Profitable Patriotism

What if the Hedgehog concept (to understand this concept refer to the author’s previous article on the subject) of the Ghanaian consumer is enshrined in this one basic philosophy; ‘made-in-Ghana products or nothing else’. This one idea has been the bedrock of bustling industrial developments in countries that have made valuable strides that are worth emulating. History is replete with the radical and almost ‘miraculous’ developments made by some countries to move from third world status to first world status. As it is, we have compelling evidence of this phenomenon play before our eyes in present history with countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong (The four Asian tigers whose development case has been termed the ‘Asian miracle’), Dubai and other exemplary countries.

These radical developmental cases which in most situations fascinatingly occurred in one generation (25- 30years span), has amongst other salient reasons, had one of its major drivers being the impeccable participation of the citizenry of the aforementioned countries in playing a tremendous role in the fulfillment of their development goals. Research shows that, industrialization has been the foremost engine that has driven developments in these countries. It therefore was a necessity for the citizenry in these countries to develop businesses and much more, to nurture an unsurpassed affinity for their homegrown businesses as they became deliberate in accepting, purchasing and using their made in their country products notwithstanding the apparent competition that existed in their markets.

Regardless of this proven model, it appears the case of Ghana has been almost the opposite of this developmental template, even though we claim we are on a development pursuit as a people. It is an embarrassing finding, that out of the top fifty multinational businesses in Africa, Ghana doesn’t have a single indigenous company on this list yet for most of the fifty listed multinational businesses, Ghana is considered the second-best destination for doing business aside Zambia (an interesting twist that suggests that, at least Ghanaians have a strong purchasing power). Could it be the case that we are not paying adequate attention to industrialization?

It is no secret that we have very good young businesses in Ghana. However, the major problem that threatens our developmental trajectory in industry is that, the Ghanaian citizenry generally lacks an affinity towards Ghanaian businesses, making us less rigorous and unintentional in our choice to purchase made-in-Ghana products. Thus, to the end that, the growth of the Ghanaian economy, the survival and growth of its businesses is directly linked to having a ruthless mindset towards purchasing and using our own products made by home grown manufacturers, our industrial development agenda will be immensely hampered.

In our quest to move up the development ladder and secure a decent future for ourselves and most importantly the next generation, we have to as a matter of obligation begin to develop and nurture an unrivaled affinity for our indigenous businesses and its products. We need to cultivate a deliberate mindset about the fact that, purchasing made-in-Ghana products is one of our best survival and developmental strategy. A strategy- ‘made-in-Ghana products or nothing else’, that will determine the survival of our indigenous businesses and a preservation of a better industrialized future. With consented efforts and participation, we can also boast one day that we have a Woolworths, a Shoprite, an MTN, a Microsoft, a Nike and the other big brands that have the capacity to employ thousands and to rake in billions of dollars into their respective economies of origin.

The good news remains; we have budding businesses that are depending on our collective purchasing power to grow into the next big multinational businesses that will put Ghana on the map in the next ten years. Our consolidated deliberate participation through buying and promoting our young brands will be our only hopeful attempt to salvage our future.

#Thecriticalmass #TCMconsortium #Originissacred #Changeispossible #Ghanacanbegreat