Marketing In Ghana!

Last week I had the privileged of presenting at the Woman 2.1 Summit in Accra, Ghana, Africa.  I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Marshawn Evans, Reinvention Strategist who appeared on Season 4 of the Apprentice and Jody Turner, Future Trend Expert as well as a host of other speakers.

I presented on Social Media for Business as well as Marketing to Take Your Business Global.  In the first, I touched on how social media profiles should be set up to attract global business opportunities.  I even taught the attendees how to sign up and communicate on China’s largest social network, Renren, without knowing a lick of Chinese.

From a marketing perspective, I found Accra to be a very interesting place.  As a developing country, Accra has a significant pool of low income earners.  Many companies there have found an interesting way of capitalizing on this fact by painting houses for free, but placing their logos prominently on the front of the homes.  It was not unusual to see a string of small bright red and yellow homes advertising cell phone companies.

Also interesting was the convenience of purchasing goods on the streets.  One could literally pick up anything needed for the home just by driving down the street.  Hawkers, as they are called, balance items on their heads ranging from bread to cell phone SIM cards, braziers to toilet paper.  While this may seem convenient, it actually causes traffic jams on the already bustling streets.

During my stay, I also appeared on Obaa Mo, a show on TV Africa celebrating women and The One Show, the most watched talk show in Ghana.  Additionally, I stopped by to speak with students at the University of Ghana and Accra Polytech.

The most awesome thing about this trip was my meeting the inspired women of Ghana.  Again and again I spoke with women about their goals, dreams and how they can realize them by applying sound strategy.