Andrena is a 20-year-old young woman with an aspiration of being a nurse.
Unfortunately, her results in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) could not facilitate her admission into a tertiary institution right after Senior High School (SHS).
While she studied to resit the papers she failed in the WASSCE to pursue her nursing dreams, she decided to venture into a small-scale business.
With no tangible capital, Andrena began to search for affordable products online.
These items include kitchen wares, clothing, shoes, bags, jewellery, beauty products, electronics and other accessories.
She started posting juicy deals on her WhatsApp in hopes of attracting potential buyers.
Soon, she attracted a few customers who agreed to purchase these items on a pre-order basis.
In this instance, her ‘customers’ paid for the items upfront, with the agreement that they would be delivered to them in a few weeks.
She would then purchase the items online with the money after she takes her profit and delivers them to the buyers when the shipment arrives in Ghana.
With time, her customer base grew, and so did her profit.
After a year and a half of doing this business, Andrena now imports and sells items on her own.
As she prepares to begin nursing school, Andrena tells The Ghana Report that her mini importation business has empowered her financially and in her future endeavours.
Like Andrena, there are many other young Ghanaians, a part of Generation Z, who have ventured into businesses for various reasons and under numerous circumstances.
What is Generation Z?
Generation Z, also known as Gen Z, refers to people born between 1997 and 2012.
This generation grew up with the internet, social media and smartphones, which qualifies them as digital natives.
Gen Zs are known for their entrepreneurial spirit, creativity, tech savviness, and strong online presence, among other things.
These characteristics have exposed them to many opportunities employment-wise.
This is a situation which many may consider a breath of fresh air as the number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 rose from about 1.2 million to over 1.3 million in the first three quarters of 2023.
According to records sourced from the Annual Household Income and Expenditure Survey Quarter Three Labour Bulletin by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the average rate of unemployment in the country rose to 14.7 per cent in the same period.
As these young adults sharpen their entrepreneurial skills to escape unemployment, here is a look at some common business areas in which they excel.
- Makeup Artistry
Makeup artistry has become a popular and lucrative industry for the youth.
This area has seen many talented and creative artists gaining recognition while contributing to the country’s economy.
Gen Z has also redefined the career dynamics from a female-centred one as several male makeup artists spring up daily.
These artists offer services using modern and innovative techniques for occasions such as weddings, fashion shows, film and television productions, and other special events.
- Social Media influencing
With the ability to affect the thinking patterns of others, some young Ghanaians have employed social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, X and others as marking tools.
These ‘influencers’ promote products, services or ideas on these platforms for local and international brands and individuals to drive website traffic and sales.
They promote the products through giveaways, sponsored posts, product reviews and affiliate marketing.
Their areas of expertise are beauty and fashion, technology and gadgets, travel and lifestyle and food.
It is worth noting that social media influencers have amassed a large following which effectively widens the reach of the products they promote.
Some of their core objectives are to share their expertise and opinions, their lifestyles and experiences, and promote social causes.
- Photography
Starting a photography business is another mainstay for the Ghanaian Gen Z.
With great skills and quality work, these photographers target high-demand areas like weddings, events and commercial photography.
With an average charge between GHS 2,000 and GHS 10,000 for wedding photography, these young entrepreneurs make a good income.
- Forex Trading
Another group have waded into the high-risk world of online forex trading in the form of Contract For Differences (CFDs), which may be relatively new to most Ghanaians.
Forex trading is speculating on currency prices to potentially make a profit.
READ ALSO: The Young Ghanaians Cashing Out On Forex Trading
Despite the fact that online forex is not regulated in the country, traders participate in the markets using brokers that are domiciled abroad.
- Dropshipping
Dropshipping is a retail fulfilment method where a store does not keep the products it sells in stock.
Instead, it purchases the products from a third-party supplier and has them shipped directly to the customer.
Dropshippers don’t have to handle products directly, take on the risk of holding inventory or bear the cost of maintaining warehouses and physical storefronts.
In the dropshipping model, entrepreneurs are only responsible for marketing, sales and customer support—everything else is handled by a third-party partner.
According to Forbes, the average drop shipper makes between 10% and 30% profit, depending on the product being sold.
However, young Ghanaians have ventured into this business due to its low startup costs and flexibility.
- Content creation
One characteristic of Generation Z is their love for visual content, and some Ghanaian youth, like their counterparts around the world, have decided to monetize this love.
Tapping into their strong online presence, these young ones employ their video, photography, acting, singing, writing and editing skills to create appealing visuals and blogs.
They create content such as skits, music videos, food recipes, and daily activities within the Ghanaian context to attract and engage their audience on various social media platforms.
This also attracts brands to invest in sponsored partnerships to attract their target audience.
These ventures, however, are not magic money-printing machines that produce immense profits overnight.
They require consistency, taking risks, constant learning and hard work.