The founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dzata Cement, Ibrahim Mahama, has called on Ghanaians to abandon a mindset of subservience to foreign interests and take control of the nation’s industrial development.
Speaking at the company’s fifth-anniversary celebration, Mahama criticized the tendency of locals to undermine their own potential in favour of foreign dominance, revealing that a foreign skeptic once told him no Ghanaian could successfully establish a cement factory.
“A white man told me that no Ghanaian could build a cement factory,” Mahama recalled. “I told him I would do it, though unfortunately, he passed away before seeing it happen. That challenge motivated me to prove him wrong,” he said.
Mahama emphasized that Dzata Cement is just the beginning, urging domestic entrepreneurs to venture into diverse, high-impact sectors to prove that Ghanaians are capable of driving large-scale industrialization.
“We must prove that cement is not the only industry we can succeed in,” Mahama urged. “There are many other ventures where we can show that we are not beggars or slaves to foreigners. It is time for Ghanaians to wake up,” he stated.
He expressed gratitude to the administration of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, particularly thanking former Trade Minister Alan Kyerematen for supporting the company’s growth.
Source: Collins Kofi Asante
