Forewin Group: Distribution, Marketing, Industry and Real Estate in Ghana and West Africa

Ghassan Antoine Yared, Founder and CEO of Forewin Group and Honorary Consul of Peru to Ghana, talks about the various activities of the Group in distribution, marketing, industry and real estate, in Ghana and West Africa.

“It all started in 1993. We already had some years of experience in West Africa. Then, we decided to come to Ghana because we heard that Ghana was opening up to investors in the market and was really going to start showing some changes. We started with creating a distribution and marketing company because that was our main experience and business before we came here. We succeeded in a short period of time in creating an infrastructure that covers the entire nation and then grew a portfolio that gave us economy of scale and helped us to expand our business beyond distribution. We also realized that it is very easy to establish a business here but it is very difficult and challenging to grow a business and maintain a momentum. Especially when we reach a certain level of weight on the market, it is difficult to maintain that position. So, we realized that we needed to diversify our business. We were among the first companies to establish a free zone operation and invested in the free zone enclave in Tema. Knowing that industry is the future, we decided to invest in building an industrial complex in Tema where we currently are operating a very successful operation. We have five lines of biscuits and we are growing into other product portfolios to service not only the local market but also beyond the borders of Ghana. Currently, over 70% of our production is exported into the ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States). From there, we also continued diversification and we were able to sign a partnership with a company that has been dealing in heavy machinery for over forty years. We successfully created a partnership starting in Ghana and then we partnered globally with them. It is a unique model, a portfolio of premium brands servicing different areas of the industry. We have “BOMAG” for road construction, “DOOSAN” for medium and small-scale mining, Bobcat, Carmix, Jag, Putsmeister, Polaris, and others. The uniqueness of this offering is that we service different industries. We always have stocks on hand and we have built a state of the art after sales service providing support, and availability of spare parts. This makes us successful despite all the challenges that we face in this environment. For example, there is continuous devaluation of the local currency. There are frequent changes in government and policies. Access to cash is an issue and the banking sector charges extremely high interest rates. Access to external funds is very limited to only those who can satisfy the external conditions. So, we really needed to rely on our growth, our internal cash flow, and the trust we have built with suppliers and shareholders. Along with that, we have invested in real estate. Real estate is a long term winner. It is a question of time and readability; wait for the right time to enter and to exit. We initiated a big project that became a reality called “The Exchange”. It is the biggest multipurpose project in Ghana. We started the project in 2011 through a partnership with Actis, the British real estate fund. “The Exchange” is a multi-purpose unique project. A hotel, shopping mall, residential and office space built at the airport prime area. This is what we have achieved so far and we continuously are looking for new opportunities. We believe the future of Ghana is bright despite all the challenges and changes in government policies. When you want to clean your house you need to start from the basement. That is exactly what our current government is doing. It will take some time. We have to bet, we have to believe, and we have to stick to the long-term vision and we are here to stay. Ghana was born in us and we are not going anywhere”, says Ghassan Antoine Yared.

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