Businessman Thomas Darko Ameyaw
One of the richest men in Ghana from Kwahu, Thomas Darko Ameyaw, has shared the story of how he found wealth despite his humble beginnings.
Darko Ameyaw, who comes from Mpraeso, in an interview with Kwahu Ambassador, narrated how he refused to do his national service after completing Takoradi Polytechnic and decided to go into the spare parts business in Lagos, Nigeria.
While he was plying the spare parts trade, which he started with funds from his mother, the businessman said that he got an opportunity to travel to Germany, which was offered to him by a family relation.
The journey to Germany was, however, not an easy one and did not almost happen after he was arrested by immigration at some point.
Darko Ameyaw narrated that he was first sent to Ivory Coast, where he was supposed to travel to Belgium and later connect to Germany. On four different occasions, he had issues at the airport in Ivory Coast and could not leave with the people he was supposed to travel with.
When he eventually got the chance to leave for Belgium, he was arrested by immigration officers at the Brussels airport and was nearly deported.
He indicated that it took ‘divine intervention’ for him to outwit the immigration officers and leave the airport.
“I decided to run away after being arrested by the immigration officers. I tried a day after I was arrested, but the officers caught me. The following day at dawn, I outwitted the officers by joining a large group of people who were arriving at the airport,” he said in Twi.
He indicated that after getting out of the airport, he called the brother of one of the people he was arrested with, who he stayed with for some time while making arrangements with his relation to travel to Germany.
Darko Ameyaw said that he eventually got to travel in January 1990 and the first job he got there was to wash dishes at a Chinese restaurant. After working in the restaurant, he used his savings to get residency documentation, which allowed him to start his own business.
He started exporting second-hand goods, including sound systems, video decks, fridges, and subsequently cars, to Ghana, which, together with other investments in Germany, made him a lot of money.
He said that he has since acquired a lot of wealth and established several businesses in Ghana.
Watch the interview below:
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