In the dusty lanes of Wenchi, Owusuaa Comfort used to run a tiny slipper‑and‑shoe stall that glittered with color but not with profit. She stacked her shelves high, smiled wide, and hustled harder than a night‑shift generator. Yet, the numbers? They were ghost towns.
Comfort faced a harsh truth: “I lost all the money I put in,” she recalls, voice trembling. “I didn’t know how to track anything.”
Fast forward three weeks into a three‑month crash‑course at KNUST. Thanks to the NKABOM Collaborative KNUST (Nutrition & Sustainable Agri‑food) program in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The training is a boot‑camp for non‑tertiary youth, handing them the keys to the agricultural value‑chain kingdom. Comfort was about to learn that business success isn’t just sweating; it is nurtured based on consistent and deliberate record‑keeping.
Now she wakes up, brews her tea, and flips open a fresh cash book like a treasure map. She logs labor costs, wages for her helper, daily sales, even the stray plastic bag she buys from the hawker. The numbers stare back, no longer ghosts but guiding stars.
“When you start a business, you must keep records. The records will help you know your profits and your losses.” Comfort said.
She’s turned a past of blind hustle into a future of data‑driven decisions. The program’s lessons-racking investments, monitoring profits, and spotting losses are the exact antidote to her previous chaos.
Comfort sums it up with a grin; “If not for this training, I would know nothing about keeping records. But now, I know something, and I will make sure to practice it to ensure the growth of my business”.
From the Ashes of Loss to a Ledger of Hope: Comfort’s Wenchi Transformation, a reminder that numbers can be as colorful as a pair of new slippers.