Reviving Nkrumah's Legacy: Future of Bolga Meat and Kumasi Shoe Factories Through Crowdfunding

Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah's vision for Ghana was one of self-sufficiency and industrialisation. Integral to this vision were the establishment of the Bolgatanga Meat Factory and the Kumasi Shoe Factory, strategically designed to be interdependent, with the meat factory supplying the vital raw materials, skins and hides, to the shoe factory.

Sadly, the Bolgatanga Meat Factory is currently defunct, and the Kumasi Shoe Factory was revived during President Mahama's first term using the military's Defence Industrial Holding Company (DIHOC), but the full benefits of the revival could not be achieved because it could not take advantage of the strategic link to the Bolgatanga Meat Factory, representing a poignant reminder of a potentially lost opportunity. However, there's a path to revitalise these institutions and reignite Nkrumah's dream for Ghana.

One promising avenue for revival lies in a community-driven approach: crowdfunding through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). By encouraging residents and indigenes surrounding the factories to invest in advance through a share purchase system, we can establish a foundation of local ownership and vested interest. This allows the factories to become a genuine reflection of "factories of the people, by the people, and for the people," creating jobs of the people, by the people for the people to foster community economic empowerment.

Beyond community investment, strategic government intervention is crucial. The Mahama-led government, as a powerful catalyst, can stimulate demand and ensure the factories' long-term sustainability.

A deliberate policy of supplying all security service personnel with boots manufactured at the Kumasi Shoe Factory would provide a significant and consistent stream of revenue. Furthermore, a revival of the "Achimota sandals," a prescribed footwear for secondary school students decades ago, would offer another substantial market for the shoe factory, ensuring continuous production and employment.

Similarly, the Bolgatanga Meat Factory can be integrated into the national food supply chain by becoming a primary supplier of corned beef to secondary schools across the country.

These strategic initiatives would create a significant and stable demand for the factories' products, propelling them to operate at full capacity and potentially even requiring them to adopt a three-shift system to meet the demand. This aligns perfectly with President John Mahama's vision of a 24-hour economy policy, promoting continuous productivity and economic growth.

The beauty of this approach is that it transcends mere economic revival. It embodies the spirit of democratic participation and economic self-determination.

By embracing crowdfunding and strategically directing government procurement, we are creating an ecosystem where citizens become active stakeholders in their own economic destiny. This echoes the powerful words of Abraham Lincoln, "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Reviving the Bolgatanga Meat and Kumasi Shoe factories is more than just restoring dormant industries. It is about breathing life into a legacy, empowering communities, and building a stronger, more self-reliant Ghana.

By embracing innovative financing models like crowdfunding and fostering strategic partnerships between the government and local communities, we can transform these factories and others into symbols of national pride and catalysts for sustainable economic development.

Similar crowdfunding could be used to revive similar legacy factories such Aboso Glass Factory, Bonsa Tyre Factory. Kumasi Jute Factory, Kade Match Factory (which still has the plantation for the match sticks) and Tomos Ghana Limited. This funding model coupled with municipal bonds can also be used to start new factories at the district levels.

This is the true meaning of economic democracy, where the benefits of progress are shared by all, and the future is built by the people, for the people.

Anthony Obeng Afrane