Don't give up when you fail - Kofi Amoabeng to entrepreneurs

Owner of the defunct UT Bank, Kofi Amoabeng has urged the youth of the country not to throw in the towel when they suffer some setbacks in their quest to succeed.

Speaking at the 9th Edition of the What I Wish I Knew (WIWIK) Summit at the University of Ghana, the former UT Bank Boss charged participants to not worry about failure but rather come back stronger.

In his spotlight address, Mr. Amoabeng outlined some key factors every entrepreneur must pay attention to in starting and staying in business. He described Family and Friend Relations; Tradition; The Church; and Politicians as the pull and push factors every entrepreneur should manage.

To him, Family and Friend Relations; Tradition; The Church; and politicians are critical factors to the success of every business as one's inability to manage them well can lead to a lot of problems.

Linking these factors to the UT Bank story, Mr. Amoabeng mentioned that “The problem I had with UT was that I was so hard I wasn’t doing either of these things”. Advising upcoming entrepreneurs, he mentioned that’’ It is okay to be like me when you are small but when you come above the raider you must find a way around working with these people.”

As an annual event, the WIWIK Conference has become one of the largest personal development conferences on university campuses. Its primary aim is to educate, advise, and inspire final year undergraduate students. The conference also featured Daniel Mckorley (CEO of McDan) who also shared his entrepreneurial journey with participants.

Distinguished panelists for this year’s edition included Dr. Dennis Oteng (CEO, Ravens Consulting Gh), Prof. Carol Javis (Professor in Knowledge Exchange and Innovation, Bristol Business School – UK), Sammy Gyamfi (Politician), Audrey Naa Dei Kotey, Esq, FCCA (Managing Partner, Audrey Grey & Chairperson, ACCA Ghana Network Panel) and Doris Ahiati (CEO, Crescendo Consult).

This year’s conference was on the theme “Thriving in uncertainty; a conversation on intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship” Speaking to the media on the side, the convener of the WIWIK conference Dr. Bernard Tawiah mentioned that “These past years have been marked by shifting narratives and unexpected outcomes. During times of ongoing uncertainty, there is a constant need for everyone to deal effectively with disruption, adapt quickly to change and keep focused in other to succeed and thrive.

These year’s conference has equipped our participants with a toolkit of simple, practical, evidence-based techniques that can apply in their intrapreneurship or entrepreneurship journey in these challenging times”.

Delivering the keynote address, Hannah Ashiokai Akrong, Vodafone Ghana’s Human Resources Director highlighted the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial spirit within organisations, a concept she referred to as “intrapreneurship”.

She also emphasised the need for organisations to create an environment that encourages innovation and does not punish failure. Dr. Dennis Oteng, CEO of Ravens Consult Gh, urged participants to prioritize growing their family businesses instead of solely seeking employment opportunities, especially considering the challenges of the current business climate.

The WIWIK Conference was organized by the WIWIK Foundation, a non-profit organization, in collaboration with the University of Ghana Business School, the Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG), and Crescendo Consult. The 2023 edition was sponsored by Ravens Consulting Ghana, ACCA, Akosombo Textiles, MPA, Benchmark Professional Institute, and powered by Order Consult.