‘Alhaji’s Wife’ shares entrepreneurial journey on Springboard

Ms Rashida Saani Nasamu is a communication consultant, an entrepreneur, organisational development strategist and youth wealth creation advocate.

After working for over 10 years as a broadcast journalist in Ghana, she moved on in 2013 to concentrate on her own company, the I-ZAR Group, which has now grown into a conglomerate with affiliates in real estate and construction, media investments, ICT, retail as well as social enterprises.

In 2018, she was adjudged winner in the Communications category of the 40 under 40 awards and also won the People’s Choice Award as the most voted under 40 Female Chief Executive of the year.

In 2019, she won the ultimate award at 40 under 40 awards by winning the First Among Equals Award for her efforts as a young entrepreneur with diverse business affiliates.

Quite recently, she added food business to her line of businesses through the establishment of ‘Alhaji’s Wife’ to sell ‘waakye’ - a local delicacy of rice and beans.
Appearing on the Springboard, Your Virtual University, a radio programme on Joy FM, Ms Nasamu took listeners through her entrepreneurship journey.

Entrepreneurship ideas

She said she conceived her entrepreneurial ideas at an early age because she came from an entrepreneurial family.

“My dad was an entrepreneur and he literally died on the job. He will normally go to his shop very early in the morning and close very late and all of his children who finished school and were awaiting results had to actually work there.

“And that is where the ideas were conceived. That is where I learnt to be practical, smart and focus on different things at the same time,” she stated.

Using her background as an example, she said it was very important for children to undergo such training before they could stand on their feet.

Food business

On what influenced her decision to go into the food business, she said it was to ensure a multiple stream of income.

“The edifice where I am running the food business is close to my house and I realised it had been empty for some time so I thought about what I could use it for. I identified it as a prime location for business which was why I thought I should engage in something retail and not the usual corporate stuff. I decided to use it to sell something essential and food is one of them. People eat every day, and that was the inspiration,” she narrated.

She said her other reason was that cooking was a hobby as she loved to cook at home.

She, therefore, urged individuals to commercialise their hobbies, adding that being in a job one is not interested in made it mundane.

“So there should be some kind of great interest in your job for you to be able to do well in the first place,” she stated.

Why ‘waakye’

On why she decided to sell ‘waakye’ and not any other food, she said: “I am yet to have an encounter with people who don’t like ‘waakye’. It has gradually become a delicacy that represents a destination brand image for the country.”

“People now eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and people’s interest in ‘waakye’ keeps growing,” she added.

On what influenced the name ‘Alhaji’s Wife’, she said branding was an essential part of every business, hence her decision to go with a name that was unique.

“When I decided to sell food, I thought about how to create a competitive advantage beyond the taste of the food. So the biggest surprise was when I unveiled the name ‘Alhaji’s Wife’.”

“It got everyone uncomfortable and even my children told me that name was too local, but today my children prefer to be identified with that brand than the corporate image. ‘Alhaji’s Wife’ is such a heavy name and for most people who come to buy the ‘waakye’, they are looking out for someone who has been set up by some big time sugar daddy (Alhaji) only to get disappointed when they see me,” she noted.

She pointed out that she was not even married to any Alhaji in the first place.

Lessons to be learnt

Sharing some lessons from her entrepreneurial journey, Ms Nasamu urged young graduates to disabuse their minds of the fact that it had to be formal job or nothing else.

“We need to start doing something for ourselves and it is time to make unconventional or the informal sector quite attractive to ourselves while we are still very young and strong. The thirst and penchant for white collar activities is the reason why there are no jobs in the first place,” she noted.

On what has kept her going all these years, she said her journey enabler had been always having the power to go for what she wanted.

“I do not procrastinate. The fact that I think it’s the right thing, I go for it. I am also very ambitious and productive. Being productive is supposed to be vital in life. As long as you are strong and have good health, you should be able to diversify,” she noted.

Ms Nasamu also noted that failure and uncertainty were supposed to be a daily affair in the life of an entrepreneur.

She said the ability to welcome those challenges and find a way to work your way out smoothly was what guaranteed success.