Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

comparable to <strong>the</strong> likes in South
Africa and East Africa. The terrain
looked ripe for such an endeavor —
a growing upwardly mobile middleclass
and a seemingly thriving business
sector.
The plan was to enter <strong>the</strong> market
with a women’s magazine with a
real and inward-looking outlook,
called Emerge, and eventually
extend into o<strong>the</strong>r areas.
And what were my resources? PowerPoint
presentations, my knowledge
of <strong>the</strong> landscape and my doggedness.
On January 5, 2008, Cape Townbased
designer, Sarah Wilson,
started working on <strong>the</strong> nameplate
and <strong>the</strong> general typography of <strong>the</strong>
new magazine. On Tuesday January
8, 2008, I was walking into my first
appointment to raise money for <strong>the</strong>
new enterprise.
Fast-forward to <strong>the</strong> first week of
May 2008. I had just raised less
than a third of <strong>the</strong> amount needed
to finance <strong>the</strong> dummies. All <strong>the</strong>
potential investors I approached
were very skeptical about putting
<strong>the</strong> money in a magazine publishing
in Ghana — most thought Ghanaians
did not read; some had burnt <strong>the</strong>ir
fingers investing in print media
projects that had failed; while o<strong>the</strong>rs
thought it was far safer and more
profitable to put <strong>the</strong>ir money into
pure commerce or <strong>the</strong> instruments
on <strong>the</strong> capital markets.
Before Emerge magazine finally
emerged, <strong>the</strong>re was a dry run with a
different venture.
A long-time friend Kofi and I
decided to launch a local version of
CIO Business World, a magazine for
which <strong>the</strong> target audience comprised
<strong>the</strong> country’s CIOs, CEOs, CFOs and
senior business executives. In August
2008, with less than $2700 in cash,
a CIO magazine license from <strong>the</strong>
International Data Group (IDG) and
our skills, <strong>the</strong> magazine got off <strong>the</strong>
ground. On three occasions, because
98 | Media in Africa - 2011
<strong>the</strong> enterprise was undercapitalised,
we almost closed shop.
Three <strong>years</strong> on, CIO Business World
is still on <strong>the</strong> newsstands and is one
of <strong>the</strong> top two business magazines
of choice for business people in
Ghana. In 2011 I transitioned from
Business World to concentrate on
Emerge magazine.
“Three <strong>years</strong> on,
CIO Business World
is still on <strong>the</strong>
newsstands and is
one of <strong>the</strong> top two
business magazines
of choice for business
people in Ghana.”
We launched this year. With not
very significant resources, three
o<strong>the</strong>r mavericks — Akosua Agyei-
Boahene, Emma Ajei-Otchwemah
and Veronique Lunganga, have kept
this project going. They have caught
<strong>the</strong> vision and believe in <strong>the</strong> project
even more than <strong>the</strong> originator. Week
in, week out, <strong>the</strong>y have brushed
aside all teething issues associated
with a start-up.
From my experience on both
magazines — CIO Business World
and Emerge — it is clear that
Ghanaians will read if you give <strong>the</strong>m
compelling content that satisfies
<strong>the</strong>ir personal needs. Three months
<strong>after</strong> <strong>the</strong> first issue of Emerge was
published, we were still getting
daily calls from people who wanted
personal copies.
Again with experience from <strong>the</strong>
two publications, I think that with
<strong>the</strong> right concept, right staffing
and adequate capitalisation, print
media and especially magazines
can be sustainable in Ghana. O<strong>the</strong>r
sectors may be more profitable, but
looking at what brand extension
you can generate from magazines, it
is certainly worth considering <strong>the</strong>m.
Have <strong>the</strong> perils of <strong>the</strong> terrain eroded
my enthusiasm and dreams? No.
The experience has made me wiser,
but also more audacious. With <strong>the</strong>
insights from <strong>the</strong> projects in Ghana,
I am still dreaming and feverishly
working to extend <strong>the</strong> brands to
o<strong>the</strong>r destinations in 2012.