FOCUS; BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
My name is Yakubu Abdul Karim, and I’m from sagnarigu, the Northern Region of Ghana. My father, who is late, was the afternoon chief to the Paramount Chief of sagnarigu. I grew up in the northern part of Ghana, in sagnarigu. I attended Hillalia Islamic Basic School, where I completed my primary and junior high education. I then continued at Talensi Senior High, and after my SHS, I’m currently at Gimpa doing a few leadership courses.
Regarding my family background, I grew up in a tough environment. My father had 3 wives, and I’m the fourth born of 11 children( my mother gave birth to 11 children), but 2 passed on, and we are left with 9. Growing up, I used to work at a washing bay , while going through junior high.
I used to ask myself, “How are people able to bring in such cars for me to wash? Surely one day I would love to own one .” This was between 2006 and 2009.
Later, after school, I went to learn the carpentry. I did this for a while, gained enough experience and small capital, and then I finally entered into car tire sales business.
At the time, I raised 3,200 ghc and got support from my father after he had advised me to go ahead with the tire sales . He partnered with me. After some time, we were able to gather enough capital and expand the business. This time around, we traded in the spare parts business. My father used to get the merchandise from Kumasi, and we were selling it in Tamale. I lost my father in 2020.
After his demise, I moved to Accra to start life afresh.
“You’ll always have to move out of your comfort zone to become the person you want to be”.
It was a bold decision I took then.
During my early days in Accra, because of the experience I had in automobile parts, one of my friends from the north called me and said he needed a car. I got all the details of the particular car he wanted; it was a Honda Accord 2018 module. One of my friends in Accra, Salim, and another one, Omar, took me to a dealership. It was during that period that I studied how well the dealership business works. I noticed that it was a business that I could also do to make ends meet. I made a few connections with leaders in the dealership business. I also learned more about cars on YouTube.
I remember one day, out of nowhere, one of my friends from Canada texted me on Snapchat that he would like us to start a dealership company together. He will bring in the cars, and I’ll do the selling. I always keep focused one at a time on any business that I’m into. And within a year of the partnership, I was able to get my own garage. To inspire someone out there, you can also try this business out. Don’t be worried about the capital to start with. I didn’t start with any capital. It was an opportunity I had, which I made good use of. You don’t necessarily have to buy the cars or own them. You can partner or even do just marketing to make commissions.You just have to be focused. Most people around me wonder how I was able to set up this big garage. It’s not rocket science. It’s a matter of going through the process, and if anyone is interested, I’m willing and available to help . I believe in teams winning. If I win alone, I’ll be fed up, especially when I have to do all the giving, but if my friends win with me, trust me, the burden will be lesser .
I’m very grateful to one of my friends, Diamond. He’s been a great support, especially during my hard times. He’s the one who introduced me to Bitcoin. That was around 2016. It was then that I realized that digital currency was the future. My friend taught me how to trade and easily make money online by trading BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
I recall at the time that I started with just less than $2000, but within a year I was able to build my first real estate property in Tamale(Aqeela Property) around 2018. At that time, my father was into farming as well. So I decided to also enter farming ( Wunimi Royal Farms). We are into rice, maize, soybeans, and shea butter. We also export them. We have a company in Dubai that we supply with these products. So I run Baron Autos, Wunimi Royal Farms, and Aqeela Real Estate, respectively.
To talk more about Bitcoin, I remember the first time I started, I bought BTC with 1,750 USD. Within a few days, I made about $2,000 more.
Though sometimes , you make loses , it was still a good venture for me. I also bought few crypto coins. I know that very soon Ghanaians will fully accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. It will take time, but it will turn out positively. Gradually, I’m working on expanding my real estate business in Accra as well. I’m learning and putting my team together. One of my friends, Kwame Ofori of Alof Properties, has been of great support in this sector.
Notwithstanding, looking at my journey, I’ve been helped and given opportunities, which have propelled me to also help people around me. I try my possible best to help friends, family, and even the community in any way that I can.Such as setting up Momo shops, building a few mosques, and renovating my former junior high.
I’m currently partnering with a company from Lebanon to set up a huge motorcycle company in the North. This is to support and give job opportunities to the community that I come from.
To sum it all up, what I want to tell someone out there is not to give up, to focus, to believe in yourself, to believe in God, and to have faith in whatever you are doing. You only get serious about life when you find something to do with it.If you dream it and see it, you’ll surely have it.
Thank you.
