Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

In this raw and unfiltered episode of Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Samuel Agyapong — founder of Banana Bread GH — for a conversation that dismantles the myth that you need to travel abroad or raise millions to build a real business in Ghana.

Samuel didn't travel. He didn't get investor money. He started with 600 cedis and an MTN loan — and built two bakeries, all from social media.

But this conversation goes deeper than just the success story. Samuel breaks down the brutal truths most young Ghanaians refuse to hear: why 70% of people think you need to go abroad to make it, why investors won't bet on you until you prove yourself first, why some people are born to be employees and that's okay, and why the real opportunity in Ghana isn't in chasing trends — it's in solving problems nobody else is paying attention to.

From getting his products authenticated by CSIR and FDA, to doing stability tests without preservatives, to waking up at 4 a.m. every day for something he loves — Samuel's story is proof that the system is broken, yes, but it's also full of gaps you can fill if you're willing to start small, stay visible, and build a track record before asking anyone for a dime.

This is not motivation. This is the manual.

🎟️ Konnected Minds Live — Kumasi | September 9th Don't miss it. https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

In this powerful episode of Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Shalimar Abbas - the former spokesperson of The New Force political movement - for her FIRST ON-RECORD interview in Ghana since her arrest, detention, and deportation.

Shalimar opens up about everything: growing up as the "different kid" in Belgium, winning her first beauty pageant, falling in love with Ghana, her time at GHONE TV, the viral New Force video that changed her life, the call from immigration, 7 days in the National Intelligence Bureau cells, being abandoned by the movement she fronted, her ECOWAS court victory, and her powerful comeback as a diplomatic affairs advisor working with governments across Africa.

This is a story of betrayal, faith, resilience, and redemption - and a side of the New Force saga the public has never heard before.

🎟️ KONNECTED MINDS LIVE 2026 — KUMASI Join 1,600+ young entrepreneurs and aspiring leaders at KNUST on the 9th of September. Grab your tickets here: https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

In this episode of Konnected Minds, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Funke Bucknor-Obrute (FBO) — the woman behind Zapphaire Events, Africa's biggest event planning company. For over 24 years, FBO has built an empire defined by excellence, customer obsession, and an unshakable mindset.

But this conversation goes far beyond business.

From quitting law after watching a J.Lo movie, to charging her first client ₦10,000, to building a team that runs Africa's most exclusive events without her in the room - FBO opens up about the real cost of building something that lasts.

We also get into the conversation everyone's talking about: marriage, women, men, and the weight African women carry. FBO holds nothing back — and the debate gets HEATED.

If you're building a business, a brand, or a life worth living, this one is for you.

📍 Konnected Minds Live — Kumasi | September 9th Don't miss it. https://www.konnectedmindslive.com/

🔥 KEY TAKEAWAYS

▸ Why aiming for 101% is the only standard

▸ How to build a team that delivers without you in the room

▸ The mindset shift that turns customers into lifetime clients

▸ Why the right partner can make or break your career

▸ The truth about wealth most Africans get wrong

▸ How to find joy in a busy, demanding life

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🎙️ ABOUT THE GUEST
Funke Bucknor-Obrute a pioneering Nigerian entrepreneur, lawyer, and one of Africa's most influential voices in the event planning and experiential industry.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/funkebucknor/

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🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Derrick Abaitey is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, podcast host, and personal development advocate.

IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey

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From working 27 years in corporate across Japan and South Africa to investing over 2 million US dollars in a catfish farm in Ghana to learning the brutal truth that nobody will listen to you when you tell them how to think about risk even if you were the only black equity analyst in Japan nominated by Nikkei as one of the top 15 analysts because you need to let your life shine and people will see what is actually happening to you proving that actions speak louder than credentials and experience, the former senior portfolio manager at Mazi asset management who became head of research managing billions in assets for clients but always knew he would come back to Ghana to do something even though he could have come earlier because he was making very very good money and his aim was capital accumulation working for companies that paid him very well, the stock market expert who survived the Japanese bubble burst when banks collapsed and companies had issues watching as a foreigner wondering what was going to happen but fortunately by the grace of God survived the turbulence when his company was acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Bank and the parent company was taken over by a consortium led by SoftBank Masayoshi Son, the analyst who moved from the sell side investment banking where companies like Databank and GCB Securities have access to the stock market and just recommend stocks to the buy side where you receive money and invest in stocks for clients creating portfolios and putting actual money in so if it falls the client is going to talk to you unlike the sell side where if the stock falls you hide and don't take calls, the entrepreneur who toured with the idea of setting up his own asset management company in Ghana but looking at the Ghana Stock Exchange set up in 1989 or 1990 the trading volume is dominated by probably one company MTN followed by GCB making it very difficult as a portfolio manager in South Africa to get stocks to buy in Ghana because the liquidity is not there and if you found an interesting company you don't get financial data wondering why the stock exchange allowed those companies to be listed when they are not providing their financials, the visionary who had aquaculture in his mind along with a fitness club and a garage because he came to Ghana and saw Ghanaians fixing cars while foreigners counted the money asking why can't I do it when it's just a question of getting the spare parts getting somebody to look after the warehouse very well and the Ghanaians doing it and probably giving them shares in whatever you set up, the risk thinker who explains that the risk concept in Asia is different from what we are taught in Ghana because when we say something is risky we think it's dangerous and you lose money but that's not how they think about risk and if you look at the Chinese characters for risk the two characters pronounced kiki mean danger and opportunity so you see danger and opportunity together, the opportunity seeker who says when you see risk you don't run away but ask is it very dangerous and where is the opportunity and is the opportunity bigger than the danger because he grew up there and lived with them so it became part of him and when he looks at Ghana yes it's risky but where lies the opportunity and where is the danger, the founder and CEO of Wadicair Farms the award winning farm of 2025 who moved to Ghana in 2021 after working many years in corporate making very very good money and moving to South Africa to join Mazi asset management was actually a huge pay cut but his aim was to set up a black owned asset management company where he was head of research and senior portfolio manager for a mandate in Africa excluding South Africa.

Host: Derrick Abaitey

From understanding why parents pushed their children into white collar jobs instead of farming because weeding was used as punishment in school making people grow up thinking farming is for those who cannot read and write to learning the brutal truth that we import 100 million dollars worth of tomatoes from Burkina Faso every year and if a young person can target just 1% of that market that's one million dollars in opportunity but the 25 year old guy doesn't know where to get 50,000 cedis to start and banks are not willing to co-invest because they get high returns from government bonds instead of taking equity in startups proving that there's a big industry in Ghana about talking on problems every day but nothing is done and we need to move from talking to working on the ground, the entrepreneur whose grandparents were big cocoa farmers in Ofori area and grew up on cocoa farms but was pushed into education because parents wanted their children to become doctors or engineers so they could tell their friends my son is a doctor my daughter is a pilot instead of saying my child is a farmer which doesn't bring societal respect or dignity in Ghana today, the reality that when you go to the UK or Japan or USA or Brazil the rich people are farmers milking cows and doing large scale agriculture but in Ghana we've pushed agriculture to the background and left farming for peasant farmers working on one acre or one plot of land feeding their children with agriculture extension officers advising them instead of thinking about large scale farms, the wisdom that education is very very important but we need to revamp the way we teach people because when he was growing up they punished you and asked you to go and weed so you grew up thinking weeding is a form of punishment and farming is exaggerated punishment so people are not going to do it and the farmer cannot even send his son to school, the vision that if we are able to revamp the way we teach and explain agriculture to people they will get to know that you can be a PhD and till the ground and make a lot of money because you can identify a problem like importing tomatoes from Burkina Faso and supply the ladies who are going to buy those tomatoes creating jobs and wealth, the fish farmer who started Wadicair Farms in 2023 with 2.5 million US dollars investment now doing revenues of maybe 750,000 cedis yearly and growing because 2023 was virtually zero but 2024 and 2025 are looking better with more people patronizing the products and off-takers coming from Canada Germany Ivory Coast and locally selling to Max Mart Talegon Max Mart La Bony and Focus Trading in Kumasi, the product innovator who created oven dried sliced catfish instead of just the traditional curled catfish because growing up mothers would finish the soup and have to divide the fish and it's hard when it's curled so slicing it makes it easier for them to give portions to children while the father gets the big curled one but initially people asked where is the head how do I know this is not snake so now they include the head and people are buying the sliced version, the employer who tells his workers you are here not just for a salary because if we make money in this company Kwame is not going to just keep it to himself and his family but will set up a bonus system so workers can get sizeable bonuses to buy blocks and start building something for their families because they live around the village and he wants them to build generational wealth too, the businessman whose motivation for starting the farm was money of course because it's not philanthropy but he doesn't have to squeeze money out of his people and if he can make decent profits selling at 100 why should he sell at 150 or 200 when he has his targets and knows where the business is going.

Host: Derrick Abaitey