By Simon Amegashie-Viglo
There are individuals whose lives transcend the boundaries of their professions and become stories of vision, perseverance, leadership and service. In Ghana’s contemporary history, Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, belongs to this distinguished category.
His journey is particularly instructive because it brings together three spheres that are often treated separately: business, traditional leadership and national development. He is an investment banker, entrepreneur, corporate leader, traditional ruler and former President of Ghana’s National House of Chiefs.
His story, therefore, is not merely that of a successful businessman who became a chief. It is the story of a man who has sought to transform wealth into productive investment, traditional authority into developmental leadership, and international relationships into opportunities for Ghana.
This article examines his journey from birth and education through his installation as Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, his emergence as a significant figure in Ghana’s financial and corporate sectors, his role in the development of Sunon Asogli Power and Africa World Airlines, his leadership of the National House of Chiefs, and the lessons his life offers Ghana’s youth and aspiring entrepreneurs.
From Ho Bankoe to the World
Togbe Afede XIV was born James Komla Akpo in Ho on 23 April 1957 to the late Corporal Patrick Akpo and Madam Rose Anyawoe, both of Ho Bankoe. He was a twin, although his twin brother, Philip, died at a young age. He was also a grandson of Herman Ladzi Akpo, a respected catechist and educationist.
His educational journey began at Ho Bankoe Roman Catholic Boys School in 1961. He subsequently attended Kpedze Secondary School, where he completed his GCE Ordinary Level in 1974, before proceeding to Labone Secondary School in Accra, where he excelled in the GCE Advanced Level examination in 1976.
He then entered the University of Ghana, Legon, where he obtained a degree in Administration, specialising in Accounting, in 1979. His academic journey later took him to the United States, where he obtained an MBA from Yale School of Management in May 1989 after receiving a substantial fellowship.
His route to Yale is itself a lesson in perseverance. Earlier aspirations to attend prestigious American business schools had been frustrated partly by financial constraints. Yet he did not abandon the dream. Eventually, the Yale fellowship opened the door.
The first lesson therefore emerges early in his life: circumstances may delay a dream, but they need not destroy it.
From Employee to Entrepreneur
After university, Togbe Afede accumulated practical experience in finance and accounting. He undertook national service at the former Bank for Housing and Construction between 1979 and 1980, where he worked on financial analysis, loan applications and financial packages.
He subsequently worked with the Ghana Cocoa Marketing Board from 1981 to 1984 and later taught Economics and Accounting at Sokoto State Polytechnic in Nigeria between 1985 and 1987.
Upon returning from Yale in 1989, he joined the University of Ghana’s School of Administration as a lecturer. It was during this period that his entrepreneurial journey gathered momentum.
In 1990, he co-founded Databank Financial Services with other young Ghanaian professionals. He subsequently established Strategic African Securities (SAS) and, in 1999, founded Strategic Initiatives Ltd., a private-equity and portfolio investment company.
This transition is significant. Togbe Afede did not remain permanently within the comfort zone of salaried employment or academia. He moved from knowledge acquisition to knowledge application, from employment to enterprise, and from individual professional advancement to institution building.
A Pioneer in Ghana’s Capital Market
Perhaps one of Togbe Afede’s less appreciated contributions is his role in Ghana’s developing capital market.
Through his involvement in Databank and subsequently Strategic African Securities, he participated in the evolution of Ghana’s securities industry. His official biography states that he played a critical role in developing Ghana’s capital markets, including the development and publication of some of the country’s earliest stock-market indices in 1991.
SAS, incorporated in 1994, developed activities covering securities trading, investment management, corporate finance and investment research.
This contribution is important because economic development is not achieved only through factories and physical infrastructure. A modern economy also requires financial institutions capable of mobilising savings, allocating capital, managing investments and connecting entrepreneurs with sources of finance.
In this respect, Togbe Afede’s contribution belongs to Ghana’s institutional development as much as to his personal business success.
The Entrepreneur Who Looked Beyond Finance
The true measure of an entrepreneur is not simply the number of companies associated with his name, but the extent to which he identifies opportunities where others see obstacles.
Togbe Afede’s business interests have extended beyond financial services into energy, aviation, private equity, telecommunications and other sectors. He has been associated with Strategic Initiatives, SAS Finance Group, Strategic African Securities, SAS Investment Management, Sunon Asogli Power and Africa World Airlines, among other ventures.
This diversification reflects an entrepreneurial philosophy of identifying strategic sectors in which investment can simultaneously create economic value and address national needs.
Two ventures illustrate this particularly well: Sunon Asogli Power and Africa World Airlines.
Sunon Asogli Power: Turning an Energy Challenge into an Investment Opportunity
The energy sector is perhaps the most powerful illustration of Togbe Afede’s entrepreneurial philosophy.
Ghana’s power shortages over the years have created serious constraints for households, businesses and industries. Instead of viewing the energy crisis merely as a governmental problem, Togbe Afede and his partners saw an opportunity to participate in solving a national challenge through private investment.
Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana) Ltd. became Ghana’s first successful Independent Power Producer. The company developed a 560MW combined-cycle natural-gas power plant at Kpone. The first 200MW phase was completed in 2010, while the second 360MW phase was commercialised in January 2017.
The significance of this investment extends beyond the balance sheet.
It demonstrates the principle that private enterprise can participate in solving public problems.
Sunon Asogli has at various times supplied a substantial proportion of Ghana’s electricity generation. The company reported that the plant achieved a record output of 541MW in 2019 and accounted at that time for about 29 percent of Ghana’s total load generation.
The project also illustrates another characteristic of Togbe Afede’s entrepreneurship: international partnership. The venture emerged from collaboration involving Chinese investors, demonstrating the importance of mobilising international capital and technical expertise for Ghanaian development.
The lesson is profound: a great entrepreneur does not merely ask, “What can I sell?” The entrepreneur also asks, “What problem can I solve, and can solving that problem create a sustainable business?”
Africa World Airlines: Connecting Ghana to West Africa
The aviation sector presents another remarkable chapter in Togbe Afede’s entrepreneurial journey.
Africa World Airlines (AWA) was incorporated in November 2010 and commenced revenue operations on 21 September 2012. Its corporate history identifies Togbe Afede XIV as its founder. The airline began with domestic services and subsequently expanded its regional network.
The importance of AWA extends beyond the operation of aircraft.
Air transport facilitates commerce, tourism, professional mobility and regional integration. By linking Ghanaian cities and connecting Ghana with other West African destinations, AWA has contributed to making regional business travel more accessible.
The airline has also demonstrated the power of partnerships. Its history includes strategic relationships with international carriers such as South African Airways, Emirates, Brussels Airlines, ASKY and Ethiopian Airlines.
There is an interesting symbolic dimension to this enterprise. Togbe Afede, an investment banker and traditional ruler from Ho, became associated with an airline whose business is literally about connecting people, markets and countries.
It is therefore fitting that a man whose traditional responsibilities are rooted in a particular community should also participate in an industry that transcends geographical boundaries.
From Businessman to Agbogbomefia
The transformation from James Akpo, businessman and investment banker, into Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, represents one of the most fascinating dimensions of his life.
On 4 October 2003, the kingmakers of Asogli State selected and installed him as Agbogbomefia, succeeding his late uncle, Togbe Afede Asor II, who had ruled for approximately five decades. Contemporary reports indicate that the customary process included a nine-day period of confinement before the installation.
His installation represented a significant convergence of modern professional expertise and traditional authority.
He did not enter the palace without experience of the modern economy. He entered it as an investment banker, entrepreneur, academic and internationally educated professional.
In his inaugural address, he described his installation as a new beginning for Asogli State and pledged to work for development, opportunity and improved living conditions.
This philosophy has become central to his traditional leadership.
Rather than viewing the stool primarily as a symbol of prestige, he has consistently argued that traditional leadership must be connected to development.
Redefining Traditional Leadership
Togbe Afede’s model of chieftaincy has challenged the conventional image of the traditional ruler whose principal functions are ceremonial, customary and judicial.
He has sought to demonstrate that the modern chief can also be a development strategist, investment promoter, social advocate and bridge between government, business and communities.
Under his leadership, Asogli initiatives have included efforts to promote education, tourism, investment and international cooperation. The Asogli State has identified the preparation of tourist and business guides for Ho and the Volta Region among initiatives associated with his leadership.
His educational interventions have also attracted scholarly attention. Research on contemporary chieftaincy in Ghana reports the establishment of an Asogli Education Fund and scholarship-related initiatives supporting students, alongside awards for outstanding students and teachers.
This reflects a crucial understanding: the most valuable inheritance a traditional ruler can leave is not merely land or buildings, but educated and empowered citizens.
President of the National House of Chiefs
His influence eventually extended beyond Asogli and the Volta Region.
In November 2016, Togbe Afede XIV was elected President of the National House of Chiefs, securing 25 votes in an election in which 49 eligible votes were cast.
His four-year tenure placed him at the centre of Ghana’s national chieftaincy institution.
As President, he advocated a conception of traditional authority that emphasised peace, unity, development, accountability and service to the people. His tenure ended in November 2020, when Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II was elected his successor.
The significance of this transition should not be underestimated. It demonstrated that a man who had risen from a local traditional stool to national prominence could participate in Ghana’s constitutional traditional-governance framework without abandoning his identity as an entrepreneur.
His International Business Footprint
Togbe Afede’s activities have also carried a distinctly international dimension.
As Executive Chairman of the World Trade Centre Accra, he has been associated with efforts to connect Ghanaian businesses to the worldwide World Trade Centre network and facilitate international trade and investment.
He has also led business and traditional delegations abroad, including engagements with China, where the focus included learning from Chinese experiences in agriculture, energy, industrial development, ICT and infrastructure.
This is an important dimension of modern entrepreneurship.
Ghanaian businesses cannot develop in isolation from the global economy. The entrepreneur of the twenty-first century must understand international capital, technology, partnerships, markets and geopolitical economic relationships.
Togbe Afede’s career illustrates this principle.
The Philosophy Behind the Success
Perhaps the most important part of Togbe Afede’s story is not the list of companies but the philosophy behind them.
His published profile emphasises principles including hard work, imagination, honesty, altruism and commitment. It also expresses the belief that success should be measured not only by the level attained but by the obstacles overcome in reaching it.
This philosophy helps explain the unusual combination of finance, energy, aviation, traditional leadership and philanthropy in his career.
He appears to approach business from the perspective of opportunity rather than limitation.
Where others see Ghana’s energy crisis, he sees an energy investment.
Where others see the difficulty of financing businesses, he sees a capital-market opportunity.
Where others see geographical distance between Ghanaian cities and West African capitals, he sees an aviation market.
Where others see traditional authority as an institution of the past, he sees an instrument for development.
That is the mind of an entrepreneur.
Lessons for Ghana’s Youth and Entrepreneurs
1. Education is an investment, not an ornament
His journey from Ho Bankoe to the University of Ghana and subsequently Yale demonstrates the transformative power of education.
Young people should therefore not regard education merely as a route to obtaining employment. Education should develop capacity, discipline, analytical thinking and the ability to recognise opportunities.
2. Do not allow financial limitations to kill your ambition
His difficulties in pursuing earlier opportunities to study abroad did not permanently close the door. He persevered until the opportunity at Yale materialised.
The lesson is simple: a temporary inability to finance a dream is not necessarily evidence that the dream is impossible.
3. Move from employment to enterprise when the opportunity arises
Togbe Afede accumulated experience through employment and academia before establishing his own businesses.
This suggests that employment and entrepreneurship need not be enemies. Employment can provide the knowledge, networks, discipline and capital base from which entrepreneurship eventually emerges.
4. Identify problems that people urgently need solved
The Sunon Asogli Power project is a classic example.
Successful entrepreneurship frequently begins with a problem.
The entrepreneur asks:
What is Ghana lacking? What do people need? What can I provide? How can I mobilise the capital and expertise to provide it profitably?
5. Think beyond the immediate market
Africa World Airlines illustrates the importance of thinking beyond one’s immediate locality.
A Ghanaian entrepreneur should not think only about Ho, Accra, Kumasi or Ghana. The relevant market may be West Africa, Africa or the global economy.
6. Partnerships multiply possibilities
The energy and aviation ventures demonstrate that major businesses often require partnerships involving capital, technology, expertise and networks.
Young entrepreneurs should therefore overcome the temptation to believe that they must own everything.
Sometimes the greatest entrepreneurial skill is the ability to assemble the right people around the right idea.
7. Build institutions, not merely personal wealth
One of Togbe Afede’s important legacies is his involvement in institutions that can continue operating beyond the individual.
A successful entrepreneur should therefore ask:
What institution am I building that can outlive me?
8. Wealth should have a social purpose
His educational and community interventions reflect the principle that private success and public good need not be contradictory.
Business becomes more meaningful when its benefits extend to employees, communities and the wider society.
9. Traditional leadership can be developmental
Perhaps the most distinctive lesson is his attempt to demonstrate that traditional authority can become an instrument of modern development.
A chief can advocate education, attract investment, promote tourism, encourage peace, facilitate international relationships and support entrepreneurship.
10. Think nationally while remaining rooted locally
Togbe Afede remains deeply associated with Asogli and Ho, yet his business interests and public responsibilities have extended across Ghana and internationally.
This is a powerful lesson for young Ghanaians:
One can remain proudly local while thinking globally.
A Great Star in the Business Firmament
The expression “a great star in the spacious business firmament on high” is deliberately metaphorical.
The firmament contains many stars, but not all stars shine with equal intensity. Some are visible only from a distance; others become navigational points by which travellers find their direction.
Togbe Afede XIV’s significance lies not merely in the magnitude of the businesses with which he has been associated. It lies in the intersection of entrepreneurship, education, traditional leadership, finance, international business and national development.
From the classrooms of Ho and Kpedze to Labone; from Legon to Yale; from the banking sector to the capital market; from Strategic African Securities to private equity; from Sunon Asogli Power to Africa World Airlines; from the boardroom to the Asogli stool; and from Asogli State to the National House of Chiefs, his journey represents an extraordinary trajectory.
Yet the greatest lesson may not be how much wealth a person can accumulate.
It may be what that wealth can accomplish.
The entrepreneur’s highest calling is not simply to become rich. It is to create value, solve problems, build institutions, employ people, develop communities and leave society better than one found it.
That is why the story of Togbe Afede XIV deserves to be studied not merely as the biography of a successful businessman or traditional ruler, but as a case study in Ghanaian entrepreneurship and developmental leadership.
Conclusion
Togbe Afede XIV’s life demonstrates that greatness is rarely the product of a single achievement. It is usually the cumulative outcome of education, perseverance, professional competence, courage, vision, strategic partnerships and a willingness to assume responsibility.
His career also challenges Ghana’s youth to move away from an excessively narrow conception of success based on securing salaried employment or acquiring personal possessions.
The greater questions are:
What problem will you solve? What institution will you build? How many people will benefit from your enterprise? And what will remain after you are gone?
These are the questions that distinguish an ordinary businessperson from an entrepreneur of historic significance.
For Ghana’s young entrepreneurs, therefore, the story of Togbe Afede XIV should not be read simply with admiration. It should be read with reflection and determination.
His journey from James Akpo of Ho Bankoe to Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, investment banker, entrepreneur, corporate leader and former President of the National House of Chiefs demonstrates that the boundaries of possibility are often wider than the circumstances of one’s birth.
The star may rise from a small corner of the landscape, but if it possesses sufficient brilliance, the whole firmament will eventually see its light.
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