployment.
[29:36] And on your Wikipedia page, you see this is so there's a line
[29:39] that says that you are very a huge advocate of systemic
[29:44] approach, like approach to systemic change for poverty,
[29:48] tackling poverty and unemployment, right.
[29:51] And clearly Blossom is doing that.
[29:53] Blossom sort of tackles that. I really want to hear your
[29:56] thinking on like your perspective on the continent.
[29:59] I mean, you're doing work across the continent.
[30:02] You basically you have the business have expanded to other
[30:05] parts of the region. You have some perspective on
[30:07] what our economic narrative looks like and how you think we
[30:11] can provide long term strategy, you know, to like effectively
[30:16] tackle that as a as a people. Yeah.
[30:19] Yeah, absolutely. I, I do think when it comes to
[30:23] solving problems on the continent, a lot of people, a
[30:29] lot of builders need to think about it from a social
[30:34] innovation perspective. Not necessarily just I'm trying
[30:38] to make profits, but I really do believe that business should be
[30:42] about mitigating poverty. And it can mitigate poverty,
[30:46] right? As long as other stakeholders
[30:49] are also doing their part. So I think about it as there's
[30:51] government, there's civil society, there's business, we
[30:55] can all work together to ensure that, you know, people are
[30:58] actually getting access to the right opportunities.
[31:00] People are growing, the economy is growing, GDP, etcetera.
[31:05] Now the challenge that I've seen over the years while being here
[31:09] in Ghana and I observing other African markets is the fact that
[31:14] when people are building businesses, I think the focus is
[31:17] on how do we scale quickly as possible, how do we reach
[31:20] people? How do we serve all these
[31:22] different markets. But I also do think that I
[31:26] suppose to think of having start up thinking, having systems
[31:28] thinking is really the answer primarily because you think
[31:32] about how your solution could impact different aspects of you
[31:37] know, the economy. So for us, when we are actually
[31:39] focusing on data, it's not necessarily about data would
[31:43] really get them jobs, but also realizing that if the local
[31:46] watches seller is able to leverage data to be able to
[31:49] procure the right vegetables, procure the right, you know,
[31:53] amount of food on a daily basis to sell, maybe their food
[31:58] wouldn't go to waste. So how do we create that
[32:00] thinking in our ecosystem? Once you start, and it's harder
[32:04] to do, don't get me wrong, because the reality is that a
[32:07] lot of investors praise the whole idea of move quickly,
[32:10] break things. But when you're doing business
[32:14] here, when you're trying to solve problems here, I think it
[32:16] should be a lot about repair. How do you repair things that
[32:18] are already broken as well? And so through our work at
[32:21] Blossom, believe me, we could have moved way quicker than
[32:25] we've moved at the moment. Just train as many people as
[32:27] possible for the sake of training people.
[32:29] But once you employ that strategy, you realize that
[32:33] you're missing critical aspects of what really helps build the
[32:37] economy. And I really do believe that
[32:40] from the work we are doing, it can also be a platform for other
[32:43] businesses to grow. And what I usually urge a lot of
[32:46] entrepreneurs I speak to is that think about what we want to
[32:50] solve in the perspective of as you're building a platform
[32:53] business, how can somebody else build on top of your innovation
[32:57] or your, you know, system you've designed to ensure that, you
[33:01] know, they are also successful to ensure that they are able to
[33:03] actually help mitigate poverty. And unfortunately, we don't go
[33:07] that route because it's not the most lucrative right away.
[33:11] We just want to just move very quickly.
[33:13] So that's, that's kind of my thing when it comes to
[33:14] entrepreneurship. And I'm, and whenever I'm I'm
[33:17] investing in something or building something, I'm just
[33:19] focusing on how we actually disrupting, not disrupting, but
[33:22] rather mitigating poverty, but also helping building systems.
[33:27] Repairing thing is really sticking with me now.
[33:30] Rather than move and break things like the rest, you should
[33:33] focus on repairing things in a part of the world or quarry.
[33:40] OK funding, right. I mean, you mentioned that you
[33:44] funded by DF is like these grants from organisations and
[33:48] stuff like that. Because you are in the you're in
[33:51] the line of business where and I don't think it would exactly be
[33:54] favourable to the typical VC. You know, it's an impact based,
[33:59] you know, in a rush to scale too quickly, you know, how have you
[34:04] managed to like sustain what you've done over the period?
[34:09] Scale it? How have you enticed investors
[34:11] to commit to this course? Like how have you know?
[34:13] Because one critical problem we feed as entrepreneurs in this
[34:17] continent is access to capital. Even if you're running a for
[34:20] profit, it's neck breaking and for you to run more or less like
[34:25] a heavy impact focused business and still have it running and
[34:30] like attract investors. How have you managed to do that?
[34:33] Yeah. So, you know, one of the reasons
[34:37] why it's this path is quite hard is because focusing on just the
[34:42] impact alone could essentially derail, you know, you at some
[34:48] point in the journey, you would probably feel like, you know
[34:51] what, this is not worth it. You would walk away.
[34:53] So I think it's very important to think about what other
[34:56] avenues can you explore while building this.
[34:58] So I shared earlier that we do have a service that we serve,
[35:03] you know, working professionals as well that we serve
[35:06] corporates. So even when the funding, let's
[35:09] say it's not coming the way we expect, the other, you know,
[35:13] division can also support our operations to make sure that we
[35:15] keep going. We've been very fortunate though
[35:19] and definitely favor plays a very big role.
[35:24] I also do believe that the excellence that I've been able
[35:27] to show different funders also helps as well.
[35:31] And the beauty about the space is that if you get the work done
[35:35] well, the Finder would either come back or recommend you to
[35:38] someone else. So a lot of funding we've gotten
[35:40] has been through recommendations and necessarily that we went to
[35:43] go look out for the funding. I don't know, Last I actually
[35:45] went to go search for funding, you know, truth.
[35:47] So if you get that recommendation, you actually
[35:49] apply for it, you're putting your best foot for it.
[35:51] And then if you're able to actually execute well, guess
[35:53] what? They're going to tell other
[35:54] people as well. But it's hard, right?
[35:57] And I think that those that are doing focus on impact should
[36:00] think about what other, you know, revenue streams could
[36:02] really help them to the point where it's sustainable without
[36:06] actually relying on that revenue stream.
[36:07] And it makes it harder 100%. Over the course of this
[36:12] conversation, I mean, I eventually end up coming to this
[36:14] question anyway, but I think it made it rather easier for me.
[36:17] Is the more or less like the correlation between people who
[36:22] build business people and God, right?
[36:25] Over the course of the conversation you're mentioning
[36:28] favour the voice of God directing you where God is going
[36:33] to lead you. Yeah.
[36:35] What's the play of God and the divine and spirituality in who
[36:38] you are as a person and as a business person?
[36:41] Because I think Yep, recently on Empowerment Worship Centre did
[36:44] this. Yes.
[36:46] Yeah. And like, you were really vocal
[36:47] about it. Yeah.
[36:48] And like, yeah. Yeah, I mean, the rule of God on
[36:53] the journey can definitely not be downplayed.
[36:57] It's not by my mind, my power. That's what I 100% believe,
[37:01] right? What I do believe is that I am a
[37:05] vessel and by allowing God to move through me, I'm able to
[37:10] really help as many people as possible.
[37:13] And that mentality is so powerful because you realize
[37:17] that if you're allowing God to move through you, then how can
[37:20] you fail? One of my favourite verses is
[37:24] Genesis 1 verses 27. We have from 26 through 27 where
[37:29] they talk about where is sure that we are creating the image
[37:33] of God and that verse actually is something I stumbled upon in
[37:37] my teens when I saw that verse, I was like, how can I feel if
[37:43] I'm creating the image of God? Why can I not pursue, you know,
[37:47] this idea? Why wouldn't I be able to do it
[37:50] differently than someone who's tried and didn't excel is
[37:53] because of the mindset. I think all starts from the
[37:56] mentality as well. So for me, it's the God factor
[38:00] is something that I hold very dear to my heart.
[38:04] And I really believe that, you know, it's really helped us come
[38:06] this far. There are times where, you know,
[38:09] on the journey when I was younger, you, you have this
[38:12] pride. I think you're doing alone.
[38:14] And you realize that actually there's something feels empty
[38:18] that it's not just you, It's there's there's some, there's a
[38:21] force out there. And especially when you are
[38:27] operating in this part of the world, I, I share with, you
[38:31] know, some of my team members that the work that we are doing,
[38:35] you know, you're helping shape someone's career path.
[38:40] Someone might even say destiny, someone might use that word.
[38:43] If the person is coming from a background that does not really
[38:47] appreciate that it's attacking your work, right?
[38:51] So you need to be deeply rooted in the word, understand the word
[38:54] of God and pray because the reality is that you actually
[38:57] doing this from a good heart. But someone may be coming from a
[39:02] background or family where we are not supposed to even
[39:05] breakthrough. And a lot of people go through
[39:07] Blossom Academy where never like thinking about data analytics.
[39:12] When when I speak to them, they it's the first time they even
[39:15] heard about it. So they go through it.
[39:17] Then they end up, you know, earning in USDI know people
[39:20] earning $3000 a month working remotely coming from NSS where
[39:24] they were NN what, 800 CDs a month.
[39:27] Their lives are have changed. So you now realize that there's
[39:29] going to be different kinds of attacks that will come your way.
[39:33] But if you do not have that God factor, you might quit and walk
[39:38] away. And it's usually, you know,
[39:40] something that sometimes have very little to do with you.
[39:43] Yeah, You mentioned the fact that you talked to your team
[39:48] about what's, you know, the vision is about makes me see the
[39:52] question of, you know, team management, right?
[39:54] How have, you know, what are like the principles, guiding
[39:57] principles for you when it comes to managing your team?
[40:00] There's this, you know, ongoing stereotype or narrative that's,
[40:04] you know, the typical Ghanaian employee is, you know, lazy and
[40:07] like low work ethic, those things like that, right?
[40:10] And how Ghanaian employees are not really forthcoming with the
[40:14] employers and that was trouble. How have you managed that?
[40:18] So I'm going to answer that question in two parts.
[40:21] I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues back in
[40:26] school. She's Ghanaian as well, and I
[40:29] was pursuing her masters too. And I was sharing with her that
[40:33] have she realized that when you meet Ghanaians outside of Ghana,
[40:38] they tend to be really excellent.
[40:40] But why is it that when you're working with Ghanaians in Ghana,
[40:42] they tend to essentially give you some excuses And not not all
[40:45] Ghanaians, I'm not generalizing, But when you meet some guy,
[40:48] you're like, wait, you hear them on a panel, you hear them
[40:50] speaking. It's like they are, they're
[40:52] good. She shares something that really
[40:56] hit home that Ghanaians while in their home country are often not
[41:02] appreciated but when they leave their home country, they usually
[41:06] get that appreciation. So maybe someone is paying them
[41:09] via worth for example, someone is really praising them or give
[41:12] them credit for their work. So they actually show up, they
[41:15] actually go the extra mile. Whereas here it might not
[41:19] necessarily, it's usually not the case because I speak to a
[41:21] lot of founders through the work that we do as well.
[41:24] So I do think that plays a very big role.
[41:26] And I think it's why a lot of people usually want to go into
[41:28] entrepreneurship because in their mind, if I become the
[41:30] boss, then maybe I can appreciate myself, right?
[41:33] So I think that's, that's, that's, that's one part of the
[41:36] the spectrum. The other part is I think about
[41:40] employees in three different categories.
[41:42] So I usually call it the active stars, the passive stars and the
[41:46] visitors. So when I say these three, the
[41:49] visitors are people who are coming to your company and more
[41:53] often than not, they just they don't care.
[41:56] They just want to come get a paycheck.
[41:58] They might even be sleeping on the job.
[42:00] If you don't come to work, they don't care.
[42:01] They don't do the work. They just know that it is there
[42:03] for your paycheck. And I think as an entrepreneur,
[42:05] you need to pray for discernment to be able to discern who's that
[42:09] visitor and really make that very hard decision as to whether
[42:13] they can actually help you build this organization.
[42:16] The active stars and the passive stars.
[42:17] The active stars are those that dare I say that you're good.
[42:23] They can even run the company. And sometimes like, they're the
[42:26] ones who might leave and actually go replicate your idea
[42:28] if you're not careful. They're also the ones who, you
[42:32] know, might come with different demands that they've got an
[42:34] offer somewhere else. So they want to have, you know,
[42:36] higher. They know they are worth.
[42:39] And these are people that, yes, you need to keep them close, but
[42:41] you can understand that because they know they are worth, they
[42:43] could easily leave. And the passive stars, the
[42:46] passive stars are people who the reality is that yes, they know
[42:50] they are worth, but they still need some development.
[42:53] And as an entrepreneur, it's important for you to know how to
[42:56] identify people's potential and help shape that potential.
[43:00] Because the passive stars are who I believe could actually
[43:03] really lead the company at some point if we treat them well.
[43:06] They could either goes either way, either visitor or active
[43:08] star, but you need to really show them that they are
[43:11] worthwhile. You show them that you know, you
[43:13] care about that you show them that you're willing to grow with
[43:15] them. And growth comes from increase
[43:17] in salary, growth comes from travel opportunities, growth
[43:20] comes from exposure, stood on panels, things of that nature.
[43:25] And I do believe that a lot of people don't take the time to
[43:28] identify who can actually become an active star from that passive
[43:32] pool. And you end up losing them
[43:34] because, you know, you often say, oh, they don't have the
[43:36] potential, but it takes an eye and I think comes from
[43:39] discernment as well. So that's how I see, you know,
[43:42] the whole team management landscape.
[43:46] Interesting. So you mentioned that.
[43:48] Well, you went to Harvard because a young woman will not
[43:51] let you rest. Yeah.
[43:53] So you're married? How?
[43:54] How long have you been married? For two years.
[43:57] Two years, yeah, OK. And you came here with her?
[44:00] Sure. Yeah.
[44:02] And so how has marriage changed the dynamic for you as a, as a
[44:06] person, as an entrepreneur, that variable, what has it done for
[44:10] you actually? Because I think for myself and
[44:14] other, my friends and other young men who are taking the
[44:18] journey and for some reasons have, you know, 'cause it speaks
[44:23] like it's a decision we must take, right?
[44:25] And there are varied sentiments about it and our own marriage as
[44:29] entrepreneurs, as a young men. What is your take?
[44:32] I mean from 2 years of experience, what has what's been
[44:35] the change? Also, mind you, she's sitting
[44:37] right here, Sir. It's OK.
[44:40] Yeah, I know you're good. You're good.
[44:42] Before I answer your question, I can tell you what led me to even
[44:46] get married. I think that that might help
[44:49] like a lot, lot of young men, you want to hit a certain level
[44:52] of, you know, financial, you know, threshold before you
[44:56] decide to get married. And it was definitely one of
[45:00] those young men, right? And we are dated for, for some
[45:03] time. But you know, one day I decided
[45:06] to test God, for God to give me the revelation as to whether
[45:12] it's time to get married or not, because we were dating for I
[45:17] think almost four years or so. And I was clear I was leading in
[45:21] that direction. So what I did was I remember I
[45:26] was on a Wednesday, I put more money than I could ever afford
[45:31] in an envelope to go put on a church altar and pray to God for
[45:36] an answer that go to somewhere, tell me that it's time to get
[45:41] married or keep building. And I remember this very well
[45:46] that the idea was to put the money on the altar on the Sunday
[45:49] when I go to church when they call me for tithes and
[45:51] offerings. But on that Friday, she actually
[45:53] came to the office and dropped me to church.
[45:56] There's something in our church called Power Night.
[45:58] And while we are praying, I felt the a prophet touched me,
[46:04] prophet Gideon dance song. And the first thing he said, and
[46:08] he said other things as well, but one of the first few things
[46:10] he said was I see your marriage. And for me, why it was scary was
[46:17] because I had just put my envelope that I was going to
[46:20] test God for an answer. Take his time to taste God.
[46:26] And for me, I think what God was doing there then I think was
[46:31] that if you text God, God wants to text you back to see if
[46:33] you're really going to put the money on the altar.
[46:35] I did, you know, that following Sunday.
[46:38] So for me, it was very crystal clear that I've got the answer
[46:42] that I wanted and I wanted to do it anyway.
[46:44] But I was, I was scared about the journey.
[46:48] It's a lifelong journey now. It's really shaped me though, in
[46:55] many ways because you know, you have this, you know a lot of
[46:59] young men in general, you have this responsibility, right, from
[47:03] family. But then when you also get
[47:06] married, it's a different level of responsibility.
[47:09] You carry yourself differently because you realize that it's
[47:12] not just about you, but you also have someone that you're
[47:16] presenting and vice versa as well.
[47:19] So I think I had to learn this and they've been mistakes, don't
[47:22] get me wrong, because sometimes you forget that, oh, actually
[47:25] you're no longer a bachelor, right?
[47:27] And you should not essentially be spending too much time in the
[47:31] coffee shop, right? Maybe she'll go home and spend
[47:33] time, you know, with your partner as well.
[47:36] And it, it comes with discipline as well.
[47:38] So I think for me, it's it's a it's a responsibility.
[47:41] But it goes back to how Blossom started.
[47:43] God had to tell me, yeah, right. And I made that decision.
[47:48] So how was that variable? I mean, you've highlighted the
[47:51] in parts. That's fine.
[47:54] That's fine. Outside Blossom, what do you do?
[47:58] Surpassing. What do you generally do?
[48:01] Yeah. So I actually really love
[48:04] investing in start-ups. So start to say that usually in
[48:09] Nigeria because I have friends from NYU who are back home in
[48:14] Nigeria. So I really enjoy the whole
[48:15] entrepreneurial landscape. I do a lot of advisory, so a lot
[48:20] of consultancy as well. You know, right now I'm very
[48:26] interested in figuring out the next gap that we came close to
[48:30] really help promote economic opportunity.
[48:33] When I say the next gap, I think about what you're solving as
[48:37] you're solving 2 things, the skills gap and the attitude gap.
[48:41] Skills gap is providing young people with the skills to allow
[48:44] them to be able to enter industry.
[48:47] The attitude gap is really providing them with the
[48:49] leadership skill sets, understanding that it's not just
[48:52] about having the skills, but it's about how you apply them in
[48:54] the workplace to make sure that you thrive when you're in the
[48:57] working environment. And more often than not, that
[49:00] bridging attitude gap is the hardest.
[49:01] I think it's probably harder than even providing the skills
[49:03] gap because you need to help reprogram people's mindsets,
[49:07] people's mentalities to understand that you know what,
[49:10] you're not entitled to this job, but rather you need to go in
[49:13] there, have humility and be able to essentially grow.
[49:17] And the last part is the job gap.
[49:19] You know, every year the stats say that 12 million African
[49:22] youths into the job market, but only three million find for more
[49:25] work. That's 9 million gap.
[49:28] And the question that a lot of policy makers, a lot of people
[49:32] have been debating is that 9 million gap is it, is it that we
[49:36] don't have enough jobs? So as I'm thinking about systems
[49:40] change, how do we really create jobs at scale and how do we
[49:43] create jobs that are relevant to Africa?
[49:46] It's not necessarily about building the next tech product
[49:49] and going to raise, you know, $20 million and say that you
[49:52] know what, it's successful, but how, how do you really figure
[49:56] out what the continent needs? And I think sometimes it's, it's
[49:59] not even just about looking at vocational skills, looking at
[50:03] manufacturing, looking at construction, things of that
[50:05] nature. So now that's where my mind is
[50:07] geared towards to, of who do we partner with to ensure that
[50:10] we're able to essentially create that ecosystem to really help
[50:13] build the continent together? What?
[50:15] You're saying thank you for what you're doing, thank you that you
[50:20] are passionate about economic empowerment, systemic change in
[50:24] that regard, you know, not just like a hit and run affair.
[50:27] We really need that on this continent.
[50:29] But that'll be my last question. I think we are both passionate
[50:34] about this ideal of economic empowerment on this continent.
[50:39] And you've taken the journey. I admit you're ahead of me in
[50:43] that regard, right? And so I'd like to get free
[50:47] advice when people come in here. What would you tell me to have
[50:54] as an as an what's it called? I went pointing my arsenal on
[50:57] this journey as an entrepreneur, as a human being.
[51:02] From what? From the wisdom you've gathered
[51:04] over the years. So when I was coming back to
[51:10] Ghana from school, I watched this documentary on the flight
[51:16] and it was about Ralph Lauren and I shared earlier that I've
[51:20] been interested in fashion. So I was very curious to really
[51:22] understand how he built his empire.
[51:25] But the biggest take away from that documentary was the fact
[51:29] that everyone who knew him from childhood, including Calvin
[51:33] Klein, who we grew up with, said Ralph was always dressed very
[51:38] well and he just seemed to love fashion.
[51:41] And so people were not surprised he went to the fashion industry.
[51:45] So the insight I took from that documentary was choose your
[51:49] heart. I've been shared this on my
[51:50] Instagram recently. You need to figure out what is
[51:54] it that comes naturally to you and how do you essentially take
[52:00] that and really turn it into something meaningful for
[52:03] society. The reality is that, especially
[52:07] with the prevalence of social media, you see people you know
[52:10] pursuing certain career paths and you want to go down that
[52:13] career path, but you don't understand what that person's
[52:16] competitive advantage is. So you want to go down that
[52:19] career path because of the applause, because of the
[52:22] accolades, because you are travelling, sitting around
[52:24] panels. But what happens when that
[52:25] applause fail? Fades and more often than not,
[52:28] it it does at some point, right? But if you choose something that
[52:33] you know you truly care about, that comes naturally to you.
[52:36] The beauty about it is that even when it's hard and it's going to
[52:40] be hard, your spirit is still happy.
[52:43] Your, your soul still staying sinks because you've chosen
[52:46] something that is so meaningful to you, that really is deeply
[52:50] rooted within you, within your calling.
[52:53] And I often say that once you do that, you learn more towards
[52:56] what you're called to do, right? So I'll say choose your heart
[53:01] and do not, you know, be scared about the reality of failing if
[53:07] you choose your heart because you learn from that and you
[53:09] still take learnings back to be able to build the next that you
[53:11] want to build, even if you feel on that journey.
[53:15] Thank you Jeff, I, I pray God grants you the grace to execute
[53:24] the mandate. So that's something to that give
[53:26] you taking care of your siblings and your mother and taking care
[53:31] of other people and just continuously empower young
[53:37] people with skills and connecting them to economic
[53:39] opportunity. You're really doing a lot work
[53:40] in that regard. Then I can only pray that God,
[53:44] the God you believe in, you know, continues to empower you
[53:48] and all the best. Thank you so much.
[53:50] It means a lot and I, I, I don't realize how much you understand
[53:56] the impact of the work that even you're doing through these
[53:59] conversations. It goes a long way and you never
[54:03] know who might listen to it and really feel the need to act.
[54:08] From my journey I shared with you earlier conversations have
[54:10] played a very critical role in really getting me to act.
[54:13] So thank you for just creating this platform, Julie, Inspire
[54:16] other people as well. Thank you.
[54:17] Of course, you see. So friends, you know, choir and
[54:21] the world beyond. I told you it was going to be an
[54:24] exciting conversation with Jeff. And as you match your ghost,
[54:28] just build something. Thank you.

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