Bernard Alven

I grew up in Ghana. As a young boy, I wanted to become a doctor. That was the dream I had in my mind for years.

Then I got to Senior High School and was placed in the Business programme because my school had no science program. That was not what I had imagined for myself. In many ways, it felt like the end of my dream of becoming a doctor since I was not pursing Science. I had to let go of that ambition and begin thinking about another future or career path.

I eventually decided that I would become a banker. At that point, I still had no idea that business would eventually become such a major part of my life.

Everything changed when I entered university.

Actually father wanted me to become a teacher and encouraged me to go to teacher training college. I refused, I wanted university. I was stubborn about it, and eventually, I got my way with the help of my big brother. I however entered university without a real plan for how I was going to finance my education.

My father was not going to support me, and before long, I was struggling to pay my school fees. I was even close to being expelled from university because of unpaid fees. That situation frightened me, but it also forced me to think differently.

I needed money—and I needed it urgently.

And that was the beginning.

My search for a way to pay my school fees pushed me into entrepreneurship. I had no business background, no mentor and no business plan. I simply needed to find a way to survive and keep myself in school.

That was how my real education in business began.