Kweku Attakora Dwomoh is an International Commercial, Trade, and Investment expert and a lecturer. He is also an author, a researcher, and a consultant. He co-authored a book on the Sale of Goods in Africa, published by LexisNexis. Dwomoh was one of the Government of Ghana’s expert consultants to the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat in 2020, providing legal and dispute settlement support to the secretariat. He served as the interim head of the dispute settlement division, overseeing and ensuring that the dispute settlement body of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement was operationalized and functional.
Is a Ghana where road accidents are completely eradicated possible? How about a Ghana where road networks are properly developed, road discipline becomes the norm, and not by chance? Or a Ghana where road infrastructure is of top quality and accidents are reduced drastically? Can you envision a Ghana where accident victims are given a voice, or a Ghana where health care is accessible to every citizen at an affordable price, if not free? It may sound utopian, but such a Ghana is possible.
There is the motivating story of Rwanda, a country which was previously torn apart by the horror of civil war, left in shambles, pain, and despair, and its woes further exacerbated by the genocide, which within 100 days led to a loss of between 500,000 and 1,000,000.[2] Today, with the massive transformation in Rwanda, it is considered the Silicon Valley of Africa. This article considers social entrepreneurs as being catalysts of change and examines how some social entrepreneurs in Ghana are stealthily making a difference.
Although social entrepreneurship may seem new to many, the concept isn’t novel. Some experts consider change makers like Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing in the 19th century, to be a social entrepreneur.
Until the last decade, the knowledge of the concept of social entrepreneurship was not common in Ghana. Nonetheless, the pursuit of social change was not uncommon among Ghanaians. Nationals at different levels, in their bid to make society better, contributed their quota to ensuring a sustainable Ghana was created. Names like Yaa Asantewaa, Esther Ocloo, Ama Ata Aidoo, and Prof. Frimpong Boateng are familiar, and they are individuals who were committed to creating a better Ghana and driving societal change.
Social entrepreneurs are individuals who create and advance novel causes that can solve community-based problems. They take up risk and resolve to create positivity in the community. Social entrepreneurs are transformative people. People with ideas on how to make society a better place, and people who do not give up on their pursuit to make a change until the change happens.[3] The primary goal of a social entrepreneur is to drive positive social change. Social entrepreneurs are not primarily motivated by profits. They may, through their good work, generate some profit, but making a profit is far from their primary motivation for doing so.[4] They seek to create lasting change.
Social entrepreneurs come in various forms, based on the focus of their entrepreneurial endeavors. There is the Community Social Entrepreneur, who focuses on solving problems within a geographical area, the Non-profit social entrepreneur, whose main aim is to create social wealth rather than material wealth and will invest any profit made back into the venture so to expand the services offered to have a wider reach in the community, the transformational social entrepreneur who focuses on meeting needs which governments and other businesses are unable to meet and the global social entrepreneur whose aim is to change societal norms to meet worldwide needs.
The crucial question remains-what drives social entrepreneurs? Peter Goldmark, the former president of the Rockefeller Foundation, asserts that social entrepreneurship grows because “there are restless people, seeking to deal with problems that were not being successfully coped with by existing formats and were driven to reinvent new forms of organisations.[5]
Social entrepreneurs are fuelled by the constant thrum of discontent. They are compelled to rise and weave new paths for change in bleak situations. They do not settle for mediocrity, nor do they settle for ineptitude. They are compelled to chart paths for success and development from an internal yearning for change. They desire to sculpt societies anew and remake the wrong. They are ignited with the unwavering belief that standing aloof from the problem is not an option.
In Ghana, there are individuals and organisations that are still driven by restlessness and determined to make a change and challenge the status quo, but remain largely unknown to the general populace. This article will spotlight one such foundation driven by a deep-seated resolve to combat road accidents and related issues.
Each year, Ghana records an alarming toll from road accidents. On average, over 14,000 road accidents are recorded in Ghana. In 2023, Ghana reported a total of 14,135 road accidents, resulting in 2,276 deaths and 15,409 injuries. Similar figures were recorded in 2022, where 14,960 road crashes resulted in 2,373 deaths and 15,690 injuries. Worse yet, the statistics further show that 60% of the road traffic deaths occur among children and young persons under 35 years.[6]
A further study conducted at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital showed that road traffic accidents alone account for 62% of deaths at the casualty unit.[7] Many of such families, bound by grief, bear tales which may never be heard. They live in the shadow of pain; they ache with memories untold and relive their loss without comfort. Their hearts are often stilled with no avenue to air their disenchantment against a community whose poor infrastructure claimed the lives of their loved ones. They live in endless agony that cannot be erased.
The bid to put a human face to road carnage and help victims of accidents led to the formation of the Mark Ofosu-Ampadu Jnr (MO-AJ) foundation in Ghana. It was established in memory of Mark Ofosu-Ampadu Jnr, a promising twenty-nine (29) year old, who died in an accident in Ghana. The foundation focuses on creating awareness, providing a platform for families of accident victims to share their stories, offering education on road regulations, and advocating for policies, infrastructure, and laws that help reduce accidents in Ghana.
A part of the mission of change set out by the MO-AJ foundation accords with the recommendations from Blankson and Lartey, where in their paper, they posit that “The burden of road crashes in Ghana requires a conscientious and multi-sectoral approach to reduce its occurrence and impact, while policies need strengthening and enforcing at all levels. The impact of RTAs may be mitigated by efficient emergency systems as well as policies which support care of victims. However, at the primary level, implementation of traffic rules and regulations is key, as discussions on road and vehicle safety are broadened. Road safety should be of concern to all stakeholders, as both motorists and pedestrians are at risk of the hazards of road crashes.”[8]
The MO-AJ foundation has donated several traffic vests to traffic agencies, paid the bills of road traffic victims at the Road Traffic Accident Unit of the Korle Bu teaching Hospital who couldn’t afford, and consistently makes a strong advocacy for road safety and for the compliance of road traffic regulations. The foundation has also collaborated extensively with the Ghana National Road Safety Authority (GNRSA) to ensure better enforcement of road regulations and improved public awareness of these regulations.
The foundation achieved massive success when, as a result of their persistent advocacy, Joy News, a leading media house in Ghana, collaborated with them to air a documentary titled “Crushed”. The documentary provided an avenue for families who lost loved ones to road accidents to vent out and make active calls on the government and stakeholders to ensure the roads are made safe for all.
The MO-AJ foundation continues its advocacy unabated, seeking to create a culture of responsible driving and road awareness to reduce the loss of lives on the road. The example of the MO-AJ foundation must inspire every Ghanaian to rise and be the change they seek. It is in the restless spirits, the restless hearts, and the restless souls that change is achieved. The restlessness must dare everyone to be doers who dare to challenge the status quo. Doers who see the sun through the storm, not just the darkness. The future of Ghana lies in the hands of its people, and it calls on all Ghanaians to be social entrepreneurs.
