Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey

What if the biggest difference between people who build wealth in Africa and those who spend their lives chasing visas and foreign opportunities isn't how much money they can raise or how many connections they have, but understanding that we have been programmed to think that what we have is nothing when there is so much money here in Africa, that the person going to China with $10,000 will succeed more than the person going to America with the same amount if they do things right, and that the young person who completes university but cannot see that buying plantain and yam from villages to supply in Accra is a legitimate business has been conditioned to worship foreign validation while the richest black man on earth made his money right here in Africa not in America?
In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why we have been programmed to think that what we have we don't have money when there is money so much money here in Africa but we are not thinking right, why somebody going to China with $10,000 in one year if the person is serious and does things right will succeed more than the person going to America, why when he went to his hometown Portland two weeks ago and saw people selling plantain and palm oil on the roadside common wisdom should tell you that you can buy plantain go to villages bring plantain yam to Accra and supply because now we are all growing and want to eat organic food, and why we have been programmed to think the things that we have are not good so we've accepted it and think we don't have anything here in Africa.
He breaks down why to say that Ghana is not good so you want to go to America means you are not smart, why apart from footballers the richest man in Africa is in Africa in Nigeria and the richest black man on earth is not in America but here in Africa where he made his money, why we've been programmed to know that everybody who is doing well in Africa is a scammer or fraud when the truth is we can succeed here, why the best place to succeed in this world is Africa because here is easy to start anything but our people are not thinking, and why social acceptance is key and where are we accepted it's here where you don't have to go through gatekeepers and protocols.
But he also confronts the brutal reality of what education fails to teach. Why our major problem is the information because if you have $10,000 and you are very much educated financially you will never use that to get to America to go and work for hours, why if you go to China now at 25 years after completing university and bring some product learn something and move around the world will be different, why when he was in school traveling he never thought of China when they should have gone to see the factories the products the distribution systems not to go and look for work and be paid some dollar, and why if you want to create worth it's here and that's why you go to Makola and see women who started from the tabletop now major traders who control money.
He reveals why if you put hundred people together in those economies and ask them to give you a million dollars it will be those who are doing business, why if you ask our so called brothers and sisters in America how many of them have ten thousand dollars sitting in their bank account right now the answer will shock you, why this whole thing about I want to travel doesn't make sense to him, why the programming has made us accept that if you don't go to America you haven't made it, and why he remembers when they were growing up there was this man who was so successful as a businessman who left everything and moved to America and even as a young boy he said that this man has made a big mistake and after so many years this man came back hustling.
But he also exposes why the focus on money is not materialistic but necessary. Why when people ask why do you guys just keep talking about money your focus is just so much on money he says this is about money because you are talking about business and people doing well, why you can't solve poverty with ignorance and you can't solve poverty with financial ignorance, why it's not about money but solving a particular problem which is people having money and not making intelligent decisions even with them, why some people have money and still don't make intelligent decisions like a young man who worked his first hundred thousand and used it to buy a plot while his business collapsed instead of using the capital to build, and why what they are doing is critical because it's dedicated to financial education business education people trying to do something with their lives and it shouldn't be sponsored in entertainment and religion.
He explains why he doesn't have big company sponsorship when people on social media who are not doing anything and not adding any value have big big sponsorship which tells you something, why if we want to develop we need to control...

What does it really take to build a successful business? Is intelligence enough, or do strategy, execution and access to cash matter more?
On this episode of Konnected Minds Podcast, Derrick Abaitey sits down with Folusho Ogunmola, founder of iFitness, to explore the realities of entrepreneurship, raising capital and building a business that can survive difficult times.
In this conversation, Folusho reveals:
• Why being smart can sometimes hold entrepreneurs back
• How he started Yes Mobile without having enough money
• Why two colleagues took loans to support his business
• How he approached more than 40 potential sources of funding
Chapters

00:00:00 Introduction & Podcast Welcome
00:03:24 Early Entrepreneurial Journey: From Recharge Cards to Mobile Phones
00:05:25 Family Background & The Drive to Succeed
00:09:01 Breaking Into Corporate: Banking Career & Intensive Training
00:12:42 Launching Yes Mobile: Bootstrap Funding & Taking Risks
00:29:02 The Importance of Character & Responsibility in Fundraising
00:30:53 Four Pillars of Scaling a Business
00:38:04 Exiting Yes Mobile: Lessons from a Painful Deal
00:44:37 The Birth of iFitness: Finding Purpose in Fitness
00:48:07 Building Fitness Culture in Nigeria & Future Expansion
00:53:00 Scaling iFitness: Strategic Expansion & Proof of Concept
00:57:03 Negotiation Masterclass: The Chinese Landlord Story
01:01:07 Book Recommendations & Final Thoughts

Subscribe to Konnected Minds Podcast for conversations about entrepreneurship, wealth creation, business strategy and personal growth from an African perspective.
Guest: Foluso Ogunwale
Join our FREE Community - https://konnectedminds.com/communities
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🎙️ ABOUT THE HOST
Derrick Abaitey is a Ghanaian entrepreneur, podcast host, and personal development advocate.
IG: https://www.instagram.com/derrick.abaitey
Web: https://www.abaitey.com/
#Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #KonnectedMinds

What if the biggest difference between people who build wealth and those who spend their lives praying for financial breakthroughs isn't how much faith they have or how many midnight prayers they attend, but understanding that social media is the most powerful tool for change in this era where even Elon Musk is tweeting, that the person with valuable products and services doesn't need to fast for money because money exists where value is exchanged not in heaven, and that the young person who thinks successful people teaching online means they have nothing else to do has been programmed to worship conspicuous consumption while missing the fact that some of these people they think are rich are trapped in debt with bank loans and gathered money they don't personally own?
In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why we've built big businesses big investment big assets with no support from politics or even banks from ourselves, why we built families and have houses that are not a mortgage and we are free, why if you think we were not free we wouldn't be here spending two hours, and why if you ask that question it means that you are not intelligent because the force is in the words that we speak.
He breaks down why you think that any ignorant person who has never done anything will come here and speak this and it is changing people's lives and his life is not changing, why this is a person full of football and entertainment because they are not learning, why those who are learning will never ask such questions because they see and it takes one to see one, and why people think that if you have time to share some things it means that you're not busy but a lot of these guys that you think are busy have time to meet their friends and are on social media.
But he also confronts the brutal reality of what people mistake for success. Why some of them have two three friends and they meet them every time which means they are occupied but you have priorities, why what we didn't have when we were growing up we are giving to the people now we have to make them available so that people will not make the same mistakes that we made, why this does not mean that we are useless and we sit on social media talking nonsense, and why for him social media is a tool for change.
He reveals why the skill to be able to put the frameworks that has worked for you and then teach people and the skill to just make money is two different things, why there are some people who are popular and have the money as you know it but they don't have the ability to teach for people to understand, why it's not because they're busy because they have time to watch football move around chase girls but because they don't think this is critical, and why some of them will even think that they are worthier than us when some of them is just people's money that they have gathered together and some of them is just bank expensive loans.
But he also exposes the truth about wealth versus appearance. Why some of them if you ask them even a million themselves they may not even have, why some of them are not cash at all they are not liquid trapped in debt, why because of conspicuous consumption when you see cars and houses you think someone is rich, why somebody will come on the channel and say where is it and somebody said if you are successful why are you teaching people, and why those people are not smart.
He explains why in this era even Elon Musk is on Twitter tweeting, why if he's on social media teaching people and they think he doesn't have anything to do that's why he's on social media then they are not smart and don't know what they are talking about, why social media is his TV station with thousands of people across the world watching, why at first you have to go to TV and pay money and beg but today with your smartphone you can say whatever you want to say, and why there is no censorship.
But he also confronts the tragedy of what media prioritizes. Why when he went to Kumasi for an event there was no segment for business and mindset, why they had to put him on sports or entertainment and slot him in while they are discussing Kotoko for five minutes, why that was the point he came out and told his team there is a big problem in this country where there is no business and mindset segment on these radio stations, why the closest is religion which is itself manipulative and enslaving more than liberating, and why if you look at the results you will see that the people are not free because if you put a visa there and all your members will move you have not taught them.
He reveals why some of them are even praying for the members to get visas which means they are deceiving the people because what the people want is success, why majority of the people who are praying every midnight don't have any valuable product or service to exchange for money, why those who are praying for money saying open financial...

What if the biggest difference between people who build wealth in Africa and those who spend their lives complaining about the system isn't how much education they have or how many degrees they collect, but understanding that the entire society operates on mental programming that keeps you trapped like a baby elephant tied to concrete, that the same politicians who mismanage millions while the dollar climbs from 16 cedis to crisis levels are using young people as raw materials for demonstrations while their own children never show up, and that the young person who complains there are no opportunities in Ghana while you can literally wake up tomorrow and sell watermelon bananas or start a container business with 200 cedis has been conditioned to see obstacles where smart people see the easiest place on earth to make money?
In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why we have people who claim they have PhD speak good English blah blah blah but they are not competent to look at Accra when Accra is very dirty, why there are people who are supposed to clean it they've been paid there are people in charge of that but the system must work, why when they travel to London Dubai everywhere every week have you seen the white man construct roads the way they construct gutters in Jacob they don't do that, and why if they are smart some of our leadership not all some of them are not smart and don't have the competence to copy what the white man is doing and bring it here.
He breaks down why we spend so much money on Black Stars millions of dollars with qualification bonus winning bonus but the last time they won the African Cup was about 30 something years ago, why we need to collapse GFA because if the GFA president owned it as his own business would he run it the way he's running it, why you will see somebody who has built a school outside this continent and that person will be a deputy minister while somebody who has zero knowledge about education will be a minister, and why when the dollar was 16 cedis we have so called professor the economic messiah whatever and now what are they coming to do when they cannot even do the simple thing of copying what works.
But he also confronts the brutal reality of how the education system created this dysfunction. Why the system is there but go back to the beginning of the kind of education we have now it was religious it was for religion it was not for proper school, why some school was celebrating 185 something and who brought that school their intention was to convert us to a particular religion and culture not to develop the minds of people so they can solve problems, why the same people at the top have gone through the same system, and why the education the skill development the execution the supporting institutions and the intentionality is an ecosystem and when you go to any place that is organized it's not just one of them it's everything.
He reveals why young people complain about the system saying we're ready to start business but the system is not conducive but where is the system conducive enough for the African, why something was hung on us and we have to change it and if you think the system is not right here therefore you move somewhere then when is it going to change because we are the ones to change them, why don't expect that some politician some government somewhere will make things right so you come because they are thinking of their life and their profile more than you, and why if you're a young man thinking somebody's thinking how you become successful go ahead and think like that but he doesn't think that way.
But he also exposes how politicians manipulate the innocent. Why they rally the young ones the innocent young ones behind them and now they start getting themselves into trouble because those guys are not smart, why you see Yuko inviting former ministers and these same people crying there are no jobs no money why is that we are poor Africa when somebody has taken 50 something million Ghana cedis and you are complaining there are no jobs, why you think Ghana is not a good place and you go to Yuko to demonstrate free so and so it means we are not serious, and why politicians are using people as raw materials because they realize they are not serious and have you seen their children be part of the demonstrations.
He explains why we as parents have responsibility to teach our children, why some of his videos said if your parents are poor don't take financial advice from your parents unless they have financial knowledge, why he is teaching his children master you don't need to get a job, why his grandmother in the 80s said Ghana is hard and his mom growing up said Ghana is hard so this Ghana is hard started from way back, and why he told himself Ghana is not hard Ghana is the best place to make money if you are smart.
But he also confronts why so many people miss the opportunities right in...

What if the biggest difference between people who lift themselves out of poverty and those who stay trapped isn't how much education they have or how many degrees they collect, but understanding that life is a choice and when you are struggling you must know what to choose and what you do with your resources, that the world is designed to keep people confused by bombarding them with entertainment and politics from morning to evening while the very things that will help you lift yourself are not on wholesale and you must go search for them, and that the young person who spends their time watching football and debating on unnecessary things while they can't pay their rent is asleep and life will beat them because life is dangerous when you are poor?
In this raw and unfiltered conversation on Konnected Minds, we sit down with someone who reveals why everybody gets a chance to hear something that will lift them from their misery and human beings are not that dumb, why life is fair and God is fair so even though you were born in poverty there will be some condition some experience that will bring some kind of entry into you lifting yourself up, why if you don't have what to eat where to sleep and you're confused about your life you cannot continue to sedate yourself, and why those who succeed in this life are people who have sobriety of heart and are ready to learn like dry sponge because if you don't have that disposition it will be very difficult for you to succeed in life.
He breaks down why when you are in a situation and it's difficult and you're still arguing talking back you'll be there forever, why the world does not argue when you're struggling but anytime they put anything that will lift you out of your bondage then they come out with arguments, why look at the things that we discuss on the radio from morning to evening and tell me which one of them will add value to you if you're struggling, and why the precious things in life are not everywhere and you must go and look for them and that's the sacrifice that you have to make because poverty is by default not righteous.
But he also confronts the brutal reality of what education fails to teach. Why if you see a bare land what would generate on that bare land is not organized fruit but weed because that's the system entropy, why any time you go anywhere that is organized you can be certain that over 90 percent of the time somebody is intentional about it, why when you're a young man and you want to succeed you must be intentional about your life and what are the priorities that you have to pay attention to, and why your finances is key because money is like blood in your system and if your system does not have blood you're gone and in this life almost everything that you're crying for has some link with money.
He reveals why you must have the information how to make money how to organize it and how to make sure that you have enough to live for yourself and for others and for your family, why if you don't have this primary education you don't have education, why intentionally they took all your degrees and they took this thing out so you come out of school and you still don't have a sense of priority of what is critical or the most critical things in life, and why they debate but once you're debating you think you are rehearsing for life when you're not rehearsing for life because you're living life and life is life not college.
But he also exposes why so many people reach 50 years still unaware with their minds on suspension. Why there are many people without any plan for their life who don't know where their life is going because the basic information they need they didn't have it, why they are not in full control of their lives and don't even have self confidence, why one of the feelings you have when you are not confident or when you don't know what you're doing or when you're wasting your destiny is that every time you get up in the morning you don't feel like you are in charge of your life, and why the moment you become aware you start to be intentional about your life with how you spend your time where you go what you eat the people you talk to what you read what you watch because it means that now you have become alive and that's where the consciousness comes in.
He explains why you cannot succeed in this life when you are asleep and many people are asleep, why when you are struggling and watching football you are asleep, why you can't pay your rent and you are watching TV debating on unnecessary things means you are asleep, why life will beat you and life is dangerous when you are poor, and why we are not trivializing school but the truth is that we have to come to that point to tell them to change it because so long as we think it's important and we see the results then they won't change it.
But he also confronts the tragedy of wasted potential in our education system. Why you go to university and some people are spending their life to...