ENTREPRENEUR WATCH
Ambition and reward – the story of Baba Yabdow
Baba Yabdow , the CEO of Yabco Focus Company Ltd , is a former accountant whose passion for entrepreneurship made him resign from his work to set up a fruit processing factory which has now become one of the most successful businesses in the Upper East Region .
Baba Yabdow , is a native of Walewale , Northern Region of Ghana . He is a certified chartered accountant from the University of Professional Studies , Accra , Ghana . After his tertiary education , he was employed by the Controller and Accountant General ’ s Department in 1994 . He was then posted to the Upper East Region office as a Regional Accountant and progressed to the rank of a Deputy Regional Director . He was later posted to the Ministry of Youth and Sports as the Chief Internal Auditor .
Against this background , everyone will expect a man with such a secured and lucrative career to be satisfied with life and wait till he retires and enjoy his retirement package . But such was not the case with Baba Yabdow . He still felt a sense of emptiness within him . Why ? “ Civil service was not what I really wanted . I was passionate about creating my own business and providing jobs for people . So , I was not satisfied with being a civil servant . Something within me felt I should resign and do my own business .”
Entrepreneurial journey begins
While still an employee at the Ministry , he was able to raise some money and established a car washing bay . The business was growing but he didn ’ t want to combine working in the government sector with his private business . Finally , he resigned in 2008 to focus on his car wash business . The next year , 2009 , he added
24 Business Times Africa | 2016