My African Safari----The Week that was

The Week That was....23rd Feb-28th Feb, 2009

For those of you who have never visited Africa.....dont go by what TV suggests...slow country where people do not have work to do and not enough businesses....to say the least , it's been an invigorating week.... We have been working almost 10-11 hour days everyday...

The IBM Corporate Service Team - Ghana 3 is also known as Team TAADI and our motto is One month One dream....We are assisting via CDC (Corporate Development Corps) two business organisations in Ghana , The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) AND THE Association of Ghanian Industry (AGI)....We are located in Sekondi-Takoradi which is the part of the Western Region in Ghana, West Africa....

One team which is Kacie (USA), Carolyn (SA), Prasad (India), Volker (Germany) and Yaw (USA) is helping GNCCI redefine their business especially their alternative channels strategy (via their website). The other team which is myself, Tasha (USA) and Rosa (Italy) is helping two of AGI's clients - A established business Multiwall paper sacks (WA) Ltd. and a start up West-West Agro Processing.....

The introduction is important so as to set a baseline in terms of the work that we are doing....Our work for AGI is as different as chalk and cheese and yet they converge in a pretty unique manner....We are helping a established business, Multi-Wall restructure financially and organisationally so that they improve their current business condition and also face the future better....On the other end we have West-West which has got smart management thinkers who have got business and need supply chain help.....

I last touched financial re-structuring and supply chain when I was in Xavier Institute of Managment, doing my MBA in 1999-2001 and I never thought that I would have to filter through the cobwebs of my mind and get some of that knowledge to work for me once again....
Since we are helping two concerns .,..I cannot disclose much in a public forum...but just to let you know....In my working Life I have worked on behalf of IBM to enable Bank's to automate their operations including loan origination and here I was on the other side of the very system that I helped design ....I appeared on behalf of my clients to various bank's in Takoradi including a bank for which I had helped design their loan origination system to propose a financial restructuring plan for their financial portfolio system....It was exciting and least to say a tremendous learning experience....We are close to seeing light at the end of the tunnel and are hopefully adding value to our clients....

The other interesting thing in the week was the first travel to West-West Agro which is situated in village Ayiem (45 minutes drive from Takoradi)....Upon visiting Ayiem, I felt that I was trasnported to Jharkand and West Bengal (where I was born)...because the rural setting was just the same....Our office in West-West has a little village for company and when we visited the village , it was probably a riot there as children ran out of their houses (very much like an Indian village) to run after us and pose for photos....Our office overlooks intensely dense equatorial forest land which almost climbs onto the road that we drive on....Sadly for me, this was also our first brush with bush meat....which is any creature in the wild that gets killed and the meat sold so that the villagers can get some money for the same....being a person interested in wildlife...it was not the bets thing for me.....

Now to some other interesting things that we did during the week which did not have a work element involved in it....

As is usual , let me start with the culinary commentary....We have tried various kinds of Ghanian food and the stand out items (in terms of my preference) has been

Groundnut Soup with chicken alongwith Kenke.... The dish is amazing because it is afusion of Indian, African and the West....Kenke is made by boiling maize (corn) and then steaming it post mashing it with a man sized pestle....I think it is also fermented....I would like to call it like a maize idli....Eaten with hand, it is usually mixed with a dip made of tomato, hot red pepper, onions hand blended together and a soup (similar to gravy in the Indian context) made of groundnut, spices and grilled chicken....The only thing I can say about it is that, it is exquisite and heavenly....I just love it everytime I have it....The other interesting thing to eat is the same soup but with Fufu (pounded steamed cassava and plaintain) mixed with the soup....In this case you have to dig for your soup and fufu and the whole experience is just great....

However once u have kenke and fufu alongwith groundnut soup....the most appropriate action is to take a nap...However work prevented us from doing that.....

The second item on our list are the people....Ghanians are fiendly, go out of the way to help you and are very much like Indian....I would take this occassion to let you know about two interesting spectrums of Ghanian people in terms of the people whom I have met....

We met a gentleman by the name of Dr. J.A. Addison who is the Chairman and MD of Multiwall and is 90 years old....He would put all of us to shame as he walks without help and runs the company as if he is not a day older than 50....Educated in Harvard, he has been a true visionary in Ghanian Industry and had even run for the Ghanian presidency at one point of time....Evrytime, I meet him I am amazed at his abilities and vision....

On the other spectrum, we met a young guy called Richard who is just like us...young and raring to go...Richard introduced us to the young part of life in Ghana...which is similar to life in India....Thank you Richard for taking us out on Friday night and showing us the sights of Takoradi...When I talk to Richard, I am reminded of the fact that here is someone who can bring about change is truly righ way to Ghana....He believes that even before schooling one must worry about healt and he is trying his bit by distributing mosquito nets whenever he can.....Way to go Richard......

Also on an interesting side note, we attended the naming ceremony of a 2 month old child....It was interesting because , it was pretty similar to the "Annaprashan" ceremony that we do back in India for our children....The grandparents invoke the blessing of their ancestors and they make the child taste water and schnapps ....water representing what is positive to life and schnapps representing what is not so positive in life :-))....The child is also given a name which is from the family and is a choice of the father / grandfather....This is followed by the Father thanking the mother for the child and she is given great respect and given traditional gifts ...including a goat....This was followed by some tribal dancing of the Fanti region of Ghana....I was again reminded of the famous Chaw dance practices in the Purulia region bordering Bengal and Jharkhand...The drums, leaps were exotic and out colleague Volker also did a war dance alongwith them....The important thing was that...They dances tell stories in a extremely artistic form....

Last but not the least....The music is just awesome....There are 2 popular types of music...Hi Life and Hip Life....The beat is infectious and you just start grooving to it...even gospel music is amzing and fast paced....looking forward to putting in some CD's to my iPod.....Carrying on with music, celebrated AR Rehman's Oscars by listening to Slumdog Millionairres tracks on my iPod and thanked Steve Jobs for this great device that he gave to the world.....

Finally before I sign off....here is a collection of Fanti words that I have picked and if any of you come to west AFrica especially Ghana, they can open doors for you...where none existed....

Akwaba....Welcome

Midasi...Thank You

Mindasi....Response to Thank you...equivalent to Welcome...means "It's nothing"E

te san....How are you ?

Aeeyaaa----I am fine....

BTW my Ghanian name is Kwabena means I am male and I as born on Tuesday.....Thats all for me about the week that was.....Adios for now.....

Day 4...My African adventure

Today was Sunday...an off day....Got up around 6 AM ...I dont know why....something to do with the fact that I am sleeping at 9PM everyday.....After breakfast, decided to do a looksie of the town and then onto some other activities....

Takoradi is part of the twin city Sekondi-Takoradi and has been the epicenter of one the biggest oil finds in western Africa....It was a sleepy fishing hamlet and but is currently in the danger of being overrun by the American and the European Oil companies....The twin cities can be divided into two parts....The Dutch Sekondi complete with it's colonial building and colonial architecture very remiscent of the fort area in Mumbai or the Writers building area in Kolkata....and Takoradi which is a lazy fishing village quite like Palolem Beach in Goa or Kovalam Beach in Kerela.....

After a ride through town, picked up water and other necessities and lunch.... We hit the beach....The water was lovely and we must have been there for almost 2-3 hours and I swam a lot....it was reminiscent of Kerela and Goa as you had white sand, swaying palms and of course football....

Ghanians are very organised when it comes to football and ultra skilled and it was interesting to watch as they weaved intricate patterns on the sand....it was actually exhilarating....am planning to try my skills against them at least on one occassion during my stay here....

We were present for a security talk by the District Commandant of police in Takoradi....He was very precise in his speech and said that in Takoradi crime is very low...which is great to hear...People here are also very friendly....

Anyway after the talk by the police folks, we were also given a small service listing by our hotel manager Charles Hackman and he is agreat guy who wishes to give us the best possible service to make our stay as memorable as possible....

Had dinner in Akroma plaza and I tried Fufu which is something like a mix of idli,mashed poatatoes and yam....and palm nut soup....Interesting ombination...and finally we wanted some fried ice cream...but good for me that it was not there....

Tomorrow we start work with our partners in Ghana and am looking forward to it.....

Day 3- My African Safari

Feb 21st is the big day...Today we get to meet Barbara from CDC and also other folks from various ministries who are going to speak about the economic vision of Ghana....

After breakfast, met up with the remaining 3 folks of our team, Yaw, Kacie and Rosa...and did they have a interesting experience last night.....In their flight, some had a heart situation which could easily have reculted in far serious problems and thankfully he got saved....and more pertitently they came to the Elking hotel to find that it was overbooked and they did not have any place....They were going to be shifted to new hotel....They did settle down into the new hotel after almost 2 hours of concalls discussions and decisions...anyway they had a good night sleep and after breakfast we are ready to hear from Barbara and the Ministry folks....

Listening to the Ministry folks especially Ministry of Trade and Commerce as well as the Minsitry of Telecommunication, I was driven back to Nehru's "Temples of modern India"....A time when India desparately wanted to create home based Industry and self reliance as oppossed to imports and foreign capital....And actually it did serve our needs well at that point of time...especially the 60's and the seventies....

90% plus of registered business in Ghana are MSME (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) and they have major challenges like Access to Capital, Markets etc....Also came to know that the interest rate is almost 28% plus for corporate borrowing and corporate tax stands at a staggering 35%....I was reminded once again of India in the 90's as we are waiting to be unleashed onto the world and which finally the govt of those times allowed us to do....1992 and the great Indian liberalisation....

Ghana, I believe is also at that tipping point because the govt of the country has invested significantly in telecommunications and infrastructure and the country virtually sits on a huge crude supermarket...with exciting offshore finds around Takoradi (where we are put up) and potential finds onshore also.... The talk given by the person from Ghana National Petroleum Corp was amazing and very well appreciated....It was also interesting to see that most of the exploration work is being done by American and European firms and there was no ONGC Videsh and Sinopec .... surprising but I am sure that we will see one of the two definitely joust for their share of this oil supermarket.....

Honestly , i hope the discovery brings wealth and prosperity to the Ghanian people who are just great and friendly....btw contrary to perceptions...I think Ghana is a very safe African country....and I feel very happy to be here....

Anyway after the talk, we were famished and we ran down for lunch....Lunch was again exotic, Jollof (Fried rice), Barracuda with white sauce, Grilled chicken, Kelewele (Barbara tells us that the street version is the best .... but cholera is around so I guess sampling will not be easy)..... and some vegetables.....

After lunch, we took the bus to Takoradi approx 180 Km's from Accra .....The bus trip was great reminded me of my college days and it was a discovery of each other on very personal aspects....I realise that this trip is going to be a great opportunity for all of us to learn about our cultures our choices and preferences....

Anyway we have reached Takoradi and I love the Valley Beach Hotel....Lovely rooms and internet that zips....And th best part there is a fan in my room apart from the Air conditioner...I can sleep well as I will not miss the Mumbai/India feeling of having a whirring noise while I sleep....

We had some great political and development discusions as we sat down for dinner on the terrace at the hotel....the food was excellent....Shrimp provencale and steamed rice....Guys and Girls you have to bear with me on food descriptions....it is the best way on my personal front to describe culture....

Anyway ciao for now...tucking into bed and it is king size ....hope to have a good nights sleep and keep watching this space.....

Day 2 - African Safari....

It's 12 PM on Friday 19th, 2009 and we have just come back from the A&C Super market in East Legon in Accra...stocked ourselves with water, a power adapter and we are awaiting our first meeting with our colleagues....Carolyn is expected at 12:10 PM....

Just found out from the reception that Carolyn has arrived and has checked in...spoke to herand decided we would meet up at around 7 in the evening for dinner....

Walked down in search of the Golden Oyester Sea Food restaurant and saw directions but could not find them....so took the best alternative and took a local "rocking" taxi for 2 Cedis to a newly opened Chinese restaurant called "The Palace".... The Palace reminds me of the Chinese restaurants that you get in the Eastern part of India ..... to be precise the ones in Tangra, Kolkata....

We had a great meal and this is the first time after Perth , 07 that I am tasting Chinese food made the Indian style or rather the Bombaiyaa style....even the taste is the same...After a hearty lunch, me & Prasad walked down to hotel a good half an hour walk in the hot sun ....I think if i do this every day...I have a chance to reduce the mountain which always seems to build around my tummy....:?;-))

While doing blogs etc, I listened to AR Rehman's music in Delhi 6 and listening to the home country music in a foreign land truly gives u a great feeling...way to go ARR...also listened to this wonderful rendition of " Blowing in the wind" by Stevie Wonder for Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary of singing.....

Me and Prasad watched 2 movies, one the Hollywood adaptation of the hit game Eidos made called "The Hitman" and another historical movie about the crusades and Jerusalem called " Kingdom of Heaven"....Hitman was an outright masala action movie...pure entertainment of the rough kind and the second one was much more softer....

It almost 6:30 PM and I will go and catch a quick shower and be ready for dinner at 7...Our rooms are quite nice and cozy at the Elking Hotel and I am reading Nandan Nilekani's "Imagining India".....

We had dinner together Carolyn, Prasad and myself and we sort of discovered each other and our cultures....The food was also exotic.....I had Jollof which is like Thai fried rice and Grilled chicken with brown sauce....Carolyn tried Banku and grilled Tilapia fish....Banku is made from Yam's and Cassava and is a really heavy dish....It's typically had with hand and is mixed with dips like tomato salsa and pepper sauce....Interesting food...and hopefully healthy....

It's almost 9 PM and we meet Volker....Volker had a great experience because he could not find the hotel shuttle and finally came to the hotel with the help of some locals (in exchange for a little tip....of course)....Volker is German in the true sense , He is tall 1.98 m and is a great guy....While chatting up with Volker...Tasha walked in and we exchanged pleasantries and chatted a bit before winding down for the night....

I am reading the preamble of Nandan Nilekani's book and I have a eerie feeling because I actually had to encounter many of these challenges as I was growing up especially the challenges of opportunity and education.......

I hope to get some sleep tonight as hopefully I will not be as jet lagged as yesterday....Ciao for now Good Night.....

Akwabah....Welcome to Africa Day 1

Akwabah...or welcome as the Ghanian's say....We had our first experience of Africa aswe looked out of our plane windows to see Africa's tallest mountain Mount Kilimanjaro....It's look just like I had read it in the novel " The Snows of Kilimanjaro"....Towering above the clouds , you can actually see a bit of ice on the top which is a volcanic crater...

After a heart breakfast ....we landed in the Jomo Kenyata airport...and were greeted by a weather very reminscent of the Bangalore of the old.....a nice nip in the air.....andof course the never ending undulating grasslands and the flat topped accacia trees....After about an hour of listening to music and generally walking around aimlessly....we were called for our flight to Accra....

It's is a 5 hour 10 minute flight to Accra from Nairobi and flies over places like Lagos,Douhala etc....The flight was very much reminescant of good ol' Jet Airways....and ourseat mate was a Sierra Leonian (of Blood Diamond fame).....The flight was largely uneventfulexcept that I was quite surprised that our mate actualy had a great deal of respect for India (He also knew about the under $ 100 Simputer) and said that we had moved beyond thedeveloping country bracket....Felt nice and proud...

Then came the biggest surprise and that was the food...The meal option was chicken and riceand guess what it was a straight lift of our traditional pulao and chicken curry...augurswell for the rest of the stay as food for me as you all know is an integral part of my life...

Anyway landed in Accra about an hour ahead of schedule and got through immigration without much difficulty...

Outside the airport, it was like Kolkata or Mumbai...people running around to help youwith your luggage for a tip of course....It almost felt like home....Danielfrom the Elking Hotel picked us up and after a 10 minute drive checked into the New ElkingHotel...

The part of Accra where we are staying is the East Legon part and believe it or not, itis a welcome change to see lovely houses as oppossed to just apartment blocks....It's a bitlike India small towns eg. Jamshedpur (where I grew up) or Ranchi (where MS Dhoni grew up) :-))....

After freshening up, it was time for lunch and I tried some African food - Peanut Soup with Chickenand Rice Cakes and lo and behold I was transported to Kerela because the food there is justthe same....great beginning as far the culinary journey is concerned.....

After the meal....Jet lag and big time Jet Lag hit in...(Ghana is on GMT so 5.5 hours ahead of India)and the combined after effects of beer and jet lag meant a long sleep.....

It's 4:30 AM and I am awake and listening to CNN, BBC, S Sports...Net Net cant sleep...Waitingfor daylight and a looksie of Accra....

It's finally daylight and me and Prasad have gone a for a short walk around the area...it'sgot a nice wind and is relatively cooler...Time for breakfast....

PS: The CDC folks Barbara and Edem are taking great care of us...We are waiting for the others to join in....

Keep checking my blog for daily happenings...signing off...Slum dog Millionairre time...

My African Safari begins.....

I start my African safari tomorrow as part of a corporate services corps assignment in Takoradi, Ghana.....Yellow fever vaccines taken, anti malarial tablets taken and overall very excited to be a part of a multi-cultural team (3 US, 1 German, 1 South African, 2 Indians & 1 Italian).....

Will return in 5 weeks time till then.....

Follow my African safari on this blog.....