Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Can anything good come from Ghana?

“Nazareth!” exclaimed Nathanael. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?”
“Come and see for yourself,” Philip replied – John 1:46


As individual citizens we have proven ourselves as a people of incredible talent, brains, and tenacity all around the world. It is fair to say there is a successful Ghanaian in almost every field of endeavor from Sports to Space Travel and from Archeology to Zoology. In that sense, a lot of good has come from Ghana.

I have always wondered if there are any non-government-run Ghanaian institutions, businesses, churches, events, or organizations that meet these 5 simple criteria:

  1. Was started or created by a Ghanaian(s) anywhere in the world.
  2. Is at least 10 years old
  3. Is currently run by Ghanaians
  4. Is structured enough to outlive or change hands from its current leader(s) and be managed by other people.
  5. Has been successful outside Ghana

There is little doubt in my mind that our INABILITY to build institutions and structures to harness the wealth of human and natural resources we have is the primary reason we are still a poor country.

In the next few weeks I will profile a few institutions that meet the criteria. Do you know any that meet the criteria?