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He didn’t win the presidency, but Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom did ride in a Made in Ghana vehicle: the “Kantankan Obrempon”. Kantankan is the brand name and Obrempon means “great person” or “greatness” in Twi. The Obrempon is a limousine. Yes, a limousine made in Ghana by Great Kosa Limited, the company established by…

The man behind the car, and the stereos, the speakers, the tractors, and the televisions: one Dr Apostle Kwadwo Safo, founder of Christ Reformed Church, where he often showcases his latest creations made by the 400 individuals trained to specialise in a specific area of assembly, from the beginning to the completion of a product.

Dr Safo is a trained welder who has designed and produced flat screen televisions which are constructed from the components–including the motherboard!–up at a factory at Gomoa Mpoto in the Central Region and which switch on with a clap!

These televisions look like they’re from The Jetsons. Their casing is made from plywood which is carefully crafted into bubble-shaped cases or more traditional square cases and then primped and preened with the craftsmanship of a 16th Century Italian–buffed, sanded, and sprayed–until they’re done and dried. And they work. So do the stereos with speakers which also increase in volume with a clap of your hands.

Maybe this is nothing new. Maybe this happens somewhere else. But he designed it here, and made it here, in a country where it’s hard to find a car that won’t break down after fifteen minutes on the road.

Dr Safo is garnering support among Ghanaians who are beginning to recognise that innovation has a place, and perhaps a more useful and exciting place, than the trend of acquiring pieces of paper–university degrees–that often prove useless in an atmosphere of few jobs for graduates.

After riding in the vehicle, Dr Nduom said that “Apostle Safo’s feat was a clear testimony of the fact that Ghana could develop to where countries like Korea and Singapore were today.” (ModernGhana.com)

Dr Safo is in discussions to build a large-scale manufacturing plant in Ghana. Perhaps the stability of recent elections will give investors confidence to put their money into this inspiring enterprise.