As you read this, Nigerians
are on their way to Ghana by road and by air. Nigerians are known to be one of
the best traveling nations. It is also likely that you would want to travel
and that is why you are also reading this.
There are various reasons why people travel but we are going to focus on traveling for business to Ghana.
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I have personally traveled
on my own the first time without figuring out anything. It was a fun vacation
visit with my family and I bet it was so trilling,
Traveling for business is a
trip that must be planned very well in advance.
You must put into considerations many things from the day you leave to
the day you will be back to your home.
I have met several people,
especially ladies who got stranded in Ghana especially due to reasons including
no communication with which they are visiting, ATM not working for them to cash
money from Nigerian banks, augment with drivers over charges, not getting the
right food from restaurant just as they would have eaten in Nigeria etc.
Note: Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com
Let us look at 10 necessary
preparation tips you must consider when traveling to Ghana for business.
1.
Understand Financial Implication of your
movement: Never try to journey to Ghana without understanding and estimating
how much you will be spending through out your stay in Ghana. This is very
fundamental as you must calculate this to the later. The denominations of Naira
and Ghana are very different. But I will advise that you equate in lay man’s
sense N100 to GHc1. This is not the exact figure but I am just asking you to
put this at the back of your mind so you are mindful when planning. You can get
the exact exchange rate at http://www.xe.com
Write
all your estimated and envisaged expenses on paper. These should include among other the
following
1. Travel
Cost by Road or Flight
2. Expense
on the road if going by road
3. Cost
of hotel throughout period of stay:
Depending on where you want to stay, hotels are cheap between N1,000 to
N5,000. And then there are the high brow hotels too depending on your budget.
4. Cost
of Transportation within Ghana. Also Transport is cheap but you must decide if
you are using public buses called TroTro (Danfo in Naij), or you are taking
Taxi. There is no discrimination and I advise you follow TroTro if you can and
want to minimize cost. There are no Byke or Okada.
5. Feeding:
There are places you could find nice Nigerian food to eat. Just ask anyone in
Circle, Accra and you will be show where Nigerian restaurant are. There you
will find most Nigerian food including Fufu and Pounded Yam at N500 equivalent.
Please note. What Ghanaians call Fufu is different from what you call fufu in
Nigeria so be careful.
6. Shopping
or Doing Business: You must also estimate your budgeted money for doing
business as you stay.
2.
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Are you going by road or air? Going by road and going by air are two
different situations. I have done the two and I tell you, it is fun in both,
but one is more fun than the other.
While flying to Ghana, I had just myself and two traveling co-travelers to
talk to. Most of the times, they were serious minded individuals or so to
speak, I always initiated talks on topics but they seem no to be interested or
so. I may also have sounded boring, but I think they were more of introverts
than I am since I am the extrovert type. On three or so occasions, I was able
to make friends and that brought a very strong relationship with a Kaduna based
Blogger and broadcaster as a very reliable friend that we are so close today.
He is a great guy. Gabriel is a friend, an author and blogger as well as a
serial entrepreneur Gabriel Nmadu. His wife is a good lady who works with the Kaduna State
Radio Broadcasting service. That relationship has seen me also mentoring my
great friend into writing two great books on entrepreneurship. I was also to
travel with him together to have training in Ghana and we were guest of a TV3 Broadcasting
service in 2009 where we were interviewed together at Tudu Market, Accra, Ghana
in 2009 by TV3 Crew.
Note: Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com
I
tell you the truth in all honesty. Traveling by road will give you all the
needed fun and happiness you need. This is a journey of 10 hours traversing
three countries via Nigeria to Benin, to Togo and then to Ghana finally. You
will meet kinds of boring and interesting people who are going to different
places for different reasons. Aside the
above, you would have passes three different countries and your International
passport stamped in and out various countries. Plus you will be able to feel
the countries. You will have a feeling of differences in environment, culture
and the people of different countries than what you have seen before now. Isn’t
this awesome?
I
have traveled with my printed books on entrepreneurship, business, and
relationship as well as motivational from Nigeria to Ghana by air and road. I
have faced various immigration services personal at Nigerian Airport and Kotoka
international airport as well as by road and I know what obtains in each. In
all, both Nigerian immigration and Ghana’s own are all good mannered and well
trained and you will be sure you will never be embarrassed. The only single
issue I had was my being asked to print my books in Ghana and I understand this
as this will help boost their economy and I did this with my other books
including “How to bounce back from Life’s setback and mistakes”.
If
you are traveling by air, my advice is that you do not just rush your travel.
It is advisable to plan and pay in advance as there are various promos the
airlines are giving at different times. You could book online ahead. But my
advice is that you book one month to your travel date as this will give you a
reduced cost. There are various airlines you can buy your air ticket from. And
be sure you will be treated well and good.
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By Road: You
have various commercial buses traveling from Nigeria to Ghana from Lagos to
Accra and Accra to Lagos. So you have choices depending on your budget.
You
could travel from Yaba through Efex or Cross Country Stations, Amuwo Odofin with ABC or you head to Mile 2
where there are various types of buses and Cars traveling from Mile 2 to Accra
both Night and Day. But personally, I enjoy travelling with Efex and Cross
Country as that has been the regular company transport system I use over the
years, especially Efex. I have had very close relationship with most of their
Drivers including among other Mr. Simeon, Mr Segun and a host of other. They
have been helpful in carrying my books to and from Ghana and I enjoyed their
ride. I have also had some very stubborn Liberian driver who is no more driving
with company now. He is a very nice guy but will always run into trouble with
Togo Police who will always flag vehicle down for check but this guy will never
stop. They will always chase him to stop and punish him. But hold on; they will
never detain your vehicle, only thing they could do is to hold back some papers
and ask you to pay latter and then come to retrieve your particulars. But in
each of these cases, we will always be allowed to continue our travel. So it is
not going to affect your journey.
Note: Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com . You could also have a one-one-consultation with me.
Traveling from Lagos to Accra Ghana by road will cost you between N10,000 to N16,000
depending on what means of identification you have as well as what transport
you are using. Mile2 used to be very cheap those days for N9,000 but it has
increased to almost N13,000. The only side reasons most people will even take
Mile2 is that even if you do not have means of identification, they will still
allow you to travel. Note: I do not and will never encourage you to not have a
means of identification. Traveling is a risky thing as you are protected in
ECOWAS countries in all ramifications. This is a treaty that has been signed
long ago between all ECOWAS country to protect free movement of goods and
services of member citizens.
EFEX
Transport will charge between N12,000 to N14,000. This is dependent on several
factors; If your International Passport is Virgin(you have not used it before),
if you are traveling with your company ID card or using Voter’s Card or
National ID Card, the cost is higher. But if you have traveled before, the
cost comes to N10,000 to N12,000. So
is Cross Country Bus.
With
ABC transport, you pay higher. My advice with experience is that you go with
the small buses from Cross Country and Efex as preference unless you are having
big luggage. I will be discussing about this latter. I will also prefer that
you travel back to Nigeria with luxury buses such as ABC if you are buying to
sell and you have heavy luggage as there are limited items these other
companies that use smaller buses will carry. But in all, smaller buses will
quickly get through checking at entry and leaving border points in each country
(Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana borders – entry and exit).
Note:
Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z
of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com . You could also have a one-one-consultation with me.
You
could pay in advance before you travel as that will make you be at rest and not
under pressure. Pay at least one or two days before the day of departure and
have your receipt given to you. All you need to go with in order to make
payment is your means of identification in the form or International passport,
ID card or Ecowas travelers Certificate.
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Also
take the direct line of the company to call them as you leave your home for
their station on the day you are traveling. If you are coming into Lagos from
another state, you could have accommodation to sleep over in most of the
stations or around there. This is important as departure time is always 7am.
Once
you arrive in the morning, submit your travel identification to the attendant
who will issue you a receipt again and hold your ID card or International
Passport. Do not worry as it is safe. You will only be handed back your ID or
International Passport once they are through with the last immigration check in
Ghana. That will be almost 2 hours before you get to your final destination in
Accra.
Your Dressing:
While traveling, it is important you dress like a prospect rather than a
suspect. I have had some sad experiences watching Immigration, Drug Law and
other Security apparatus have issues with some co-travelers, especially young
Nigerians. Simple reason: They dress like suspect in the name of “swag”. I
advise you keep your swag in your house before leaving for the station to
travel.
Some
will have their hair unkempt, wear dirty clothes, look rugged and “hard”, or
have a feeling of pride when they are invited for just questioning by hard
working Immigration, Drug law agents and this land them into trouble. These
officers know their onions and do not forget they are good in psychology. And
it is often said that you are addressed by your dressing. Look decent and good
and travel for good intention and I bet you will never have problems with these
guys. Just imaging a situation a young man who was traveling with us had 45
GSM Sim cards or Chips of various countries and when he was accosted (In fact,
spotted by his dressing too), he bluffed the Agents. This landed him in
trouble. We did not know what was happening until he raised alarm that his Sim
cards were missing and wanted to call it “shit” with the officers. He said the
officers had his cards and asked the driver to reverse back after we had left
the check point. The officer asked him to check himself very well since he
never took his cards. The young man insisted that the officer had his bunch of
cards. Unfortunately for him, the cards fell out from his trouser pocket. He
had the beating of his life and we had to intervene. The officer simply asked
us “how many sim cards should a normal human being have”, and we answered not
more than three. He said “ this man has 45 sim cards”.
I
repeat, dress well, have a clean shave and nice hair cut. And be polite when
you are asked any question.
Be
polite also with your co-travelers. Be good mannered and kind to your
co-travelers. Never insult the driver or your co-travelers. Make friends.
Your Money:
This is a critical issue. This is the most fundamental aspect of your journey.
You already know that without money, you will not be able to travel. Money will keep you going and doing things in
Ghana and it will help solely to achieve your aim of going to Ghana. Deal with
this issue very strongly in advance. It could be frustrating to travel and get
stranded in Ghana. No one will listen to you. So just be careful and plan ahead
here.
1.
Keep your money in your own Bank Account and
have some that can also sustain you partly. ATM do fail. This very true. I have
also seen people who got to Ghana and slot their ATM into Nigerian Banks over
there and it could not dispense. This could be as a result of various reasons
from network failure to no connection with the Interswich. Unfortunately, most
have relied on they were told by bank workers when they went for inquiries of
their ability to withdraw from ATM in Ghana. Also note, to my understanding,
the Nigerian banks in Ghana and Nigeria do not work on same platform so if you
have issues, they will most likely refer you to your bank back home. Do not
rely on the banks in Ghana to solve your problem easily, though they will try.
You can only withdraw your money in Ghana
through ATM and not bank cashing with your ID or through your regular cheque
book in Nigeria.
One of the best ways to go about this is to
have accounts with Ecobank and GTB as they both work reliably well in terms of
ATM. At least if one fails, you can use the other. Thank God that technology
has improved and the rate of ATM failure now is just very minimal.
2.
Use UBA Africash: UBA has a service called
Africash and it is wonderful. You can use this service to your advantage while
travelling. The only condition is that you must own a Bank Account with UBA.
With Africash, you can send and receive money within Africa where the UBA banks
are. Fortunately, UBA is one of the best banks in Ghana. All you have to do is
send money to yourself in Ghana and cash it in their bank while there. Note
that in all, you will be receiving your money by ATM or Africash in Ghana Cedi
and not Naira
3.
Hold some cash:
Hold your some or all your cash if you are comfortable or do not want to use
any of the services above or want to be very sure. Your money is secured while
travelling but you must be careful. This way you can also change your money on
the road. Please avoid flaunting your money so people will know you’ve got it.
It is dangerous.
4.
Changing Your Money: You can change your
money to Ghana Cedi at Lakoji in Togo or at Aflao Entry of Ghana. In all, you
must be very careful, cool and take your time so you do not lose your money.
There are still dubious changers but you must rely on the driver who will
always have someone reliable to change money for all passengers. The driver
will announce that anyone who wants to change Naira to Cedi should change from
a particular money exchanger. This should be followed strictly.
Ask for exchange rate, then ask for
calculator and do your multiplication and get the amount. Also, note that the
money and denomination of Cedi could be confusing. You must be careful about
this. Make sure your money is complete before you leave the exchanger.
Another place you could change your money
from Naira to Cedi is when you are in Ghana and need more Cedis. You could do
this at any Bureau Exchange. But you have to
note that their money will not be as much as the one in the places
discussed above, though you are very sure to get your exact money without issue
as well as quality service.
You could also go to Tudu Market in Accra and
exchange with the exchangers there very close to GTBank or Nigerian Station.
Just ask and you will see many of them. Please note that you must be careful
with them as some a dubious. Always use your intelligence. If you need
assistance, just call any of the drivers loading Nigerian passengers and they
will assist you. Most of them are Yoruba
and Ibo so you could speak any of the language to them and feel at home.
Never change your money in the night no
matter what and never get late around Odo Rice area of circle as there are a
lot of miscreants there. That is the only black spot where you could be robbed.
While passing there in the day time, you must also be careful. You should be at
alert and watch if you are going to enter Tro Tro or Bus around that area. My
advise is that always board your vehicle if you can at terminals as this will
give you safety with your money or personal effects. But generally, there is
nothing to be afraid of as circle is relatively very calm, peaceful and there
is night life there.
Note:
Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z
of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com . You could also have a one-one-consultation with me.
3.
Arrival and Hotel: It
is important that you plan ahead before your arrival and budget for hotel. You
are getting there late and if you do not know anyone, you could be confused and
stranded. But fortunately, you will see Taxis all around and you could ask them
to take you to a hotel around. You must have a budget before you arrive. Around
the Efex station, you could ask the Taxi to take you to the opposite street and
look for cheap hotels around there. If you have enough money and want comfort
and luxury, there is a luxurious hotel directly opposite Efex Transport Station
called Paloma and you could have $100 to $200 accommodation there per night.
Otherwise, you could have GHc40 (N2,000)
to GHc100 (N5,000) decent hotel with fan to full AC around there. You
could ask of New Haven, Ingot around there or ask them to take you to other
hotels around. One trick you can also use is to call Efex Ghana in advance and
ask them to help you in accommodation. I bet they will do so long as you are
their passenger. Their direct phone
number is: +233245522510. You could also do this with the assistance of the
driver. Same with Cross Country.
By
and large, you will not be stranded with accommodation on arrival if you have
your money.
If
all you have it just N500 for accommodation, you will also have your way. What
you need to do is to look for hostels that charge GHc6 to Ghc10 per day. You
can have this accommodation for months if you wish. But you should note that you will have from 4
to 8 people in a large room with 4 to 8 beds. The only problem with this is
that your things are not private. But you must be able to have a way to deal
with this as you start staying there.
I
have also seen some other Nigerians who use some very intelligent method to
sleep. They just look for Internet Café and Stay there to browse over night.
This way they sleep in these places for long or throughout their business stay.
How
will you take your bath and go to Toilet if you use these smart methods? I know
you will ask this! There are public
toilet and baths and you can just use them when needed for 50pesewas (N25) to
GHc1 (N50).
4.
Means of Identification: Always move with
your means of identification in your pocket. Never go out without your ID. This
is important and try not to keep late nights outside. There are no security
issues in Ghana per see, but you must be careful as you do not understand their
language. There are still dubious people anywhere you go so you have to be
careful.
5.
Friendship: It is important that you make
friends as you travel but be careful. You also need to mind and check very well
the type of friends you will keep in Ghana for business or personal. Birds of a
feather flocks together.
6.
Worship Center: You have various worship
religious centers in Ghana. There are a lot of Nigerian Churches for worship
and you could attend Churches in any of them. There are Redeem Christian Church
of God almost everywhere, but Winners Chapel and Christ Embassy is so popular
in Ghana. Deeper life Church is also popular. Just ask a Taxi and or go to Bus Station in Nkruma Circle and you
will have an easy way to be at Winners and Christ Embassy Churches in
Industrial Area. Note that there are two types of Winners Chapel in Ghana. You
have Winners International and Winners Ghana. International is owned by Winners
Nigeria while Winners Ghana is owned by a Ghana Pastor who used to be with
Winners International. Just tell them you are going to Winners International or
Winners Nigeria and you will be there from Circle within 10 minutes drive. From
Circle Station, you will be paying around GHc150 (N70) to get there.
This
is also the best place to make quality friends. Join a group and participate in
Church activities if you are going to stay permanent in Ghana.
Note:
Do you want the comprehensive ebook (downloadable) 210 Pages titled A-Z
of doing business in Ghana, email me on syobizng @ gmail.com . You could also have a one-one-consultation with me.
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