Walk through Accra’s busiest trading areas and ask shop owners where they come from, and many will mention a town on the Kwahu ridge: Nkawkaw, Abetifi, Mpraeso, Obo or Atibie. The Kwahu people, an Akan group from the hills of the Eastern Region, have a strong reputation in Ghana for trade and business. Their shops sell everything from building materials to clothing and electronics. Every Easter, many of them close their shops for a few days and head home for one of Ghana’s biggest annual gatherings.
The Kwahu and their trading tradition
Kwahu lies on a plateau in the Eastern Region, overlooking the Volta Lake. Its towns are linked by winding roads up the ridge. The Kwahu have long been associated with commerce. Over generations, many left the plateau to trade in cities and towns across Ghana. Young people often learned business by working for relatives or family friends in their shops. After years of service, they might be helped to start their own businesses.
Kwahu traders are prominent in markets and commercial districts in Accra, running retail and wholesale shops.
Networks, Easter and investing at home
They are also active in Kumasi and other cities, and some have businesses abroad. Kwahu businesses trade in a wide range of goods, including building materials, spare parts, textiles and household items. Family and community networks help traders share information, credit and opportunities. Every Easter, Kwahu towns fill with returning traders, families and visitors. Funerals, homecomings, parties and the famous paragliding festival take place.
Many successful Kwahu business people build large homes in their home towns, which stand empty for much of the year and fill at Easter. Kwahu traders have funded schools, churches and community projects at home.
Changing times and paragliding
Competition from imported goods, large retailers and online shopping has changed the business environment, and younger Kwahu people have moved into other professions. The Kwahu reputation for business is a common topic of friendly jokes and admiration in Ghana. The Kwahu paragliding festival, held on the ridge at Easter, draws pilots and spectators from across Ghana and abroad and has become one of the main attractions of the holiday.
Many of Accra’s shops are owned by people whose real home is a hill town hours away. Each Easter, the city’s markets feel noticeably quieter while those towns fill up.
