GN Industrial Estates, a symbol of Ghanaian ingenuity

On a daily basis, 21-year-old Abdul Latif Amadu, a final year student of Electrical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), scans through a pile of books in the school’s library, trying to grasp some extra lessons on engineering, an area he was mentored into by his elder sister.

With his audacious ambition of using innovation to help migrate Ghana onto an industrialised economy, Abdul Latif, a native of Bawku in the Upper East Region, knows he needs to study really hard for that dream to come to fruition. That, he does with zeal.

But while he might be succeeding on a personal level, external factors beyond his control are threatening the achievement of his ultimate ambition. Key among them is the lack of places to undertake hands-on experiments in the country. 

With over 90 per cent of innovations and technology products in the country being imported, not many opportunities exist for such young people to leverage and sharpen their talents.

"I always want to get to know the core of the job, how the products are manufactured or assembled, the processes you pass through before getting the final product and things like that but you won't get that access," he said from the school campus, after a two-month stint with newly established electronics assembling company, GN Electronics.

This is a challenge the GN Industrial Estate, the latest addition to the GN conglomerate of businesses, seeks to resolve.

Estate in perspective 

The GN Electronics is one of four manufacturing entities that form the Groupe Nduom (GN) Industrial Estates. 

After successfully establishing itself in the hospitality, financial, media, sports and services sector, the GN brand, headed by indigenous business mogul, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, and his wife, Mrs Yvonne Nduom, made a bold entry into manufacturing and innovation businesses, where it is optimistic about making a laudable impact similar to the impacts it made in the other sectors.

Between last year and early this year, the group has incorporated four manufacturing companies - the GN Electronics, FresPak, GN Printing and GN Logistics - to operate from the GN Industrial Estate in Elmina in the Central Region, where it is hoping to create "an economy within the broader Ghanaian economy."

"Our goal is to directly support education from kindergarten to university level," Dr Nduom said about the estate.

The estates, which is located between Essaman and Pershie in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abirem (KEEA) Municipality, sits on a vast mass of land, almost the size of two football pitches. 

Facing its main entrance is the administrative block, which serves as offices and showrooms for the four subsidiaries.

With the exception of the logistics business, which operates from the administrative block with other offices in Accra and Tema, each of the three subsidiaries has manufacturing plants at strategic locations inside the gated estate.

To the immediate left is the factory that produces the FreshPak brand of trays, disposable (takeaway) packs and ancillary products that are fast becoming a household name, barely six months into the start of production.

To the right is the printing business, which serves the printing needs of the GN member companies and other businesses in the country and the region in particular.

Behind the administrative block is the factory of GN Electronics, which still has some parts under construction to expand the existing structure.

Already, the electronics subsidiary has started assembling set-top boxes for the local and subregional market, where digital terrestrial television broadcasting is set to takeoff.

The benefits

Beyond serving as a source of employment to many young people in and outside the KEEA municipality, the GN Industrial Estates is testimony to the GN group's unflinching belief that given the right leadership and conducive operating environment, indigenous businesses can thrive and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the country.

The four companies currently employ scores of young people, most of whom are natives of the KEEA area. The employees own the achievement of the group's corporate objectives in return for decent motivation and livelihoods. 

Most of them who spoke to the Daily Graphic expressed delight at the opportunities offered them to generate incomes for their upkeep and prayed for God's blessings on the group, its founders and the management to be able to expand and create more jobs for their peers.

Profile of subsidiaries 

GN Electronics 

Headed by Ms Marisa Susan Fee, GN Electronics aims at becoming a one-stop electronics manufacturing company in the country.

Its STBs, which have been certified and approved by the National Communications Authority (NCA), are now ready for retail in the local market.

Already, Ms Fee said the company had almost concluded discussions with some institutional retailers for the STBs. 

The STBs are the T2 Free to Air (FTA) model, T2 Conditional Access System (CAS)-enabled, and combo S2/T2.

User guides on the boxes are in English and French for the international market but translated into Twi, Fante and Ga for the domestic market.

The company's factory currently has the capacity to assemble 100,000 STBs per month.

A new plant, which will be completed by next year, has a capacity almost four times that of the current one.

GN Printing

GN Printing, headed by Mr Cosmos Samuel Ali, started about a year ago with virtually no machines.

However, with huge investments from the group, the company now boasts of some of the finest machines in the printing business.

It has a Heidelberg Speed-master, which can print 15,000 copies of any material. That adds to an MGI digital machine, which can print straight from pen drives and other storage devices.

The company also has an embroidery machine that does embroidery for individuals and institutions. It equally does branding for companies, using its formatting machine.

"GN Printing is into production of paper works and large format works, which include offices and car branding. We also print stickers and billboards, among others.” 

“For us, nothing is too big for. Just walk in, we give you the quotations and if you agree, we issue the commands and the work will be available in minutes," Mr Ali said.

GN Logistics 

This unit is headed by Mr Ben Hyde. It was established in 2014 to take care of the logistics demands of the group and bring efficiency to the entire value chain.

Its area of operation is broken into four; custom house brokerage services; trucking and delivery services; warehouse rental; renting of material handling equipment and advisory services on logistics management.

Mr Hyde said the company was now aiming at expanding into other domains after a smooth start this year. 

FreshPak Company Limited  

This is the food packaging subsidiary of the GN conglomerate, headed by Mr Samuel Ayim Kwapong. 

It was incorporated this year and now produces trays, ‘takeaway’ packs and ancillary products for the local and sub-regional market.

Its factory has a capacity to produce 25,000 pieces of 'takeaways' a day. It is aiming at becoming a household name in the first 10 months of operation after which it would start exporting its products to neighbouring countries.

The company's GM said it prioritised quality over everything and that had earned it numerous customers. 

He, however, said the current power rationing was stifling the company's growth but hoped that it would stabilise for growth to rebound.

He also mentioned lack of skilled labour and high cost of raw materials as other challenges the company was working to fix.