Your first family is your company - Prince Kofi Amoabeng to employees

Founder of defunct UT Bank, Prince Kofi Amoabeng, has advised employees to be committed to their respective companies, arguing that every individual’s first family is the company he or she works at.

He said in Ghana, most employees didn’t give their best at work because of the perception that the company is not for them and as such, they don’t need to go the extra mile to make it successful.

Giving the keynote address at the launch of the 25th anniversary of Fairgreen Limited, he said “your first family is actually your company, you spend most of your time at work so you must feel happy and have some sense of belonging when coming to work.”

“This family is actually where you earn to be able to take care of your nuclear family,” he stated.

Mr Kofi Amoabeng also advised employers to create a culture that treats the workers as family.

“You need to create a culture of transparency, respect, and honesty,” he said.

Commenting on the 25th anniversary of Fairgreen, he commended the board and management of the company, noting that “hardly do you see a Ghanaian indigenous company chalk up that success”.

He however cautioned the management to be mindful of the valleys and gutters that could destroy their business achievements.

He noted that while his own business, UT Bank, collapsed before 25 years, that had taught him some great lessons on what not to do as a business owner.

Creating proper structures

The Chief Executive Officer of Fairgreen Limited, Gifty Boahene, in her welcome address, stressed the importance of creating proper structures and systems in business operations in order to enhance growth.

She said making strategic investments in structures, policies and systems would enhance operational efficiency that would help businesses to meet the expectations of their customers.

Ms Boahene was reflecting on the path that has spurred the growth of Fairgreen Limited over the years in a competitive Information Technology industry.

"One thing that has kept us growing is, we understood the importance of structures, policies and systems to support our growth," she stated.

Providing tailored services

She said her company had over the last 25 years provided tailored world-class IT infrastructure solutions to medium and large corporate institutions across Africa and other parts of the world.

“From humble beginnings of selling computer accessories from a garage, the company has transformed to become one of the few IT solutions providers that offer tailored design, implementation and support without foreign involvement.

"While we can say our company grew organically over the last 25 years, this achievement has come with hard work and deliberate strategic decisions at every stage," she stated.

She said the company had provided IT Solutions to various entities, including multinationals, governments, financial and educational institutions among others.

Ms Boahene said another key factor that sets Fairgreen apart was the company's commitment to building competence within its team.

"We recognised that even our smallest customers were becoming more sophisticated, and they sought partners who understood their pain points and could provide them with the right solutions for their challenges," she said.