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Tuesday, 29 March 2016

WILL NEW TATTO CRAZE HIT AFRICA?




Not content with inking permanent words or shapes on their bodies, tattoo lovers have taken it to a whole new level with a new one called blackout art. It involves covering large sections of the body in black ink. Images of the new trend have been shared online. 
Now the question we are asking is, will this new tattoo craze hit Africa anytime soon?
I just wonder what this ink will look like on an African who is already very dark.

Tuesday, 22 March 2016

GLO UNVEILS FOUR NEW PRODUCTS


Glo Mobile has rolled out four exciting new products to give more value for money to its subscribers in Ghana. The products include Twin Bash, Three Minutes To Free, Weekend Browsing and Night Browsing. 
The four products were formally rolled out at a media event at Alisa Hotel, Accra, Ghana on Monday by top officials of the company, supported by the company’s brand ambassadors.
According to Mr. Augustine Mamuro, the Head of Business at Glo Mobile, Ghana, the four mega products were rolled out to give subscribers unmatchable value for money on the Glo Mobile network.
The first one, Twin Bash, is a power-packed product which gives subscribers 6 times the value of their data recharges. A subscriber who recharges with GHc1 for instance will get benefits worth GHc 6. Additionally, the subscriber will get free data worth GHc1 for gifting to friends and associates.




The benefits include a 200 percent data bundle, a 100 percent bonus airtime that can be used to make calls to any number in Ghana, another 300 percent bonus to call 10 Glo Family & Friends numbers and a 100 percent additional benefit available for gifting to any Glo number the subscriber chooses. The offer is available on any denomination from GHc1 and above.

To load data instantly, a subscriber dials *127* RECHARGE PIN# to enjoy the benefits.

The second product, Three Minutes To Free allows subscribers to make voice calls free to all Glo lines for the rest of the day after the first three minutes of calls.

According to Mr Mamuro,, “with three minutes to free, all a subscriber needs to do to enjoy unlimited calls throughout the day is to make calls for the first three minutes in a day. The calls which subscribers will pay for can be for calls to any network in Ghana. This product gives amazing freedom to subscribers and empowers them to spend as much time as they wish to call their friends, family and business associates in the country. It will save our subscribers enormous amount of money daily while also ensuring that they can stay in touch with their friends, associates and loved ones for as long as they want. Once a subscriber makes a call for the first three minutes, he/she has unlimited freedom to talk to anyone on the Glo network throughout the day without paying again.” To activate, a subscriber dials *1957#, while the product is a default setting on new SIM cards.

For the Weekend Browsing pack, subscribers are required to pay GHc 8 to enjoy 3GB of data between Friday 11pm and 6:00am on Monday. The user will also enjoy the offer from 11PM till 6:00AM on weekdays. The pack is valid for seven days. To activate, a subscriber is expected to dial *127*21# or send 141 as sms to 127.

The fourth product is another data offer named the Night Browsing pack which enables subscribers to enjoy 500MB browsing each night from 11pm to 6am with only GHc 1. To activate this product, a customer is expected to dial *127*20# or send 114 as sms to 127.

According to Mr. Mamuro, these two products, Weekend Browsing and Night Browsing, were developed to cater for the large number of people who desire heavy data usage during the weekend and throughout the night.

Mr. Mamuro said Glo Mobile is investing enormous resources on network upgrade to guarantee significant improvement in the quality of voice and data service. He called on the people to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new products to make calls and enjoy data services on the network at very reasonable cost.

Wednesday, 16 March 2016

CAPITAL BANK LAUNCHES V-MAN CAMPAIGN TO BOOST SAVINGS

Capital Bank, formerly First Capital Plus Bank, has launched a campaign dubbed the ‘V-Man’ designed to enhance the savings culture of Ghanaians. The campaign is expected to attract the many ‘unbanked’ and the ‘underbanked’ segments of the population. Reports indicate that about 70 percent of Ghanaians remain unbanked but Capital Bank always believe in leading the drive towards financial inclusion across the strata of society through various initiatives.

Managing Director of the Bank, Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor said “The African, like everyone else, requires some support to make it possible for them to actualize their dreams. We in Capital Bank believe in aligning ourselves with the values and ambition of the African and build sustainable partnerships that help deliver supreme value. It’s in this light that Capital Bank has developed the V-Man campaign aimed at giving the Ghanaian a head-start towards the journey of financial liberation. For the first time probably in the history of banking in Ghana, we are giving customers money vouchers to be used to open accounts.”

He added that Capital Bank will encourage a savings culture and also expose customers to the unique bouquet of financial solutions they can take advantage of, to achieve their goals.
Head of Retail Banking, Eunice Brocke also said “Over the next 30 days, we are providing the opportunity for many people to open accounts and to build-up cash reserves for their future needs whilst getting free money. We call it ‘Free money 4U from the V-man’.”

The V-Man comes in vouchers which Capital Bank’s team of Direct Sales Offices throughout the country will be distributing to the general public. These vouchers will have varying monetary values; the value of the voucher received will be used to open a bank account after which recipients only have to make monthly minimum deposits equivalent to the value of the voucher for a period of at least 4 months to redeem the voucher.

Mrs. Brocke said customers will have access to the full complement of Capital Bank’s Seed banking solution which will enabled them to make utility payments, funds transfer, cash deposits via their mobile phones, earning interest of up to 10 percent on the account balance with no charges.
Capital Bank presently has 18 branches across the country and its strategic focus is to become a tier 1 bank in 5 years and position itself for expansion across the African market.

Source: myjoyonline.com

Saturday, 5 March 2016

HOW TO MAKE GOOD MONEY SELLING WAAKYE IN GHANA

It was around 5pm before I was finally able to locate Aisha’s home at North Kaneshie. Looking around, one could see different pot sizes comfortably balanced on blazing locally made giant stoves.
The scene looked like a prepara­tion for a festivity, but truly this is the daily routine that the young lady in her early twenties and her eight workers pass through to satisfy her customer’s undying desire for waakye.
Waakye
According to Aisha, this is one busi­ness that requires very little investment but guarantees huge profit if one is not lazy and ready to learn the trade.

Waakye (pronounced waa-chay) is a delicious and nutritious popular Ghana­ian cuisine basically comprising rice and beans mixed together. The delicacy is believed to be of northern Ghana origin but it has since gained national status and it’s enjoyed by everyone irrespective of age, tribe, religion or social status.
What makes this business a gold mine for anyone who plans to go into it, is the fact that in Ghana waakye is more popular as street food; so, it’s not shocking to see very long queues at any spot where it is sold.
A lot of Ghanaians patronize waakye for breakfast while some wouldn’t mind having it for lunch. According to Kwame Asante, a bricklayer in Accra, he says “when I eat it in the morning I can stay till evening without eating anything, all I just need is water”. It is also just fine for supper.
So what does it take to go into this business.

Training
According to the very successful Ai­sha, one does not need any formal training other than the ability to cook. She claims that she learnt the art from her mother who also learnt it from her grandmother.
On the other hand, Ima Lolo who sells her food at Fadama, says training is important “because not every woman who knows how to cook, can prepare waakye. As for me, I went through a week’s train­ing before starting. Don’t forget that it’s food we are talking about here. The way of cooking food for the public is not the same way you will cook for yourself.”
Therefore serving as an apprentice un­der a professional and successful waakye vendor is necessary especially as it will help you understand how the public like their waakye to be cooked and with what ingredients.
Capital
According to Labone’s celebrated waakye seller, Auntie Muni, she started selling 10 years ago by buying her ingredients on credit. Aisha started hers five years ago “very small”. But she advises anyone who wants to go into the business now not to invest more than Ghc200. “The reason is because if you start big, you could lose big.
Things to buy
The ingredients include rice, beans, dry sorghum leaves, meat, fish wele etc. One also needs a table and a plastic con­tainer, preferably an ice chest, to keep the food warm. “In my case I started with a table, but now I have a mini container” says Aisha.
Location
Unlike some businesses where you will need to rent a store or even a piece of land to start, you may not even need to pay rent to anybody at all depend­ing on the location or your ability to beg. This is not to say you may not be required to pay rent for the land you may be using, but going by the nature of the business, this may only happen after you start graduating into constructing a container for your business.
However, the important thing about the location is not the rent but how strategic and neat the place is. For Ima Lolo, she says “Road side is the best place to be. You can’t just sell at any place; you must be at a place where people can easily reach you. This is because waakye is for everybody includ­ing rich people who often will park their cars by the roadside close to you and order for it.”
Presentation
Man-Eating-Waakye

After your customer is satisfied with your level of hygiene, the next thing they want to see is how yummy your food looks. You can call it packaging. The look of your waakye and the stew especially plays a very big role in how people patronize you. According to Aisha, “selling just the waakye itself is not what will bring the bulk of your money, but the other things that go with it – like the wele (cow skin or kpomo as popularly known in Nigeria), fried fish, meat, egg, maca­roni and salad. If people see your stew – which is always visible to the buyers, and they see how fresh and inviting it is, it whets their appetite.

Customer Service
“Some business owners in Ghana do not know how to treat their customers and that is not good. I am friendly with my customers and respond to them as quickly and appropriately as I can. I also teach my workers to treat the customer as king in every situation,” says Auntie Muni.
For Ima Lolo, apart from being good to your customers she says knowing how to sell the right quantity that matches the customers money, is very important. “look when you are selling this food to them, they are watching you, so if the quantity you give to somebody for three cedis is more or the same as the one who gave you five cedis, truth is that the person will feel cheated and may not even greet you again.
Advertising
Waakye selling needs traditional modes of advertising. Cook a wonderful meal, attend to customers well and with word of mouth, people will advertise your business for you.
Profit
Finally, the big question comes: how profitable is the business? Although most of the waakye sellers I spoke with were reluctant to put a figure to how much profit they make on investment for obvious reasons, they admitted business is “very” lucrative.
Aisha said she started with just one person as an assistant today she has eight people working for her “and I pay all of them”.
Aunty Muni moved from Tamale to Accra with nothing; today she has 20 employees and she enjoys monopoly of the business in her area.
So if you really want to invest in a business that will bring you good returns, why not try selling waakye?
By McKnight Elabor (+233 545 351 714)