What Ghana Means To Me-I Am Borley Quaye

BORLEY QUAYE

As Ghana approaches at ‘60’, I cannot help but admire some of my fellow Ghanaians across the diaspora that are achieving outstanding things. I recently came across the beautiful entrepreneur and writer-a woman of many talents named Borley Quaye. The young entrepreneur who is of American and Ghanaian descent based in Atlanta, her genuine passion for Ghana which she beautifully captures throughout her social media is admirable. The founder of ‘Akofo adventures’ which brings awareness to the rich Ghanaian culture. Ghana offers an abundance of potential and it is one of my numerous aims to highlight the achievements of individuals with Ghanaian heritage. In the following post Borley will discuss her new book ‘Worth the Wahala’ and why she is so passionate about the motherland.

Borley, what a great name! I will come back to that. Firstly, a big well done on your accomplishments, I recently came across your work on social media and absolutely love what you do. Keep up the amazing work, your passion for Ghana and Female Empowerment is admirable. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you started your numerous projects such as ‘Worth the Wahala’?

I got started with my many projects after I abandoned my lifelong dream to become a doctor. Right as I was applying for medical school, I just quit. I had graduated from college and finished my prerequisites, completed a year of research, and gone my whole life saying I was going to be a doctor. I finally realised that is not what I wanted. So, I was stuck at square one. The only thing I could do was think about the things I felt strongly about and start working towards them. My ‘Worth the Wahala’ book came about from life experiences that I have learned from along the way. There are certain stories that I want to share with other women so they can learn from the things I have been through and be encouraged by them. The title specifically came after I was talking to a guy and he asked me why I was causing him so much wahala. He was only upset because I wouldn’t agree to sleep with him. I told him that I wanted to wait until marriage and when he asked me those questions I knew the answer was… I’m worth the Wahala!

What can we be expecting from the book?
The book is soo good. I’m not one to brag. Humility is very important to me, but as I was re-reading it from start to finish after the first round of editing, I was like wow I forgot I put this stuff in here. It is jam-packed with great stories or lessons in every chapter. And I feel comfortable saying that this book is awesome because I know it was God. There is no way I could have written a book like this. It was all Him! So, what to expect? A New York Times Best Seller (In Jesus name)!

As a woman of many talents, what pearls of wisdom would you give to other aspiring entrepreneurs?

To aspiring entrepreneurs, I will say do good. It’s easy to make money and we all see that as the end goal. However, the true end goal is what comes from how we live our lives and the fruit that we bear from our decision making. So, in starting a business, making money, and branding yourself, remember that your grandchildren will look at the legacy you have left. For instance, you don’t have to over-sexualize yourself as a woman to be successful. Remember that there are people in the world who need someone to look up to and who would love to have you in their life as a beacon of hope. So always do what’s right. Do good deeds. Value yourself. Be nice. Work hard. And make that money honey!

How would you define success and what does it mean to you?

We have small successes and big successes. Success to me would just mean continuing to live a life for God and seeing how my life unfolds along the way. I think as we get older we realise success doesn’t necessarily mean getting what we want but getting what is best for us. To mean success means achieving happiness.

As I mentioned earlier, what a name Borley! Where in Ghana are you from and how did you become so passionate about Ghana?

Yes, my name is Borley. I’m a ganyobi for life. My dad is from Nungua, so we are Ga. I am named after my sweet Grandmother. So, my whole life my dad called me Ema Borley and sometimes people just call me Naa. I have always been surrounded by Ghanaians, the food and the culture, but it wasn’t until I went as an adult by myself that I truly fell in love with Ghana. It is certainly different when you can do what you want and not have to follow your dad visiting his friends who don't have kids your age.

What does Ghana mean to you?
Ghana means home. I totally feel at home when I’m there even though people call me Obroni (White person) and I don’t understand half of our language. I absolutely love Ghana and that is why I started Afoko Adventures which is a tour company that takes people to Ghana for the first time. We have just finished our February tour and every single person from the trip loved it and can’t wait to come back.

Ghana is starting to pick up again, with the new President Nana Akufo-Addo in power. I believe drastic and most importantly positive changes will be implemented. What will Ghana look like to you in the next 5 years?

I’m so excited for what Ghana will look like in 5 years. It’s an amazing place and we have so much potential. I also think a lot of young people from outside are interested in Ghana and have already started coming home and helping with development. This means new energy, ideas and technology. In Ghana, we need to see our value as a country and properly manage our resources. When we do this, the sky is the limit. I’ll also do what I can to drive tourism to Ghana and bring awareness to our great country.

You started ‘Akofo Adventures’, you’re doing an amazing job of putting Ghana on the map to your fellow Americans. Can you tell me why you started the venture and what you hope to achieve?

The purpose of Afoko Adventures is to not only bring awareness to Ghanaian culture and history but also to show African Americans their roots and encourage them to see opportunities for themselves in Ghana. When my adventurers come to Ghana they felt like it was their home. African Americans know they are from Africa, but they don’t know what part. The people I bring back could very well be my long-lost cousins, brothers and sisters. They immediately feel an obligation to the people of Ghana. They want to give back, they want to help build and they want to be a part of our Ghanaian family. I want to introduce them to Ghana because as a country we need all the creatives and intellectuals we can get. As we said Ghana is on the rise, and someone is going to develop Ghana. I would prefer it to be people who have its best interests. I believe we as Ghanaians and African-Americans, have an obligation to each other.

Describe Ghana in three words?
Ghana is a: Diamond in (the) Rough. Ghana is amazing. It has untapped beauty, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

What advice would you give to someone that was coming to Ghana for the first time?

All I have to say is if it’s your first time… you better be with Afoko Adventures!

Do you see yourself settling in Ghana in the future?

Yes! Omg with bae and our three kids! God willing o. I can see myself having a place in Ghana. It is definitely a place you can live comfortably and enjoy life. I just need to grind it out for a few years and make this bread so I can have a nice place with a view. I literally want all my friends to move to Ghana together, it would just be our neighbourhood and life will be sweet!

You are also very passionate about Female Empowerment such as me, are there any female Ghanaian entrepreneurs that you would like to work with in the future? Or any Ghanaian females that inspire you?

I have not tapped into the Ghanaian female empowerment world. I would love to work with anyone I can learn from, anyone who is positive and hardworking and anyone who is a true and bold servant of Jesus. I love meeting with and working with new people so as long as they are ready to produce good fruit and have a good time while doing it, I’m down! I love that you are into the same things so if you have anyone you think I should start following or learning about I would love to hear about them.

Do you see entrepreneurship growing in Ghana?

Yes x 100000. I can already see it. Almost every single young person I know in Ghana is starting up their own projects. Keep an eye and ear open towards our beloved GH! Thanks for having me. I hope these words bless someone. It was fun.

There you have it; the successful entrepreneur can be found on http://heyborley.com/and social media ‘hey borley ’. You can also find her long-awaited book on her website. She is certainly a game changer and cannot wait to see what the future holds for this rising star.