Venture into entrepreneurship - Young graduate trading in honey urges youth

A young Ghanaian business owner has urged the youth to challenge themselves through entrepreneurship rather than waiting for the government to provide them with jobs.

Judith Attamah, who produces and trades honey, said employment opportunities should not be solely left in the hands of the state to provide.

Instead, the University of Ghana Chemistry graduate said the government must provide the right environment to encourage private enterprises to blossom and thrive.

Judith has been into honey production for the past decade, thriving against the odds in a typical male-dominated business field.

Honey, a sweetener, is valued also for its nutritional content.

It is a valuable component of various medicinal therapies.

It also boasts antioxidant properties.

Interview

Speaking to the Daily Graphic on the sidelines of an entrepreneurship event about her foray into entrepreneurship, Judith said the idea came during her national service period after completing her university education.

She said she chanced upon the enterprise of beekeeping when her job took her through a forest one day.

She said her interest grew as she enquired more about the business and soon devoted herself to what would become a life-changing career venture now called JA 24 Foods.

Judith said she began selling on top of a table after harvesting and processing her honey as she made the bold initial steps to explore the opportunity hidden beneath the thoughts of bee stings.

She said she later rented a store to start the distribution when things began to look promising, although she admitted that it had been "a tedious venture".

Her story is one of resilience and a definition of entrepreneurial character that has defied many obstacles, including discouraging advice at the beginning, to reach this stage.

Humble beginning

Judith said she had started with a little capital, buying and selling honey, and later added virgin coconut oil and palm oil before she made the breakthrough with her own honey production enterprise.

She has since established some beekeeping farms in the Volta Region and other areas to sustain the business.

From a humble beginning, the small business has expanded to employ nearly 20 workers who help to supply throughout the country and beyond.

Talking about challenges, she said human activities such as illegal mining impeded the work of beekeepers and honey making, explaining that the activity destroyed bee habitats in forests.

Judith said the international market for honey was flooded by competitors who packaged adulterated products and were, therefore, able to sell their products at very low prices.