Q: What did you want to become growing up?
A: The only thing I thought of was to be an engineer because I liked screw drivers or an Artist because I used to draw a lot and I could draw very well too. I think the art is still with me because the entire design of Alsale Services, I did it myself.
Q: How far do you intend to take the art?
A: For now, my concentration is on Alsale Services but what I had decided to do one day when I have some time is to take pictures and compile data of mentally challenged people on our streets and then try to find where they came from and then do an exhibition to bring out the humanity in them and use it to raise funds for the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
Q: So is the Alsale I see now your vision or a partial vision and there is more to come?
A: Actually my vision is supposed to affect society in a very good way and if Alsale is the way to affect society in a positive way then so be it. But Alsale is actually not supposed to be limited to Ghana, we intend to expand across the west coast of Africa and that is embedded in our vision. Everything has to be properly planned. For instance when we started Alsale around 2003-2004, we told ourselves 14 or 15 years from then, the vision was to have our own premises and when we were 10 years, that vision came to pass. We believe as we grew, we had structures in place to get the recognition as serious business people and move across the west coast of Africa. At 15, we intend to at least set up an office in Nigeria and Liberia.
Q: You have become a credible business in Ghana, how easy or difficult was this journey?
A: I don't use words like difficult because I believe that if you want to brave the storm there are always challenges. If you look at the values of Alsale Services which are focus, integrity and perseverance you can see that they are directly related. If you are a manager, you are supposed to make things that are not smooth better and grow the company. Overall, it's been very rewarding and fulfilling.
Q: How rewarding or fulfilling?
A: We have a staff of about 50 who have been with the company since we started. Some have been here for the past 13 years of their lives whiles others have been here around 4 or 5 years. This is an indication that our staff turnover rate is quite low. I have seen people who came right from school to do national service who have grown, gotten married, have children and taking care of their children and it's all because of what Alsale means to them. They enjoy what they do and when I look at these people. I think about the young boy with a money counting machine in his armpit, walking around Accra trying to sell it and has come to this level with people having their dreams, aspirations and vision fused to that little dream started 14-15 years ago; it's very, very fulfilling.
Q: It's quite a burden (not in a negative way) to have so many people look up to you, how do you manage growing them, what cardinal values do you imbibe in them?
A: The feeling of patriotism is a key thing at Alsale Services because I always tell my staff that the moment you enter this compound, the normal attitude we know in our society is totally discarded. We have our values, we have our corporate culture and you have to live by it. I'm happy to say that most of the staff are stuck by it. I travelled out of the country for a month and I was amazed at how the company was running without me. Diligent work as well as focus on humanity and delivery of solutions to the business community and entire society are key and we believe money is just a bonus and a by-product of the delivery of the solution.
Q: So what kind of leadership style do you run because when you talk about being absent and still having the company run effortlessly, then you must be doing something extraordinary that makes you stand out?
A: I have people I know who come here sometimes as late as about 10:00 p.m. and some of the clients ask if I am keeping them here and I say no but they know they have something to complete. Of course, there is an overall overtime allowance that people get but they enjoy doing what they do. Alsale Services has grown from sole proprietorship with just an individual to employment of a second or third person and then we have developed departments. Currently we have about four or five departments including the Service Business Development, Sales Department, Accounts Department, Operations and Administration and HR Department. All these departments have very responsible leadership who guide them in adding value to themselves. They've been made to understand that intra-prenuership is important and if you are able to be creative about it, with all the resources available, you make all the commission and bonuses. This success was not achieved easily because at a point in time, for six years continuously, every single
morning I met every staff at 8:00 a.m. As we grew, the departments begun holding their own meeting and in turn brief me.
Q: So you are involved in the day-to-day running of the company?
A: Of course, what makes business successful in my opinion is involvement. You can never be successful in business if you are not involved in it because you are the one who carries the vision and you are trying to make everybody understand the vision. The vision cannot be imparted or imbibed or inculcated in people just by you talking to them, you have to demonstrate the vision. As a leader, you must be involved!
Q: It's been you at the helm of affairs for some time or since the inception of the company, though you sort of decentralised, what is your succession plan?
A: Well the plan is to get people who understand the vision; actually people who have a heartbeat as mine. However, the Succession plan goes beyond getting somebody to succeed me or some kind of protégée or somebody I'm mentoring, but we have plans for the departments and we do rotational duties also. This allows people to move around departments and do what other people do. That is the kind of succession plan we are doing now but the actual leadership of the company, it has to be someone whose heart beats exactly like mine.
Q: The marking scheme seem very high.
A: People are getting closer. I believe I have two people who are getting closer because they are gradually understanding what we are doing and for me, it's the attention to little things that actually sustains the company. These actions make you realize the company is deeply seated in the heart of the person. What I actually look out for may not be a proper demonstration of actual work efficiency but what demonstrates that if you are to handle the company, you will ensure that the environment is as important to you as your customers.
Q: How far or wide is your coverage Are you expanding to other regions? of Ghana?
A: We are all over the country. We have actual offices in Korle Bu, Achimota, Kumasi and the Head Office here. But our business is such that we don't have to have physical offices to be present. The nature of our business is such that we have equipment all over the country; from Accra to Elubo to Paga; we have machines all over that we service every month. Our staff are everywhere to respond to customers. Our business is to sell, service and lease equipment.
Q: You have a background in procurement, tell me about it.
A: (Laughs) After my A-levels, you know, my year was the year that universities went on strike for about two years. So I was admitted at the University of Ghana to read Archaeology, History and Religion and was supposed to be at the Sabbah Hall. But I was waiting for too long so the first thing I did was to enlist in the army and I have my letter here, I'll show it to you later. I was supposed to be second lieutenant Ahmad Adade Boakye. Three of my friends and I went to Burma Camp, they were all taken and I was the only one who was not taken. That was one of the worst days of my life because I wanted to be a military person. I couldn't take the disappointment so I left Accra for Kumasi the same night. I had to still wait for the University strike to be over so I went to the Polytechnic instead and pursued procurement because it caught my interest. After three years at the Polytechnic and my national service at Salaga in the North, I also contacted the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply in the UK and I was given the Foundation Graduate Diploma in Purchasing and Supply but I couldn't get a job in Purchasing and Supply Procurement so I got a job in Marketing. I got a job to sell filters and Mining equipment and pumps to some mining companies and after three years of work, I started Alsale Services with something about 500 hundred cedis. At that time it was just me moving around the capital from shop to shop with a money counting machine and later developed into having a car. Some of the very first imports I made on money
counting machine, I borrowed money from my siblings and yes and I paid back with even more. And that is one advise I will like to give people, when somebody gives you money, you pay back, it gives you credibility and the credibility makes them want to do more with you. I was so credible when my mother went on pension she gave me her pension pay which was around that time one hundred million and I turned it over for some time and paid her back. So integrity is part of Alsale, it's not something we just
took.
Though when we started, there were 'big boys' already
on the market with Money Counting Machine
business, God has been good because arguably, Alsale
is the number
one when it comes to cash processing equipment in terms of visibility of products, physical structures, human resource, logistics and efficiency. All industry players agree that we have the best.
Q: How are background now? you using that procurement
A: Having a background in procurement has really helped me. One of the major weapons I have over my competitors is my background in procurement. When I am going to sell to any procurement person, I understand his psyche and I know his expectation. I also know what a marketing officer is supposed to tell or how to convince a procurement person. So with this backgrounds, I'm able to tailor my presentation in a way that will impress the procurement person because I understand the thinking of these key people. I believe this is helping to grow the company.
Q: What is your perception of Ghana's Procurement System?
A: There is always room for improvement; there has been some improvement over the period. I think we have to be more professional and some institutions such as Ghana Institute of Procurement and Supply are offering that now. I'm happy to note that when I started selling, procurement was done by Administrative people but that is gradually changing. It's good to note that efficient procurement can lead to profitability and we can relate that to our national life. If we do things right at the national level, we'll get a lot more value for money than we have currently. We need a paradigm shift at procurement institutions, local government, ministerial levels and even cabinet to take procurement more seriously.
Q: How much of Alsale is local content currently?
A: It's about 20 to 25 percent of what we do. We manufacture some of our fireproof safes here locally and then we also manufacture some of our furniture locally as well as our cabinets. We also assemble some of our models of money counting machines here. Our objective is to grow (local content) up to 50% while keeping an eye on profitability, viability and time consumption factors.
Q: Is the market open to locally made goods?
A: Of course, for instance, our Fire Proof safes are preferred over the foreign brands because you can be sure they are difficult to break into.
Q: Could it be packaging aside the strength?
A: Packaging is critical for us and it reflects in our environment. Our brand speaks for itself. Brand is very critical and I see to this myself. So the delivery of the safe, when it comes to the design, the make and colour, I make sure we get it right.
Q: Do you customize?
A: Yes, we have our own brand. With Alsale Services, we have the air conditioning brand, Alcool, the money counting machine brand, Alcount, then the paper line called Alprint and then we have Crane which includes the safes.
I am happy to note that all the four brands are doing very well, especially the Alcount brand.
We have companies like Next Computers and Compu Ghana re-selling the Alcount brand which is a Ghanaian brand.
Q: Tell me about the name Alsale?
A: Alsale is actually something that's got to do with open-mindedness, not narrowing yourself to a particular thing and being dynamic. You must have the idea that the future is uncertain and whatever you do must fit the uncertainty of the future. For instance, currently, we do a lot of cash processing and we are very okay but so many things can happen in future which can result in either technology driving us slowly out of business or not. So we remain open-minded and think ahead, looking at ways of delivering value to society and then affecting society in a positive way.
Q: How technology driven is Alsale?
A: We use technology on daily basis. For instance, social media is critical for us. Most of our service delivery of spare parts, we use Social media a lot. We use state of the art software in our operations and the internet also plays a key role. Our website is always active, never a dull moment.
In our product development itself currently, we have about the most modern and growing equipment called the SB9. The SB9 is that smallest heavy duty-two- packet-money counting machine. It delivers excellent duty in the banking hall. It has multiple functions and future adaptability. Even as we speak, we are also looking at introducing handheld mobile devices point-of-sales unto the market. We have samples that we are working on and developing software for it. This is in partnership with our manufacturers in Korea. We are also working on products like deposit machines that will work like ATMs but accept deposits that will almost instantly hit your account.
Q: Let's wind down, I Do you love music? can see a guitar behind you.
A: I love music.
Q: What kind or genre of Music?
A: Hilife is the best genre for me, however, I like religious songs but hilife is the best sound in the world. Some may disagree but it is timeless. Hilife is alive. Stories told in highlife are real and you can relate to the stories. It is not just instrumental music, the rhythm is timeless. When driving and I scan my radio and it hits a station playing highlife, I pause and that is it.
Q: You don't seem like someone who will talk politics, do you?
A: I'm not a political person and I don't involve myself in politics. There are three topics I avoid talking about; politics, religion and love. These are topics that those who are very much involved in, won't see reason. Don't get me wrong, I am a patriotic Ghanaian, very nationalistic and will serve if enlisted into the army but love, politics and religion, I avoid.
Thank you