The story of Joseph Barimah Kwako illustrates one of the fundamental principles of technology transfer to small businesses in developing countries: technical knowledge is important, but entrepreneurial zeal is essential. Even before the founding of the Technology Consulting Center (TCC) in January 1972, a group of engineers from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, had established a project to demonstrate improved technology for producing screws and steel nuts. and they were introducing it to artisans in Ghana’s largest informal industrial zone, Suame magazine. A production unit on the university campus operated successfully for several years and many artisans were trained in the new technology, but it was only after Joseph Kwako appeared on the scene that the technology was successfully transferred to the private sector.
In a 1971 Suame magazine survey, KNUST engineers found that large amounts of steel bolts and nuts were used in the construction of wooden car bodies for trotros (privately owned public transport vehicles based on the old chases). of Bedford trucks) and cocoa trucks (freight transport). vehicles) and these were produced locally by blacksmiths and central turners. The quality of the nuts and bolts was poor and the production rate was slow. KNUST engineers decided to introduce a new technology based on the use of winch (turret) winches and, with a grant from Barclays Bank’s International Development Fund, a pilot production unit was established.
The TCC opened a commercially operating Steel Bolt Production Unit (SBPU) on the KNUST campus in January 1973. Production continued uninterrupted until the SBPU moved to the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) at the Suame magazine in August 1980. By then, the SBPU had produced and sold over 200,000 sets of bolts and nuts, provided 80 man-years of employment, and trained 50 craftsmen in all basic skills: milling and winching lathe operations. and die-cutting. Despite raw material supply problems and the availability of imported tools, production was maintained and costs recovered. However, the profit margin was low and no private company could be persuaded to adopt the new technology.
Joseph Barimah Kwako came to TCC in the mid-1970s looking for a product to sell. He had been trained as a pharmaceutical technician, but as wages fell further and further in his purchasing power, he left his post at the Mbrom Hospital in Kumasi to seek his fortune in self-employment as a merchant. Joseph was shown all the products that the TCC had introduced: soap, fine cloth, honey, glue for paper, afro wigs, steel screws and nuts and other engineering products, etc. He left with some samples, promising to do his best to find new markets to further encourage local production.
When he returned a few weeks later, Joseph brought an order for a number of steel bolts and nuts. At first, he only said they were for a client in Accra. His visits became more frequent and the size of the orders grew, until there was a point where Joseph asked his client, Kofifo Boatbuilding Co. Ltd. for help in transporting the shipments. This newly established company was building 20-meter fishing boats. high in the old port of Accra, used only for fishing since the construction of the modern port of Tema, 30 kilometers to the east. Kofifo stated that the availability of locally produced steel fasteners, tailored to their needs in short lead times, was essential to the success of their business.
SBPU products were sold to Suame magazine’s wood body builders, roof beam construction contractors, and gate and fence farmers, but it was the fishing boat industry that turned out to be the largest, most lucrative and reliable. market. Domestically produced bras could not compete with foreign-made products in price, and when credit facilities allowed importation, the SBPU focused on niche markets with special requirements and left the general market for standard products to importers. In the 1970s and early 1980s, however, there were long periods when imported products were not available and local manufacturers had the entire market to themselves.
Joseph Kwako’s steel bolt and nut trade continued for two years before he came to TCC with a new application. Saying that he had accumulated a large sum of capital through trade, he asked if he could be helped to establish his own bolt and nut production unit. It was pointed out to him that a lot of technical knowledge was required and that he was not trained as an engineer. He insisted that he had sufficient funds to purchase the necessary used machine tools that the TCC was importing to establish four private production units. He proposed to acquire the necessary technical expertise by placing his son as an apprentice at the SBPU and offering employment to some of the young people who had already completed their training. Impressed by his enthusiasm, the TCC included Joseph Kwako in the next phase of the technology transfer program.
Four private companies started the production of steel bolts and nuts in Kumasi in 1979. Three were owned and operated by trained engineering technicians and one by a pharmaceutical technician-turned-trader. Needless to say, it was Joseph Barimah Kwako who over the next several years achieved the greatest commercial success and the fastest rate of business expansion.