AFRICAN DIASPORANS IN EUROPE, USA AND ELSEWHERE RETURN TO AFRICA AND HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS IN REAL ESTATE, FARMING, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND OTHERS.

Diasporan Africans have been in the news lately, mostly for visiting or repatriating to Africa. They are the diasporan Africans in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, born and raised in cultures that are totally foreign to Africa. As far as they are concerned, life in Africa is a better option for them. Life in those countries no longer appeals to them. They want out and look to Africa as the continent that would make them feel safe and provide an environment inhabited by people they can identify with. Some say they fear for their lives in a country like the United States where you can be killed or brutalized by the police for being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

ATO KWAMENA RETURNS HOME TO GHANA TO START A NEW BUSINESS

Ato Kwamena is one such African diasporan. He had a plan to repatriate to Ghana from the United Kingdom, a decision he made after considering everything involved. He knew right from the beginning it wouldn’t be easy. It would mean relocating to another country in a continent where everything would be different in terms of the language, the weather, culture and everything else in between. Essentially, he would be living a completely new and different lifestyle, unlike the one he was used to. His plans included going into the poultry business in Ghana, which made it harder to figure out how he could make it happen. He had lived all his life in London, with minimal experience in doing business in an African country. He made every effort to avoid thinking about potential problems and focus more on preparing to deal with the challenges he would face. But he couldn’t stop the questions. Would he succeed in the brand new business he was going into? How would he cope with life in a country where the culture and lifestyle are completely different from what he knew? Would he survive?

TWO YEARS LATER IN KUMASI

Two years later and Ato Kwamena is in Kumasi, a major city in Ghana. He doesn’t stand out from the crowd. He projects the image of a man simply going on about his business. You couldn’t tell by looking at him that he is in an environment in which everything is foreign to him. He understands the Ashanti language but doesn’t know enough to be able to carry on a reasonably decent conversation. His British accent only makes it worse when he interacts with people and uses the few words and phrases he knew. They are quick to point out that he sounds like an European. He knows appearing to be at home is easy to do. There were bigger problems he had to deal with. One was the slow pace of progress of the business. Things seem to move just a little too slow around here. Workers don’t seem to think there is anything wrong with being late to work. So do people you make appointments with; they either show up late or not at all. If only the people would do what they are supposed to do and make an effort to be on time. That was one thing that really bothered him. Otherwise, be has no problem with the heat, the language and the culture. He is here to stay. That’s all there’s to it.

“I knew it wouldn’t be easy,” said Ato Kwamena. According to him, he is making steady progress. He is on track with plans to grow and expand the poultry business. The potential is huge, he said. The demand is constant. As far as he is concerned, he is at the right place at the right time. He has no regrets about returning to Ghana to go into business as a poultry farmer. Nothing else would have been more fulfilling.

FUTURE PLANS

The future will be all about more growth.and expansion. He already knows what he has to do and has begun preparing for the next phase. Consumption of poultry products is on the rise in Ghana. It’s a trend that will continue and will intensify. All he has to do is to make sure he has the capacity to meet the demand.

“The demand is great. We just have to supply the demand, ” he said. Did Ato Kwamena make the right decision to return to Africa? As far as he is concerned, it was the perfect decision. He is where he wants to be. He doesn’t have to worry about being harassed by the police, at least not for being black. And that was worth the sacrifice.