Family businesses and entrepreneurship research has grown but with few studies in Africa. This case study fills that gap in the research on entrepreneurship and family business cases in the African continent. The case is explored to assess the motivation and challenges influencing entrepreneurial startup businesses and founders of family businesses. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection, the research confirms some differences and similarities in the motivational factors and challenges associated with starting a business in an African context, specifically Ghanaian. This entrepreneur's family business encountered a number of challenges in its startup. However, due to strong mental attributes such as personal motivation, persistence, commitment, and hard work, he has overcome these challenges and grown the business successfully. Although environmental challenges may be greater in an emerging economy such as Ghana, personal attributes can play a key role in building and sustaining a successful family business.
TopIntroduction
Family business and entrepreneurial businesses account for over 60% of businesses in the world, according to the 2012 European Family Businesses Report (EFB, 2012). In the U.S it is estimated that about 90% of all business are family owned. Studies also indicate that family businesses are more profitable and contribute better to GDP in most economies (EFB, 2012). Consequently, there has been a growing interest in family business and entrepreneurship research (Low & MacMillan, 1988).
There have been several studies on entrepreneurship and family businesses worldwide. A review of literature points out that while there have a number of research studies conducted on entrepreneurship, there is still a wide gap in developing economies such as Africa. Indeed reviewing earlier studies such as Kent et al. (1982), Low & MacMillan (1988) and more recent ones such as Bruton et al. (2008), one notices that there is still a general lack of research carried out on entrepreneurship on the African continent.
Hence, this chapter about an entrepreneur in Ghana, Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo, is in line with the substantial lack of research in this area and in response to a more recent call by Bruton, et al. (2008) in which it was suggested that more entrepreneurial research should be geared towards under researched areas such as Africa and Ghana for that matter.
Interestingly enough, a review of literature in Family Business research also shows a lack of research in this area in Africa. For instance, reviews by Sharma, (2004); Casillas and Acedo, (2007); Debicke et al. (2009) and Litz et al. (2012). All these point out that there has been virtually not much family business researches conducted in Africa. In view of this general lack of research in Africa on entrepreneurship and family businesses, this chapter seeks to remedy this situation by addressing the following issues:
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To describe a successful Ghanaian entrepreneur Dr. Michael Agyekum Addo who started a family business and has grown the business to this point. Specifically, this chapter will describe the relative poverty and harsh socioeconomic situations including lack of capital in which the Ghanaian started with and the motivation and driving force which enabled him to initiate such business. In addition the chapter will describe in detail the tremendous challenges and obstacles associated with starting a business in Ghana particularly the institutional and socio-cultural barriers that he encountered in the early days when he started and the ways by which he managed to overcome these.
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This study will also seek to describe the success of this entrepreneur and identify the key mental or cognitive attributes and characteristic which this entrepreneur suggests are needed to run an effective family business in Ghana.
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Finally, the case study will address the different ways and means by which the KAMA Group is giving back to society both at the larger societal level and specific community levels particularly in the Eastern region of Ghana.