Tapping all the knowledge he can from persons who had far more know-how in areas he lacked in is one key reason he is making all the money he is today in the world of business, Businessman Ibrahim Mahama has revealed.
Highlighting the importance of smartness and humility at an entrepreneurial lecture organised by GRAGSAG in Accra Tuesday, Mr. Mahama explained his struggles over the years and how he managed to make it in the business world despite the numerous challenges he faced.
He attributed a great deal of his success for the past 21 years to knowledge and skills he acquired from resource persons in the mining industry.
“I stayed in the mines, I’ve been in the mines for the past 21 years and that’s where all my success has come from. Working for this Australian guy mentoring me, he taught me and one day he said he was leaving and when he said he was leaving I said well, since you are leaving that doesn’t limit me to find opportunities like you were looking for and then I started”….In class, there is always one clever or two clever students, when you are leaving school, you take their numbers and keep in touch with them and what that could be is that if you don’t know and they know and never be shy to say you don’t know”
“When I don’t know, I go and look for people who know to teach me what I don’t know and it’s not a sin to tell somebody that you know better than me and I use the people better than me. I would give them everything I have to work with them to give me the support to shine and today the people who taught me still keep teaching me, through all that, E and P has become the biggest mining contractor in Africa” he said.
He urged politicians to desist sabotaging Ghanaian businesses and rather promote businesses which in turn will create employment opportunities for emerging graduates nationwide.
“In Ghana we have the best talents, I hear politicians saying we don’t have the capacity, it’s a lie, if they don’t know, we are telling them we know, there’s nothing in this country Ghanaians can never do but unfortunately we are limited, those of us in business don’t want to get into politics because the money side in business is much interesting than in politics", he stated.
He advised members of GRAGSAG to take the bold step and start their own businesses rather than depend on government to provide jobs.
