Planting an idea into a business tree — Michael Amankwah and the CoreNett story
In a world where ideas are the cornerstones with which the strongest businesses are built, conceiving a great business idea is a giant leap towards a possible triumphant entry into the world of entrepreneurship.
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It is also true that ideas, in themselves, do not generate businesses unless their initiators are able to transform them into commercial ventures that can positively impact lives. However, it is this transformation that has been the challenge behind the many laudable ideas which could never see the light of day.
But Michael Amankwa, a celebrated technology innovator, is one such person who has followed through his idea into commercial reality. In 2002, he conceived the idea to create an online commerce resource – My Ghanamart – through which Ghanaians in the diaspora could buy stuffs for their families and loved ones back home.
Although the idea was good, it failed to receive the needed patronage because “the idea was way ahead of its time,” Mr Amankwa recounted on the Springboard, Your Virtual University, on Joy FM
Prior to that, Mr Amankwa had experimented many such ideas, with some costing him fortunes. Fortunately, however, he did not give up; rather, he learnt from them and positioned himself for something bigger in the coming years.
2000 was the opportune year, when Michael picked an idea from a fuel station in the United States of America and turned it into what is now known as CoreNett, a transactions processing management company which provides various electronic transaction solutions to financial institutions, governments, retailers and processors.
“I have tried several things that didn’t work. Sometimes, it’s painful, it hurts and I lose money but the beautiful thing about it is that you learn. Now, when I look back and I look at where we are today, I realise that all the challenges were just preparing me to be able to do things that will help impact lives,” he said.
Mr Amankwa, who returned from the USA about 10 years ago to establish CoreNett was speaking on the theme: 'Idea generation and concept development' on the Springboard's new series on entrepreneurship and business growth.
Ideas are everywhere
It all happened while Michael was schooling in the States when he realised fuel stations there were not manned by attendants, unlike those in Ghana and other African countries.
Buyers input the amount of fuel they want to purchase along with a personal identification number and self-dispense the fuel into their vehicles.
“So I said to myself: 'Wow, then I think this thing will work in Africa, especially in Ghana. So I decided to come back to Ghana and set it up. And that is how we started an electronic transactions processing company," he said.
CoreNett now provides various electronic payments solutions in the country, including the cardless Automated Teller Machine (ATM) that is fast gaining currency among the banks.
Deducing from his example, Mr Amankwa said ideas could be conceived by anybody and from everywhere. Thus, he urged people to stay focused, be ready to fine-tune their thoughts into workable ideas and see to their execution.
Why your Ideas fail
Touching on how to ensure that ideas do not die before they are nurtured into businesses, the CoreNett founder said various challenges in life could end the transformation of an idea into a concrete venture. However, that could be avoided if people understood the basis and source of their existence.
“I think what people lack or take for granted is the gift of life. When you are able to get out of bed every morning, stretch your arms and walk, then that becomes the most important gift that God can ever give to you. Once you have that, then you have the power to dream and accomplish that dream," he said.
He emphasised that in generating an idea, the focus should not always be the parochial gain of the person involved, but about the collective good of the society.
“The moment you start thinking about other people, that is when things start changing and evolving into something more brilliant and bigger,” he said on the Springboard, which is hosted by Reverend Albert Ocran of Legacy and Legacy fame.
The God factor
Although ideas are everything in life and business, Mr Amankwa said understanding the basis for one’s existence was fundamental to the successful execution of those ideas, however big.
“For me, if you give me money right now
, I will not take it. I will prefer an idea because what ideas do for you is that they help you to think and figure out what you want to do. Based on that you know how much you need and where you need it from,” he said.
Getting people on board
With regard to idea generators who get discouraged when people do not buy into their business prepositions, Mr Amankwa has a piece of advice for them: "When God gives you a vision, it is yours. It is your duty to let people understand it and buy into it so they can walk with you.”
He continued: “So when you are talking to people and they don't seem to understand it, do not be discouraged because God gave the idea to you to be able to believe in it and get others on board."
Mr Amankwa called for confidence in people, explaining that nobody could get an idea into action without being able to kill the timidity that may come with it.
"You do not have to be timid. I do not know anybody that has done anything significant by being timid. You have to be confident," he said.
But he thinks confidence should not be misconstrued as arrogance.– GB