Naa Oyoo Quartey

After some serious inspiration on Pinterest and also seeing my new South African friend Zuki in Fulani Braids I just had to get mine! Talk about hair envy 🙈. They looked so exotic and different from the usual all back cornrow braids we usually get done. I couldn't believe she got them done at the 37 hospital grounds.

But I wanted to read more about the braids and see what other styles there were online. Braids have been around for more than 30,000 years and the earliest discovery of braids was a figurine of a woman in braids is the Venus of Brassempouy which has been dated 25,000 years old. This was even discovered in France and I couldn't help but wonder who she really was. The figurine definitely and visibly shows a woman in braids. The style looks very much like braid bangs in a Rihanna bob cut. Don't you think?

Image Source: Wikipedia

The Fulani braids are the hottest cornrow braids in 2017 and if you haven't caught on it yet, get ready to be inspired by some pretty incredible styles. But first here's a little knowledge for your pocket about Fulani cornrow braids. Fulani women traditionally dress their braids in beads, coweries and coins. It's not uncommon to see both young Fulani men and women braid their hair.

Fascinating how a person's braids is an identification of their social strata. The style of one's braids indicates their tribe, age, marital status, occupation, wealth, power, etc. It is also a form of communication in some tribes. The more complex the braids, the wealthier and higher up the social class you were.

Traditional Fulani braids come in different patterns. There's some with middle partings and side braids to poufs at the forehead or five main splits with braids and interlockings of beads and coweries. A Fulani bride's hair is a whole world of colourful beads and adornments.

Here are the 2017 Fulani inspired braids and mine as well to get you some serious inspiration for your next salon trip. It's also a great protective hairstyle.

It's pretty similar to getting a cornrow rasta hairstyle. The front part is usually the focal point and how you want it to look. A middle single braid with a single ring or bead interlocks the braid to lie on your forehead. Add a bit of color to the braids to be lit.

Also the braid size can be medium or small-sized to create more dramatic styles like this. The length of the braids of course gives you a more versatile way to style. Why not grab some wooden or plastic beads to string at the ends to change up the look?

A single braid can go across your forehead before the middle parting. Why not go buck crazy with cute cowries interlocking your braids.

Image source: Pinterest

Or you can keep your 'fro and get the frontal braids on. Just make sure you twist your fro to get the extra pouf in the morning.

This is how mine turned out. I was very happy with them and it took only 45 minutes for it get done.

I can't wait to try another Fulani braid style 😎😜.

Which style was your favourite? Have you tried or even heard of Fulani braids before? Why not share your experience in the comments below 😘.

Quick meals mean simple ingredients you can just pull out of a hat like that rabbit in the magicians hat. Of course you gotta have the right ingredients in your fridge to do that trick 😉. There's always some form of greens in my fridge for mornings like this when I am looking to eat quick around 10am. I was super lucky to come across the HelloSpriggs stand recently at ElleLokko where they hold the Special 10 fairs on Saturdays. HelloSpriggs had some Bok Choy and who was I to not grab a bagful. I just simply love how it's so easy getting all these herbs and greens which some years ago were unavailable to our local markets.

In all honesty I have never cooked with Bok Choy before all though I had seen several recipes on Pinterest. You know how a recipe looks so good but when you scroll through to see the ingredients you quickly slide to the left because of some missing key ingredients? Yeah, that was me when go through Asian recipes. But that was then. Now I know where to get my bok choy from 💃🏾. ISSA BOK CHOY baby!

This recipe was inspired by this gem I found on Pinterest. I always do a bit of background reading on the health benefits of the main ingredient, in this case bok choy. Bok choy is more popular in Asian dishes and can be also called Chinese Cabbage. A fun fact bok choy is that it's also called soup spoon due to the shape of its leaves. As a green food its packing in rich body-loving nutrients from Vitamin A, C and K, magnesium, potassium, manganese, etc. There were some ingredients I did not have on hand like sesame oil so I substituted that with coconut oil and I used honey instead of maple syrup.

Without much ado, here's my recipe for Chilli Ginger Bok Choy Noodles.

Preparation time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 8 mins

Difficulty : Easy Serves: 2

Ingredients

1 bunch of bok choy

handful of pasta / rice noodles

For the Sauce

1 clove of grated garlic

2 tablespoons of grated ginger

2 tablespoons of soy sauce ( low-sodium)

3 fingers of fresh paprika

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 finely sliced red or green onion

Instructions:

1. Wash the bok choy in salted water, separate and chop into large sizes.

2. Cook pasta in boiling salted water for 6 minutes.

3. Mix together garlic, soy sauce, oil, honey, 2 tablespoons of chopped onion, ginger, chilli in a spice mortar and pound to mix up. But you can also use a food processor to blend together.

4. Pounding gives a beautiful rough texture.

5. Add sauce mix and the rest of the onions to non-stick frying pan or wok to cook for 2 minutes.

6. Add in chopped bok choy and cook for 2 minutes with regular stirring through.

7. Add in cooked pasta or noodles. Stir-fry for 4 minutes over low heat.

8. Toss through and enjoy hot.

The burst of the chilli and ginger was a roller-coaster ride! The honey added an excellent sweetish flavour and the bok choy was super gorgeous on the palate. It's taste is similar to cabbage and the curved base gave a satisfactory crunch every now and then.

Such a simple but oh so flavourful meal which can be enjoyed for as brunch or lunch and an early dinner. This is a must-try dish which I will be turning to for quick and easy meals at home. You should definitely give it a go!

Had bok choy before? Loved it or hated it? Please do share your experience below :-D

People used to think it was so odd for me to travel on my own to a remote place for my time of rejuvenation. They would often enquire of my travelling compatriots to which I would respond, "I am not going with anyone." Odd. This is my me-time why would I need company?

But yes, taking off was a cherished experience for me and something I valued and recognised ( perhaps a bit late in my singlehood times) as a much-needed time for myself. Back then, Busua was always my favourite destination. I just couldn't get over the serenity of the town's low-lying clean beach. Gorgeous sunsets and the brilliance of the morning sun never failed to impress me every single time. It still is one of my favourite places.

A week ago, I had to escape again. 2017 has been a hurricane of a year! I have lost so many friends and family through untimely deaths, most of which just left me emotionally drained. There aren't enough why's to explain their departure.

I was being invited to so many events and many new projects and work responsibilities came my way as well. There was always something to do which was exciting but was also mentally draining. Working for oneself can make you easily forget that you have to take leave like you did when you had an 8-5 job. Very easy.

We moved to a new house recently and that also brought on it's own challenges of remodelling and fixing up the poor job done by a building contractor. Why can't people just do a job right once and for all? Building and road contractors in this country eh!

After things in the house had settled down a bit in the house, I decided to do my annual escape.

My body needed it so badly that every time I woke up in the morning, tiredness would silently remind that I wasn't a superwoman although sometimes I could swear I felt a cape swirling behind me. No amount of prayer was going to be enough to give me physical strength. Even Jesus retreated from the disciples every now and then. Burnout is a real thing.
I needed a sharper focus on where things stood and a self-assessment on my objectives in life. Woman aint growing younger you know. Dreams must be accomplished and any obstacles standing in the way of that must be dealt with. During my away time in Busua, I would take along my little notebook and write with all honesty where things stood in my life. What wasn't I happy about? What relationships did I or didn't I want to be in? What made me happy? These and other questions I asked and answered with brutal honesty in my little book. I had gotten to that point where I realised I couldn't say yes to every invitation sent to me. It's great to be invited on panels etc but there has to be a limit. I had to be picky as well on what I chose to attend on my table of priorities.
City life and it's stress of traffic, scandalous corruption news, social media noise had to take a back seat for the next few days. The noise on Facebook and Twitter sometimes, just sometimes can be quite suffocating. It's my time to switch them off and tune in to the silence of nature.

I found myself at the Ko-Sa Beach resort in the Central Region where I spent a day's rest and relaxation.

I moved to Takoradi where my dinners and mornings were at Planters Lodge one of my more luxurious places for tranquility.

Roasted Chicken at Planters Lodge

I actually made a new feline friend, she's called Whiskers so if ever you see her there please send her my regards.

Whiskers

Why You Should Absolutely Take Some Self-Love Time

You have to learn how to be on your own as an individual. You don't always need friends and people around you to feel good about yourself. When you look to others for validation all the time you might actually be disappointed and then depressed thinking nobody loves you. Learn how to love yourself by being on your own at your own selected time. Discover for yourself what makes you happy. What do you enjoy doing? What your hobbies are and why you love doing them.
Your self-love and me-time helps you discover new places and new experiences. Whether it's discover a new destination within your country or trying out taste-bud explosions at a new restaurant, your time away becomes your discovery moment of pleasure.
Escaping the city life or even life itself is also a time to meditate on God's Word or whichever faith you belong to. You reconnect with God in the silence of nature, set some objectives to build on your relationship with God whether it's praying more frequently or evangelising more often. Your self-love time is also a time to assess your spiritual life and identify places where you have fallen short. Identify, realign and get back up. Meditation is a great way of improving your mental health as a human being.
Your self-love time is also your time of appreciating other cultures around you and gives you a real time experience to learn more about other cultures other than what you read about online. It's a personal discovery no one can take away from you.

At the end of it all, I was now desiring a longer rest period. I think next time I will make my stay a whole week :D I am now back to reality and I am more focused and ready to take on the realities of life now.

Do you ever take time off for yourself? How do you treat yourself for some me-time? Where do you go to? Got a special place of your own? Do share in the comments below.

Ever had the sweats before your first job interview? I bet you did. I never did though, when you are well prepared, sweat will think twice about staining your armpit. I think back back now to that day and mentally grin at how I nailed that interview.

I am sharing my experience with anyone out there waiting to have their first job interview and are clueless on what to do despite the many interview tips articles online. Come to think of it, this experience will also be good for you even if it’s your second job interview. Maybe your first job was via a family connection which allowed you to skip the interview process and now you actually have a real one to prepare for. A job Interview is like that first awkward date but without the calming ambiance of soothing music and great food, isn’t it.

So here I was fresh out of the University of Ghana with a Bachelor’s Degree in Banking & Finance ready to take on the world. It's 2007. I wasn’t just a fresh-faced graduate. I actually held an arsenal of internship experiences in my resume armoury. You see, I spent my school vacation periods very wisely by interning at Barclays Bank. At one point, I actually want to go on holidays to the United Kingdom to ‘chill’ and come back with the latest summer trends like other students. But God had other plans for me so I was bounced like twice😫 . Painful I know 😅. But after realising the importance of the internships I forgot all about going to the Queens land. My resume was a detailed list of my assigned responsibilities as an intern. What I loved most about those 4 years of my internship at the bank was how I was treated like an employee and not just someone to send on roasted plantain errands. I worked as hard as everyone else despite the internship pittance of 7,500. It was the experience which mattered to me.

I completed my National Service at Ghana Commercial Bank in 2008 where it further dawned on me how very different my lecture notes on banking was from the real world of banking. My service time was a steeper learning curve than my previous internship experiences. GCB was on another level of manual entering of banking transactions. I appreciated technology after that service time.

What next? My Aunt employed me to be her Executive Personal Assistant in her HR consulting firm which was home-based. That was my first working from home experience and it opened my mind up to a whole new world. It required discipline to wake up each day, dress smart and get to work in the home study. My Aunt was extremely professional and strict so there was not a single thought to even slack. My ears would burn😆!

I would go back to my home during the weekends and it was during one of those weekends that I run into an old friend of mine. During our catch up chat he mentioned that he was working with a friend in the newspaper publishing industry and they were about to publish their first copy and they were looking for columnists. It was a Property focused newspaper. Would I be interested in writing for the paper? I didn't have much knowledge about writing content for a property newspaper. But I decided to propose on something different. I offered to write on keeping an environmentally friendly home with home safety tips etc. My friend loved it. I decided to call my column ‘The Green Home’. Thus started my freelancing job for this newspaper. I wrote usually after 5pm after my 8-5 job with my Aunt. Regarding payment, I wasn’t going to be paid till the paper had made some sufficient sales. Or something along those lines. But I didn’t mind. I was too excited to be a columnist for an unknown paper! Imagine! And boy you should have seen me when I saw the first print publication! I was grinning from ear to ear just seeing my photo staring back at me from the paper.

The Vacancy

I had written three articles for the paper when I was informed of an oil and gas company in Ghana recruiting for a team assistant. My first question to myself was, ‘Wait. Ghana has oil?’ Dumb right? How had I not read about this anywhere? I later discovered the vacancy in Daily Graphic and perused the requirements. The qualifications went right up my alley.

The Research

I quickly went online to read about this Oil and Gas company called Tullow. Interesting! I read more about the Jubilee partners for the exploration of the Jubilee Field and what it meant for us as a country to have oil. The internet reveals a lot with a bit of digging. A little hardwork doesn't kill. Try it and see.

Updating My resume

I quickly updated my resume to reflect my Executive Assistant role and the freelancing job as well. The vacancy was for a team assistant for the Health, Environment & Safety Department. Do you see where I am headed with all this? I double-checked on my email address and updated my phone number to reflect the most reliable one. The average Ghanaian in Ghana has a minimum of two mobile phone numbers. One is very reliable whilst the other is for whatsapping. Always state your most reliable contact on your resume.

Interview Day

I arrived 30 minutes before the interview time to familiarise myself with the organisational environment and culture. Another job applicant came a few minutes after me. We sat in silence and waited to be called. I was actually the last to be called and I walked in to find the HR manager and the Departmental Manager as interviewers. I wasn’t too surprised. It was expected although I wasn't expecting a South American departmental manager. We went through the usual questions of my background etc. Then I was asked why I would be a good fit for the organisation. That was when I pulled out my trump card. I had brought copies of my published articles from the newspaper and confidently handed it out to the panelists. I told them I not only wanted the job but was very passionate about keeping not only a home but also a workplace environmentally friendly and safe to work in. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the departmental manager’s pleasantly surprised look. They said they would be in contact and I walked out.

I went to have a quiet lunch in Osu after the interview. My phone rang around 2pm. It was the HR manager. The job was mine. I didn’t scream or anything, calmly and confidently I raised a triumphant fist in the air 💪🏾! I started my job in January 2009 until the global layoff at the company in 2015.

Freelancing at the newspaper business gave me the upper-hand during the interview. Of course, my internships, researching and other key actions I took before the interview also contributed to the success. The lesson of not overlooking small opportunities stayed on with me and still does today. Small opportunities lead to bigger breakthroughs. Never look down on jobs that you might see as beneath your qualifications. I took up the team assistant role and worked my way up the company. Take them up and work studiously and passionately on them, you never know when they will serve as golden keys unlocking golden doors of opportunity. If you are a graduate or soon to be one, grab up internship opportunities when you can. Internships are gold on your resume for your entry-level job. Impress your employer where you intern with proactiveness, diligence and a heart for learning on the job. Trust me, they will not forget you anytime soon. And they also make excellent references. Keep that in mind.

I hope you have picked some grains of wisdom from this post and will be a sharing human and share with your social circles :D. In the mean time please share how you also succeeded in your first job interview in the comments below.

*The following post has photos of real individuals whose identities have been stolen and are being used to defraud innocent young women. Please, if you know any of them kindly contact them and alert them on the fraudulent usage of their photos*

Fraudsters in Ghana have taken to Facebook as their hideout for duping unsuspecting individuals especially young women of thousands of cedis. 'Cathy' ( real name withheld for personal safety reasons) was one of such women duped from almost GHC 15K and she reached out to share her story to help raise awareness about their adopted strategies and to possibly save the next woman from their deception.

Cathy was checking in on her missed messages after staying off Facebook for awhile, when she saw a message from one Mama Tess who purported to be the mother of a 15 year old boy with access to his Facebook profile page. According to Mama Tess ( who claimed she lived in the United States), she sometimes monitors her son's Facebook page to ensure he's safe on the account. In her monitoring phase, she came across Cathy's photo and thought to say hi. Her 'fake' son's name is Brian Osei. She told Cathy that she had three sons . She also expressed interest in being Cathy's friend and asked for her number for her eldest son who according to her lives in Ghana. Cathy refused and Mama Tess ended the chat by saying 'later'.

Mama Tess came back after a month to say hello again and started sending Cathy motivational photos and little prayer texts and initiated conversation with Cathy. She then suggested how it would be really great for Cathy to meet her eldest son who was currently single. According to Mama Tess, her eldest son Lloyd Mensah ( fake name) had been in terrible relationships but he would appreciate just been friends at the moment.

This is Lloyd Mensah according to Mama Tess:

Mama Tess's claim to have three son's included Lloyd Mensah, Francis Osei and Brian Osei (last born) was made evident to Cathy in this photo.

The second son, Francis who Mama Tess said was in KNUST, would use his Facebook profile to post photos of himself on trips to Europe and shopping malls. However, it turned out that Francis had stolen the identity of one David Jones on Facebook and was using Mr Jones's photos on his profile and Whatsapp. This is what he sent Cathy and what he was posting on his profile.

All this happened in May. Soon after, Lloyd Mensah created a Facebook account and added Cathy. Cathy and Lloyd started chatting on Facebook and Whatsapp. He created the impression of how his family didnt get a good start in life and how they struggled to make it.

After two months of establishing friendship with Cathy, Mama Tess texts Cathy to share the news of her trip to Ghana from the United States. According to Cathy, to create familiarity and a transparent relationship, Mama Tess and her sons were in constant communication with her but she never met them due to conflicting times. Lloyd would intentionally call Cathy whilst she was on her way to work knowing very well that she would be unable to meet them. Mama Tess also claimed to be staying at Trasaaco when she ‘arrived’ in Ghana.

The money extraction strategies started a few weeks before Mama Tess came to Ghana. Francis asked Cathy to ‘help’ him with fuel and maintenance costs of some vehicles they were going to sell in Accra with a promise to pay her once Lloyd and Mama Tess came to Ghana. She sent him GHC1,000 trusting that she would be paid back and also trusting him because of the length of online friendship created over a period of three months. They had also created the impression of being rich Ghanaians living in Trasaaco.

Another time, they claimed they had had an accident on the Ada road on their way to Accra after traveling to oversee an ongoing project. They contacted Cathy once again to ask if she could send them money to assist them sort out their damaged car. This was when Cathy started being alarmed. A red flag raised in her mind. She had already been sending Lloyd some monies for little expenses he needed sorting out.

Lloyd then came back to say they were looking to sell a Mercedes for nothing less than 30K so as to pay Cathy back. It was all a ruse.

Aforementioned car

Their promise to pay her back was followed by excuses of a bank credit card not working in Ghana and this was according to Mama Tess on arrival to the country. They constantly sent her messages that they were trying to work out the bank card issue and as soon as they did, she would get her money.

And then the issue of sending Lloyd money to buy a ticket to the States came up from Mama Tess still using her supposedly 15 year old son's Facebook account; Brian Osei.

As Cathy started pressing and insisting on payment, they took on an aggressive stance. Lloyd Mensah deleted his Facebook profile and blocked Cathy and interestingly Mama Tess still was adamant on sorting this out. This was psychological taunting.

and after awhile same for Mama Tess. She was unreachable.

Somehow Cathy had noticed there was one mutual friend she had in common with Lloyd Mensah and she decided to reach out to ask of their mutual friend. After sharing her duped experience, it turned out that this other mutual friend had also been a victim of the alleged family and had been duped of almost GHC4,000. This mutual friend bemoaned to Cathy of getting several messages from strangers asking of her relationship with Lloyd Mensah only to be told they had been duped by these two gentlemen and their ‘Mom’.

The fraudsters adopted identity theft as a means of deceiving Cathy for over a period of three months. That's their strategy. They also target young single women and send them photos of handsome men whose identity have been stolen. Interestingly, according to Cathy they had a foreign accent a.ka they were slanging but then again anyone can pretend to have an accent without even having to step beyond the shores of Ghana.

Its quite unfortunate this happened to Cathy but this could have happened to you or a friend. Could they have used sika eduro ( black magic) ? Hard to tell but let's be careful with our social connections.

Anyone reading this should be extra vigilant on social media especially on Facebook. Before adding anyone as a friend on Facebook; check their profile for their place of work, which mutual friends you are connected to and ask your friends to verify their relationship with them. There are tools like Google Image Search which you can use to upload someone’s photo to search online where else their photo has appeared. This can also help to verify someone’s identity.

Please share this to raise awareness of such strategies being enacted out by dubious persons on Facebook.

I know very little about Fulani cuisine and coming across a Twitter handle like @FulaniChef immediately perked up my curiosity which had to be completely satisfied with a feature on #MeetTheChef. Connecting with Binta, owner of FulaniKitchen was easy as Nkatie cake and we settled on a date for the feature.

Chef Binta is a private chef at Fulani Kitchen and also works at the Villa Monticello Boutique hotel in Airport as a full time chef.

What was your earliest memory of cooking

Chef Binta: I started cooking at an early age thanks to my grandmother who prepared different Fulani meals which she sold at the market. I remember quite vividly how I would attempt to lift cauldrons to prepare the kitchen for cooking. Even though I was born in Sierra Leone, I am Guinean. My parents are from Guinea and they moved to Sierra Leone some years ago. Being in the kitchen at an early age established my skills in using traditional utensils to prepare meals. I believe we should be able to combine both traditional and modern cooking techniques to bring out the best taste experience in our food.

What got you started on your journey as a chef?

Chef Binta: My love for cooking actually started in my childhood as mentioned earlier but it was my time in Spain whilst home after an out-of-job-stint. I finally listended to all those people that said "Binta you can cook" and ventured into sandwich making and selling to MBA students. They loved it. I was always cooking and inviting people to come over to eat and formalising and polishing up my skills was just a fantastic idea. Kenya was an incredible country and my two years experience in the chef school there, exposed me to different cuisines.

I started hosting events with an organisation called Upside Africa when I came to Ghana. I did one event for them and the other two events was on my own by bringing entrepreneurs together through food. That’s when I started when working at La Villa Boutique in Osu. I left that job and travelling a bit and became an ambassador with Chefs in Africa for anglophone countries. We travel around Africa to promote chefs who are passionate about promoting African cuisine to the world. We created a platform to share how they can climb up the chef career ladder etc. This is something which I am still involved in. I came to Ghana and got a job at Villa Monticello. I have learnt a lot at this current job through Executive Chef Ruby. She’s an incredible chef and very good at her creations. It is very important to constantly be reinventing oneself so I am always developing new recipes with influences from Fulani cuisine.

What can you share about Fulani cuisine ?

Chef Binta: Corn is a major staple amongst the Fulani’s. Our method of cooking with corn is different from how it’s prepared in Ghana. We don’t ferment our corn and there are dishes where corn is cooked with a resemblance to Fufu. We wash, pound and use it accordingly. Fulani cuisine contains common ingredients like peanuts and beef. What makes Fulani dishes quite unique is our total independence from the use of artificial flavourings like stock cubes. Our meals are always fresh and natural. Just like this Pumpkin sauce, the flavour mainly comes from the natural meat juices and organic spices used to marinate the meat. This makes a meal more memorable.

The civil war in Sierra Leone caused us to flee to Guinea. Despite this traumatic experience, I learnt a lot whilst in Guinea with respect to the language, the food, the people, etc.

Mafe Bhudi (Pumpkin Beef Sauce)

How exactly are you promoting Fulani cuisine?

I use mostly pop-up food events where diners get to experience both traditional and modern style of Fulani dining. Diners get a 360 degree experience of using traditional utensils, sitting on mats and eating in a communal environment which fosters conversations and builds relationships. I want to focus more on getting my food out there. I have collaborated with other chefs for some of these pop-up events. Biishville and I are actually planning a Christmas food pop-up event.

What are your thoughts on the food business industry in Ghana.

Chef Binta: It’s not easy penetrating the Ghanaian food industry with different cuisines. The average Ghanaian isn’t very adventurous with their palate. They usually stick to what they know i.e. waakye, kenkey etc. In order to penetrate the market, it’s critical to be creative with your offerings. Ghanaian cuisine is a little bit boring and it needs to be spiced up to taste great. I think Ghanaian food taste almost the same anywhere you go. For example, Nkontomire stew in Accra tastes the same or almost the same as in Kumasi. There’s very little variance. Fufu in Accra is the same as in Cape Coast. The preparation is the same with very little changes in spicing. I feel like in Africa we don’t respect food like we should. We don’t take time to appreciate and enjoy food. We just eat and go. We don’t need to rush the consumption of food.

What are your favourite organic spices in your spice rack?

Chef Binta: I use basil a lot but I love coriander more. I used it a lot in Kenya. Kenyans put coriander in almost everything and aside being an incredible herb it has incredible health benefits. Adding coriander to your diet is great for your skin as it contains cineole, an essential oil found in coriander leaves. If you want glowing skin, eat more coriander. I use kankaleba which is popularly used by Fulani’s in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. You can also find it in Nima market. Nima market has a wide variety of spices.

Preparing Spicy Ginger Drink

Ghana Jollof vs Nigerian Jollof?

Chef Binta: (*laughs*) I love Ghanaian Jollof. I would choose it over Nigerian Jollof any day.

Chef Binta prepared Kanyah, Sierra Leonean sweet snack which I was totally enthralled by. It was a pounded mash up of slightly roasted gari, sugar, salt and peanut butter. The taste of which strongly resembled nkatie cake but with a more smoother yet crunchy taste. Kanyah, according to Chef Binta was a snack her mother would give her to sate her hunger before dinner. She added a twist to dessert by caramelising palm-nut and plantain plus a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

What an incredible mix it was! It was super filling and I had to do the Ghanaian thing and ask for 'take-away' :D. It was such a delight learning about Fulani cuisine and even more important taste experiencing authentic Fulani food. Africa is a vast landscape of incredible cuisines which must be shared, explored and discovered by Africans and the world at large.

#MeetTheChef, is a blog series spotlight on Ghanaian Chefs and the story of their journey thus far in the hot kitchen. Get to know more about the chef at your favourite restaurant in Accra and share in their daily inspirations, struggles and delicious victories

* Follow Chef Binta @FulaniChef on Twitter; Instagram @ChefBinta

A step into Azmera Restaurant instantly creates the impression of fine relaxed dining with an initial delightful surprise at it's refreshing interiors . The award-winning restaurant has undergone subtle yet noticeable revamping of it's interiors to one of modern-rustic chic details.

Recently awarded CIMG Indigenous Catering Facility of the Year 2016, Azmera Restaurant keeps standing out amongst it's competitors by constantly marrying both food and design.

Madam Afua Krobea Asante receiving the CIMG Award

Modern glittering glass & shade chandeliers now dot the parts of the restaurant ceiling, setting the mood for longer lunches and a more emotional dining experience.

The touches of African wax print fabrics boldly fan out on the ceiling whilst other's have been used as curtains. Not many restaurants in Accra are that bold with their interiors.

There's a current influx of rustic themes being incorporated into restaurant designs to meet consumer demands for something different and instagram-worthy. It comes as no surprise that Azmera has added wood & basket trays to it's interior walls creating an authentic indigenous Ghanaian ambiance.

The dining experience is wholesome and enjoyable with attentive waiters.

The 2nd International Wine Festival and Trade Show (IWFTS) by VinAfrica under the auspices of the Italian Embassy in Ghana held a press conference with invited bloggers, business persons and press to highlight the upcoming key trade, food and wine events.

The Italian Ambassador to Ghana, His Excellency Giovanni Favilli poignantly stressed on the importance of cultural exchange to promote both food, wine and other trade elements between Ghana and Italy. Italian Cuisine Week and the International Wine Festival and Trade Show aim at opening up another tourism and trade opportunity to Ghana were his words during the press conference. He said both events will bring European wine and culinary insights to the local market and enable players in the hospitality industry in Ghana upgrade their knowledge and skills.

Speaking also at the press conference was CEO of VDB Consultancy & Trade Limited, concept bearers of VinAfrica, Vannessa Koko Djaba. She pointed out that the event was not only going to be an opportunity for West Africa to interface with the burgeoning global wine industry, but will most importantly create the basis to position Ghana as a dedicated hospitality destination specialised in services to the international wine industry. Her passion about food was evident as she stressed on how adding value to our local foods can propel us onto the global food industry.

His Excellency Giovanni Favilli & Ms Vanessa Koko Djaba

The International Wine Festival and Trade Show (IWFTS), a four-day event, will commence on the 9th November 2017 with a trade exhibition which will afford consumers, traders and Vineyards the opportunity to interact with and understand the demands of the industry in Ghana and the sub-region. The “Akwaaba” night, an entertainment-filled welcoming event which takes place the following day at Labadi Beach Hotel is expected to be the perfect reception package which preludes events happening for the next two days. There will be dedicated champagne, wine, cocktail and food stations representing each participating country as well as performances from afro-pop star, Noella Wiyaala.

The Wine-to-Wine Business Forum which will see presentations and seminars facilitated by key industry stakeholders will come off at the Tang Palace Hotel on the 11th November. The climax of the festival on 12th November dubbed the 3 Maestro Gala Dinner will feature three renowned Michelin starred chefs hailing from three main wine producing regions preparing culinary delights and which will be paired with wines from their respective countries as well as performances from the Calabash Group and a surprise big name artist to play the night out.

On the 18th of November a charity dinner organised by the Italian Business Association Ghana and Cooking For Charity will be held towards the development and expansion of The Good Samaritan's Home in Adidome, Volta Region. The proceeds will be donated to the home which is was established to care for children with Down Syndrome.

After the press conference, there was further engagement with the guests on the rather exciting upcoming event. It was an enjoyable interaction with Italian hors d'oeuvres such as mini arancini di riso, bruscheta and mini-pizza bites. The wine served was light and enjoyable which is typical of most Italian wines.

Giang Vu , Francesca & Naa Oyoo

It's hard to talk about global cuisine and not mention Italian cuisine. It's not only hard but almost a sacrilege not to mention the originators of pizza, pasta, bruschetta, tiramisu and all the other phenomenal gastronomic foods. Oh and the wine. The wine is very important. Thank you Italy 🙏🏾🇮🇹. The Italian Cuisine Week is open to the general public and all foodies in Ghana. Ciao!

How does one begin a post like this without getting angry and not spitting out venom? It's almost impossible but I will try.

How does an 18yr-old adult man commit a horrendous abomination like raping a 4 year old girl and not get arrested for it? What drives such sick thoughts into a human mind to look at an innocent girl and decide to defile her to the point of she not being able to walk for three days? What kind of chief allows such a perpetrator to go scot-free with an explanation that the 'gods' found him innocent? I would very much like to question those gods to get a clearer picture.

This is the sad and sickening true story of a 4Yr-old girl raped in a toilet facility by a twisted perv who the victim named as Kwabena. This morbidity occurred in a town called Assin Fosu in the Central Region of Ghana. Read the rest of the sad incident here.

After reading the news about this traumatic stomach-churning ordeal. Leila Djansi, PepperDemMinistries and I have launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to support the victim's reconstructive surgery. We have been hard at work in getting the necessary logistics in place to get her transferred to a hospital where the surgery can be performed.

We need your financial help in every possible way to make this surgery possible for her. Please click here to make your kind donation. All proceeds will go towards the surgery and any surpluses will be given to her mother Madam Nyarko towards the victims general upkeep.

This is your moment to rise to the occasion and give towards a humanitarian cause. If you have a daughter, just imagine how it would feel to be in the shoes of Madam Nyarko. Agonizing, right? This could have been your daughter, niece or little sister. Please let's come together and do a social good.

We also have Vodafone Cash mobile money service available via: 0207961973 ( account name is Valentina).

Thank you for your kind donation. God blesses those who give so you are blessed!

GoFundMe Campaign

#Justice4Her

When you have been blogging for almost seven years like I have, it’s easy to identify the mistakes you have made over the years. Sometimes I go back to an old post and I cringe within. Did I do that ? I ask myself with a mental pinch. There’s that slight temptation to hit the delete button and rewrite that cringe-worthy post. But I leave it as a reminder that one’s beginnings are always lessons to be learnt from, to improve and be better.

If you are a newbie blogger with a just-published blog then read more to learn from my mistakes over the years. If you have been blogging for some time, you will still need to read this because the learning cycle keeps spinning everyday and there’s always something new to attract more readers for your blog.

Blogging Mistakes You Are Probably Making

1. You Are Not Keeping a Blog Schedule

Are you randomly deciding to write as and when you get inspiration? Today is the day you shut the door on that and get working on creating a blog schedule. Do you ever run out of ideas on what to write about? It used to happen to me until I decided to create a content schedule. Keeping a blog schedule helps you plan ahead on what to write. You never run out of ideas and your readers know they can always expect something awesome to read from you. You ever had a great blog post idea which you forget about two days later? Happens to the best of us. Keeping a blog schedule is also a fantastic disciplinary tool. You become more disciplined on your posting times.

What To Do:

Keep a little black book of blog ideas. Use it to jog 🖊down any ideas which pops into your mind whilst you are standing in line at the waakye joint (that happens to me alot). Keep that book with you everywhere. Transfer those ideas to the blog schedule below 👇🏾

Create a table in either Excel or Numbers depending on whether you are a Windows or Mac user. Name the tabs : BlogPost Title, Publish Date, Publishing Channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc) Status, Post Reach. It's not going to be easy at first but you will get used to it. Commitment comes slowly at a time.

Create a task on a task management app like Any.Do to remind you about upcoming blog posts. Scratch off completed tasks and reward yourself with a slice of red velvet cake. It’s every superheroes app.

2. There Are No BackLinks On Your Blog Posts

How is it that there are no backlinks on your blog posts? Not adding links can seriously reduce traffic on your blog and increase the bounce rate as well. Why do I say so? Any reader who visits your blog will want to know what you know. They are interested in knowing if you know your stuff. Have you researched enough on the topic? Is there anywhere else they can go for more info? For example, you are a food blogger writing about about 'the art of bread baking in Ghana’ but you want show there’s more information on breads in Ghana so you run a Wikipedia search result on breads in Ghana; then you create a link to the Wikipedia page using the hyperlink feature. Your reader nods their head and get to learn more. They will come back to your post so don’t worry about they not back tracking to your blog post. Your blog is awesome so they will.

What to do

Link to older blog posts you have written to give more insight on what it is you are currently working on. Readers get to stay longer on your blog.

Visit other similar blogs and comment on their posts i.e. something relevant and not just adding your blog link. Add your voice to a particular post and mention how you wrote something similar, inviting that blog’s audience to your digital estate.

3 . Zero Engagement With Your Readers

Reading reader comments is always a joy and I simply cannot let a day go by without responsing to a question from readers or simply leaving a thank you on an encouraging comment. If you aren’t responding to readers, today is a fantastic day to repent and become more engaged with your readers. Engaging with your readers shows you are a listening blogger, interested in reader’s opinions.

What to do

Easy. If your blog offers a Comments page in your settings, go back there and respond to old comments even if it’s just a ‘thank you’. Readers who have agreed (via clicking the checkbox) to be notified on any future responses on their comments will get an email on your response. Imagine how sunny you just made their day.

If your blog has been integrated with Facebook’s Instant Article, it’s even easier to respond to readers in the comment section. They also get a notification on your reply.

4. Not Taking Your Headlines Seriously

Headlines should grab attention but not be click-baits to poor content. Taking time to create an attention-grabbing headline should be one of your objectives for growing your blog traffic. Your headline should tell a reader instantly what to expect from your post. This also increases the SEO for your blog as internet crawlers and bots are looking for keywords in headlines and posts. Google ranks blog posts with keyword headlines. You want your blog to be found and highly ranked as well.

What to do

This article shares more technicalities on the importance of headlines for building high traffic.

5. You Are Staying Indoors

Just staying indoors as a blogger? How will you get great content? The best of content comes from discovering the outdoors and what’s happening in the city. It’s great to crawl the net looking for content but it’s not enough. It’s not even healthy ( think of your poor back).

What to do

Pack up your little black book from ☝🏽, your camera or phone and head out to a place you haven’t visited. You will be amazed about the amount of content you will get getting lost in your own city.

Call up a blog pal to join you and the two of you get to share an incredible adventure together. There's so much power in two's. All that golden content! Priceless!

There are many other things to work on as a blogger to build traffic and grow your blog audience but these are my top 5. Got any tips as well? I would love to read them in the comments section 😘.

I have been quite busy with my vegetable garden. No, that's not an excuse as to why I have not written more frequently 😝. But ever since I decided to grow common vegetables we eat at home as well as some popular herbs I find myself thinking of how they are doing even when I leave home. The weather hasn't been forgiving of late either. Climate change is really real and the rains are falling indiscriminately without any regard for sticking to the weather calendar. I am not surprised to learn therefore that onions are now being imported to Ghana. The rains are destroying the maturity of onions and Ghanaian farmers are getting frustrated and desperate; hence onions from Niger and the like 😐. I am just here thinking of the precious dollars being sent out of the country. *long sigh*

I planted swiss chard and out of the whole lot one seed actually made it! I have decided to allow the weather be all fussy and wait for the much drier season to plant some more. Swiss chard is a popular leafy green vegetable packing incredible health benefits. It's a popular vegetable used in Mediterranean dishes and it can be used for different meals depending on the leaf maturity stage. Younger leaves are great in salads whilst the more mature larger leaves can be sautéed or used in other forms of cooking ( thinking of Nkontonmire here).

So here I was with one swiss chard plant. It had grown quite large and very healthy. It was such an easy vegetable to grow and needed very little attention. I didn't have any diseases affecting it although I caught one grasshopper nibbling off some ends. That hopper didnt live to see the next day 😂😂.

I trimmed off about six large leaves to make a saute for breakfast. This recipe was very simple and I used ingredients I already had at home.

Wash the leaves in salt water or a store-bought vegetable wash if you'd prefer.

Line up the leaves and give them the BIG chop!

Swiss chard has a crunchy texture and chopping them up was such a delightful 'crunch' in my ear. Yes you can devour the white stalks of Swiss Chard. I think they were quite tasty. I sauteed it with garlic and some seasoning and it was freshly delightful!

Here's my recipe on how I cooked my sauteed Swiss Chard Omelette.

Ingredients:

6-8 large fresh Swiss Chard leaves

2 cloves of garlic

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt

dried thyme

dried parsley

Instructions

1. Wash leaves (front and back) in salted water for about a minute.

2. Chop in large chunks

3. Mince garlic using a garlic mince or thinly slice with a knife.

4. Place a pan on fire and lightly oil it.

5. Saute garlic in the oil till you smell the caramelising garlic fragrance (not when it's getting burnt)

6. Add Swiss Chard and the seasoning ( red pepper flakes, thyme, parsley and salt)

7. Cook for five minutes. Leaves will take on a darker green colour and will shrink substantially.

8. Whip two eggs and pour over the leaves. Lightly break up as eggs solidify to get it scrambled up.

9. Serve warm and enjoy with brown or white toast.

It doesn't have a slimy texture like cooked spinach does. It tastes vaguely like spinach and bok choy with a slight sweet flavour. As we enjoyed this simple meal, my body was already feeling all the vitamin K, A and C coursing through my body 😍😄.

I have planted more swiss chard seeds and looking forward to a much bigger harvest in the next few months.

So, have you planted Swiss Chard before? Have you eaten it before? What was it like for you? Do share in the comments below. Tag me on instagram @oyooquartey if you have before.

The hottest and fresh-out-of-the-oven couple Mr & Mrs Banky Wellington are still ruling our Instagram feed and there's no escaping the two lovebirds who had a brilliant white wedding in Cape Town, Africa. The white wedding was set against a gorgeous mountainous backdrop with perfect greenery signifying earthly freshness of marriage.

Susu marry me alreadyyy 😍😍😍😍😍 📸: @kelechiamadiobi All outfits: @maiatafo #BAAD2017 #weddingsbymai

A post shared by Banky W. (@bankywellington) on Nov 25, 2017 at 6:34am PST

The entire groom and his squad were swagged up in sharply-cut white slim fit tuxedos with black shirts.

#Brothers #Friends #BAADgang #Kingsmen #groomsmen #YorubaAndIgboAngels #BAAD2017

A post shared by Banky W. (@bankywellington) on Nov 25, 2017 at 10:57am PST

The BEST best man on the planet, @captdemuren.. #BAAD2017 #TheFinale #bestfriend #23yearsandcounting

A post shared by Banky W. (@bankywellington) on Nov 25, 2017 at 10:49am PST

The pretty bridesmaids were draped in satiny one-hand shoulder black bridesmaids gowns. The colour choice of black for a wedding is fast becoming a trend ( remember the black dress worn by Kim West at Serena William's wedding?) Top Nigerian fashion brand @Maiatafo was faultless in dressing up the entire team.

A post shared by Banky W. (@bankywellington) on Nov 25, 2017 at 6:25am PST

The Men in #Maiatafo #BAAD2017 THE FINALE #KingofTuxedos #tuxedoking #WeMaketheBestTuxedos

A post shared by Mai Atafo (@maiatafo) on Nov 25, 2017 at 12:17pm PST

Love was oozing out of every photo.

A post shared by Milly (@makeupbymildred) on Nov 25, 2017 at 1:15pm PST

Here's to forever in Jesus name... 🙏🏽😍😙 #BAAD2017 #TheFinale 📸: @kelechiamadiobi All outfits: @maiatafo #BAAD2017 #weddingsbymai

A post shared by Banky W. (@bankywellington) on Nov 25, 2017 at 6:24am PST

A post shared by NaijaOnPoint Blog (@nopblog) on Nov 25, 2017 at 1:11pm PST

From videos being shared it's obvious the reception was a 7th cloud experience as the couple danced on smoke-filled cloud sensation dance floor.

A post shared by BellaNaija (@bellanaijaonline) on Nov 25, 2017 at 11:51am PST

Wedding guests did not hold back from dressing to the nines.

A post shared by BellaNaija (@bellanaijaonline) on Nov 25, 2017 at 6:16am PST

A post shared by Noble Igwe (@noble_igwe) on Nov 25, 2017 at 12:29pm PST

These little heartbreakers had too much dapperness in their roles as page boys. Adorable Level 1000.

A post shared by Everythingeventz (@everythingeventz) on Nov 25, 2017 at 1:17pm PST

Can I for a second set you back to last week's viral photo of Ebuka in his Ugomonye agbada ? The fashion designer has exploded in his Instagram followers since Ebuka's post which he had to post twice by tagging in the designer in after several requests from his followers.

A post shared by Ebuka Obi-Uchendu (@ebuka) on Nov 19, 2017 at 5:11am PST

Look at that melanin jollof young king! An extremely fabulous outfit reserved for royalty! African Twitter couldn't have enough of this outfit.

The two most iconic moments in the history of Agbada. The Agbada hall of fame #Ebuka #Obasanjo #BAAD2017 pic.twitter.com/Pb18enQEWy
— Fortune Marvie (@Tungsten_Marvie) November 20, 2017

Already, local tailors and designers have started replicating Ebuka's Agbada.

FUNAAB student replicates #Ebuka's N280k Agbada. Hit or Miss? pic.twitter.com/LnTW2eKJVX
— Afuwape Abiodun (@abbeyafu) November 24, 2017

The #BAAD2017 wedding will most probably the most talked about and lavish wedding ending the year 2017. Possible?

So what do you think of the trend of black bridesmaids dresses? Is it a do for you or nah? And Ebuka's Agbada is this a design coming to Ghana soon? If not here already 🙄🤣.

* This is a repost of a friend's blog post; Wisdom Nuworkpor was nearly robbed by fake policemen. He wrote the post as a means of raising awareness about the new tactics being devised by criminals.*

Dear friends, the festive season is here with us again and it appears the criminals are devising all forms of guerilla tactics to outwit their unsuspecting preys. A few days ago, I almost became a victim but thanks be to God who sent an angel to deliver me. I am grateful to God for always being there for us.

Knowing that this tactics could be easily deployed on several other people, I decided to use this platform to give you a heads-up so that you can watch your back and remain safe.

My ordeal happened on the night of Monday, 27th November, 2017. On this day, at about 8:30pm, whilst heading towards Weija from Kaneshie, I heard a knock on the window of my car. This was a man dressed in the Ghana police uniform. I rolled down my window to listen to what he had to say. He accused me of running through Red light at the First light traffic light. He added that, they (he and his colleague who was by then sitting in a car behind me) had been chasing me and had called for help from their patrol team. I looked in my rear mirror and saw that the car they supposedly used in chasing me was private car. He insisted on sitting in my car (like they always do in Ghana) but I said no and asked him to follow me to a safer place so I could pull over. He joined his colleague in the private car and they followed me and i pulled over at the Odorkor junction where there were quite a number for pedestrians minding their own business.

I came out of the car and locked the doors and asked of my offence and they (two of them) announced my charge to to me and asked me to make a U-turn because they were arresting me and sending me to the Odorkor MTTU. This was a surprise to me because I know for sure I didn't run through the traffic light. The argument continued but they insisted they were four police officers in all (thus these two and two others waiting for me at the Odorkor MTTU).

Knowing that the police can sometimes unnecessary waste one’s time, I thought the wisest thing to do was to cut short the argument and plead with them to release me. In principle, I admitted the offence. That appeared to have given them the upper hand. I then tried to “sort” them out with some “kola nut” so i could could be released. That was when they advised that we should “talk” in my car. For the Ghanaians reading this account, I am sure you do understand what I mean.

Upon giving them access to my car (that is, one in front and the other on the back seat), I called a colleague in the Service to talk to them with the hope that, they will understand their language. Then one of them retorted that, “massa”, that was not the agreement." he thought I had promised to sort them out and now I was calling an officer. They did speak to this officer but I noticed that, when my friend asked for their service number, they could not provide that. That immediately sent me a signal to be careful with these guys. They asked my friend to meet us at the Odorkor MTTU.

Now this is the interesting part, whilst these discussions between my friend in the service and these supposedly policemen were going on, an “angel” knocked on the the drivers side window and when I rolled down, he asked the police officers why they were intimidating me. He said he had been observing us for some time and wanted to know what was going on. The police officers in my car quickly narrated the incident to him and he asked of their names. He asked of their office and they said Odorkor MTTU. He then said that he is a Sergeant at the Odorkor MTTU and does not know these guys. He then asked me to open the door so we will go to the police station together. To my amazement, the police officers immediately said that they had just received a radio message that they should discontinue my case and attend to some more urgent stuff. Truth is, i did not hear any radio message.

Then it occurred to me that these guys (Corporal Eric and Corporal Francis, surnames forgotten) did not have their service numbers or names on their uniforms) and this could explain why they could not provide it when my service colleague asked for it.

After they run away, the “angel” who gave his name as Sergeant Agyemang George of the Odorkor MTTU took some time to educate me on what to look out for from a genuine police officer and the risk I had exposed myself too. I will like to take this opportunity to acknowledge him and thank him immensely for his intervention and saving me from the hands of these criminals.

Subsequently, I also spoke to Chief Inspector Alhassan of the PIPS unit (a very good friend) to get some insights into how to keep myself, family and friends safe.

I summarise herewith the advice of both Chief Inspector Alhassan and Sergeant Agyemang, which I believe will be useful to you and your loved ones in these times.

Every police officer from the rank of constable to Sergeant in Ghana must have his name and service number clearly displayed on their uniform. From the rank of Inspector and above, only the name is required to be displayed.

2. The police officer on duty should be able to produce his ID card when demanded.

3. Don’t open your doors for the police officer to sit in. The car is yours and not theirs. Ask the police to tell you which station they intend to take you and ask them to follow your car to the that station or MTTU. If they are criminals, they can easily hijack your car once they sit in your car. Be careful and be guided accordingly.

4. When you suspect any untoward behaviour, you may want to reach out on the police emergency line.

5. If you find this piece useful, please feel free to share.

I wish you all and safe and enjoyable Christmas and a happy new year.

Source: Wisdom Nuworkpor (The PrequelMoment)

Any restaurant with a name like Capitol, immediately lends a hand to prospective diners to imagine dining in a setting which evokes good tasting food memories long-past. I mean think of the Capitol building which I am sure this restaurant 'borrowed' the name from. Historic, long-standing and filled with the footfall echoes of leaders long gone. Huddled between Koala Supermarket and modern town houses, Capitol Cafe & Restaurant however failed on all counts to give that experience.

Finding a decent parking spot at Capitol was a major struggle and that should have been my first signal to go somewhere else. Ever tried reverse parking between two cars which have partially heaved themselves on both pavement and road, whilst the front of your car is facing oncoming traffic? The food had better compensate for this struggle.

The interior of Capitol is sleek & modern without a hint of historic vibes which the name itself promised. We were greeted by a uniformed lady and when I asked if breakfast was available she eagerly nodded. Imagine how crushed we were when our attending waitress informed as breakfast was over. Why I did not pay attention to those red flags beat me. Why I did not immediately and delicately motion for my husband for us to head out the door, totally beats me.

The menu failed to excite. It was a typical Lebanese and continental menu offering nothing fresh and new. Looking at the menu, one would be largely tempted to think, 'I have eaten this before.' even though it was their first time at the restaurant. I must have flipped through about four times before settling on a Chicken Schnitzel. My husband went in for the GHC84 Grilled Salmon with fish fingers as a starter. Other menu items were slightly industry priced, not showing any difference from eating at other continental restaurants in Osu.

It's a mildly quiet restaurant with occasional shrieks of toddlers presenting the restaurant as a family-friendly eatery. Conversation flow is easy and light as the sun streams through the large windows in the upstairs alcove where diners get a real-time view of chefs at work.

The interiors really looked like they could do with a major happy hug reserved for the saddest of people. I looked down at the fake flower centre-piece and tried not to be distracted by the unbalanced table which wobbled every now and then.

The fish fingers appeared in less than 10minutes and i was stunned by the appearance of french fries huddled beneath the pyramid of fish fingers. We were at the risk of being full before the appearance of the main course. Bland but crispy fish fingers which was only okay with a bit of sweet chilli sauce condiment politely placed earlier on by the waitress.

The Chicken Schnitzel was a rip-off. It was as though I was being fed with pre-packaged ready-to-fry breadcrumbed chicken breasts with hardly any spice or herb flavouring. Where's the parsley? No salt? Beneath the chicken was a clumpy soggy sauteed garlic potatoes which looked like it wanted to be anywhere but on my plate. Sitting atop all that was a desolate lemon slice and butter. My husband's eyebrows actually shot up in surprise at such a presentation. If you are a typical British with a heart for bland food then this would be an absolute delight.

His wasn't any better. The Grilled salmon resembled something slapped by an angry hot grill also atop the same soggy sautéed garlic potatoes with a side of greens. That's an expensive GHC84 meal. Also as bland as the Schnitzel with less colour. French fries and now sautéed potatoes.

We skipped dessert. It was a difficult trudge up the hill for both of us and as we paid our GHC 130 bill, we just promised ourselves; never again.

But do visit Capitol if your palate is more appreciative of less/zero spice in food. For that I can guarantee you quite an okay experience.

Find Capitol here

THE KUMODZI RESTAURANT RATING : ⭐️

The Kumodzi Restaurant Rating:

* ⭐️ is a restaurant which is spotless, very affordable, basic amenities in place, food is just okay, service is average.

*⭐️⭐️ - Above average hygiene conditions, polite and reliable service, staff are responsive, basic amenities, food is exciting and tasty with wider variety, affordable, mobile money payment options, family and group friendly.

*⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Worth driving to and trying everything on the menu. Reliable and responsive service from staff, family and group friendly environment, online payment options available, parking services, easy access to location.

*⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Exceptional and well presented food, outstanding and flawless service from staff, executive space for VIP services, seamless online payment options.

*⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Flawless and outstanding food and service offerings. Diner focused and awareness of allergies and wine preferences. Menu offers vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian offerings.

Who knew I would ever get another big chop after 4 years since I transitioned from perm to natural hair. As you know I have been growing my hair over the years and the simply joy of seeing new length was always super exciting! I was learning new things about my hair month after month. I learnt not to be frustrated about shrinkage and love the rich density of my coils.

So what changed?

I needed a new look first of all. I loved the whole afro look and the different tuck-and-pin styles I could come up with but I was eager to change things up. That's when I turned to Pinterest and my eyes got caught on short natural hairstyles. I was hooked. But could I? They looked sooo outrageously bold! Especially the tapered mohawk styles. My friend Shari had also shorn her really long dreadlocs to my utter shock! But she looks super cute now. My heart fluttered with excitement. Could I really? This style was my inspiration ( my Pinspiration)

I felt my hair needed a reboot after the different styling experiences it had undergone this year; dyeing it red which came out blue and later turned golden brown, braiding about four times this year and using at least three different shampoo brands as well. My edges were getting tired. Let's start afresh.

It took me about three months to actually take that step. I would casually pass comments to my husband to psyche him for my new look, 'I want to cut my hair oh!' He would also casually look at me and laugh, 'cut it eh! But if it doesn't grow back, I will laugh at you!' 'Yoo!' came my response. I did the same to my Mom , psyching her to test the waters. She would burst out, 'Don't cut it!' I would roll my eyes and laugh.

Last week, my husband said he was going to the barber. This was my moment! 'Oh great! Let's go together.' It was almost comical. We were both going to get a haircut. I was going to the barber's! Woot! This was going to be fun.

We went to Davies Place in East Legon. I waited about 30 minutes for the barber to finish cutting one customer and then my husband's hair. So much time spent on their low-cut hair 😩. How much time was he going to spend on mine? About 35 minutes it turned out to be. I felt like the day I was going to SHS the first time when I got the big chop at New World Haircut. Remember that barbering salon?

Look at those edges 😫

The barber was very patient with my hair as he combed through and delicately cut through. I was super nervous and kept watching him the whole time 😅.

And then it was all over. I looked 16 😅 but I loved it! There was so much air passing around my ears! Shouldn't I have kept my shorn hair and sold it ? Pure African Virgin Natural Hair 😂.

And there was the line ( aboi as we call it in Ga) which had to definitely make it's mark 😁.

I know I can't get the curly look like my Pinspiration but nothing a good old foam can't solve. I am not about to texturize my hair just to get some curls in.

So the plan is to grow the mohawk and twist it out. My husband loves it and can't stop running his hands over it and saying 'now the small boys will be chasing me' 😆.

It's so much easier washing my hair now and I can pay more attention to the new growth. I also sleep without a a scarf now which is like a relief!

So let me ask you. Would you consider getting a short natural hairstyle after growing your natural hair length? What would be your motivating factor to do so? Let's have a chat in the comments below.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts continues to demonstrate hospitality best practice as they hosted the first edition of Ghana Expatriate Business Awards

On Monday, 4th December, Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra was crowned as a leader in the ‘Tourism & Hospitality’ category at the first edition of the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards.

GM of Movenpick Axel Hauser

The hotel was awarded for its outstanding contributions, accomplishments and service towards the development of the hospitality sector in the country.

The Award recognizes Mövenpick for its exceptionally high standards in product quality, increase in business activities, hotel service delivery and guest satisfaction.

Keynote speaker His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo

Hon. Alan Kyeremanteng delivering his speech at the awards

Former President Jerry John Rawlings & Wife Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings

The hotel industry in Ghana employs about 500,000 people, consisting mainly of the youth, and promotes the modernization of the country by giving a platform to foreign visitors to form their first impressions about the country. A recent report by PWC’s Hospitality Outlook 2017-2021, suggests that the Ghanaian hotel industry is expected to grow 1.1% in 2017, 2.1% in 2018 and 2.3% in 2019. As a major emerging market in Africa, the study highlights that investors are increasingly eyeing opportunities in Ghana. The country continues to attractlocal and international brands to the country, including within the hospitality sector.

Guests & Dignitries At the Ghana Expatriate Business Awards.jpg

Harmattan is here with ferocity! But isn't it interesting how it's not as super dry as it used to be? I remember how I once woke up with a nose bleed! Eww..those where the days! 😆 The low visibility attributed to the Sahara dust strolling down from the North is definitely making it's presence felt and the heat has doubled up! It's still highly crucial to keep up your moisturising routine.

I recently discovered a new shea-butter brand called Nokware Skincare and as you know the market is slowly becoming saturated with shea-butter and alata samina (Black Soap) hair and skin products. This makes it difficult in choosing which to add to your beauty routine because you wonder if it's truly organic as the labelling says and whether indeed there's an absence of parabens. But after using this new Ghanaian beauty brand's Almond & Avocado Oil laced shea-butter, I can't help but be more convinced that, it's the real deal.

Introducing Nokware’s range of body butters 🎉! There's something for everyone: There’s body butter for that summertime glow💫,blemished skin, black spots, thirsty skin, and there’s something extra special chocolate lovers too🍫! • • • #nokwareskincare #sheabutter #bodybutter #organicskincare #naturalskincare #africanskincare #africa #skincare #love #organic #vegan #crueltyfreeskincare #crueltyfree #beauty #cosmetics

A post shared by Nokware Skincare (@nokwareskincare) on Dec 11, 2017 at 5:57am PST

The very rustic use of natural Ghanaian elements such as calabashes as containers for it's soap line and jute easily helps you to identify the product on any shelf. A truly definitive packaging.

The varying range of body butters ( also great for my natural hair and yours) spoils me for choice and I don't regret choosing the Almond & Avocado and the glorious Neem Oil Black Soap. All these natural ingredients are highly touted as containing rich nutrients for skin and total body care.

How To Use Shea Body Butter In Your Everyday Life

Skincare

As a food and lifestyle blogger, my hands are always busy and easily get's dry from being exposed to cooking oils, spices, water, long periods of typing etc. And now there's harmattan 😩! You catch my drift. Our hands need to be moisturised more than once a day so it makes perfect sense to have a one of the body butters' in your handbag or car. I have kept mine by my laptop and at least every other hour, I moisturise. After cooking, I moisturise. The harmattan isn't kind either, reducing dry and crackly-looking skin means using the shea body butter at every opportunity you get. The shea body butter does magic on the really dry stubborn parts such as the elbows and heels. I know mine are super thankful right now. The fragrance of the body butter truly speaks of only organic products in it's production.

Haircare

After cutting my hair, it's now much easier maintaining it but doesn't mean I have been absolved from moisturising and keeping a healthy natural hair. Definitely free of parabens, the body butter also has worked perfectly with my hair transforming and giving it a more luscious feel. If you have ever used Avocado oil on your hair, you would know what I am going on about (Please say you have!) Work through the ends of your hair to the scalp with the soft & very succulent shea butter and the shea will do the rest.

Facial & Body Wash

It's been almost a week since I started using Nokware as a key addition in my total skincare routine. The Neem Oil Black Soap lathers excellently for my facial and body wash. It lathers very well and I let it sit on my face for about 2 minutes. It's time I got their loofah as well to make my facial wash more luxurious! Wash your face morning and evening before bed to gain the benefits of using the wash. Alata samina with blends of Baobab Oil and Neem Oil makes me believe they are actually skin elixirs. Isn't it interesting how Ghanaians are using and loving their local resources which have added value? This wasn't so some years back.

A post shared by Nokware Skincare (@nokwareskincare) on Oct 21, 2017 at 5:59am PDT

What do I dislike about the product? Nothing yet. The price is sokoo! Pretty easy on the pocket between the range of GHC8- GHC 11 and you can buy online at nowkareskincare.com or send them a DM on Instagram. Oh the service is also 🤘🏾🤘🏾!

Do you use sheabutter in your skincare routine? How has it worked out for you? Do share in the comments below.

I was financially compensated for this post. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

There are fewer things in life which will drive my curiosity enough to drive 35 minutes for a note-worthy experiential moment. A highly rated newly released blockbuster, a must-watch stage play, a street art carnival and cubanos. I would literally cross borders to another country for cubanos.

After watching Chef for a 'meagre' 7 times ( don't judge me), I knew it was only a matter of time before I sank my teeth into a well-crusted toasted baguette filled with generous mounds of mojo pork slices, pickles and cheese. That matter of time came during one summer holiday in Manhattan. My husband brought home a cubanos sandwich from Guantanamera restaurant and for five minutes we were floating on cloud nine. Unforgettable!

So back to how we drove 35 minutes to Ako Adjei to experience cubanos at Little Havana Afro-Latino Cuban Cantina. After clean eating for a week, we decide to have our cheat day start day on Saturday evening to last till Sunday. I was seriously pumped!

Little Havana huddles between two typical Ako-Adjei estate houses with it’s unmissable lime-green coloured colonial-style wooden shutters and street-art leaf painted walls. It’s almost impossible to miss it. The restaurant with it’s open doors calls out to prospective diners passing by on the streets to walk into it’s warm embrace. "Hola 👋🏻👋🏼👋🏼!"

It was a quiet Saturday evening and being the only diners in the place, I was afforded the private chance of drinking in the cuban-inspired decor. Painted portraits of aged Havana women possibly inspired by ‘Smoking Graciela’ also smoking unlit cuban cigars whilst staring defiantly at the artist, vintage cars stuck in motion with a smattering of wildlife paintings hang on a partitioning wall. We immediately got the attention of a waiter who led us to a table for two.

The drinks menu was as expected; an array of aged rum-influences and choosing a mojito was such a classic move on both our parts. The mojito was perhaps the best tasting mojito I have ever had in Accra. A perfect balance between the mint leaves, white rum, sugar, lime juice and soda water down to the crushed ice. Not too sugary and not too minty.

A side of divinely crunchy sweet potatoes was a lucky strike with the mojito.

The food menu came not too long after although we both knew without a glance at it, what our menu choice was. Cubanos please. Thank you. Very. Much.

Salsa music flowed from invisible speakers in the dining area whilst the bartender mixed drinks at the bar.

Whilst waiting for your meal, grab a fedora hat and take your best selfie or stroll through the photo gallery in the restaurant area for a glimpse of Fidel Castro in his regime moments.

The cubano’s finally arrived! I was a bit deflated by the thinness of the sandwich.

My first bite was an expected crunch which was right on time. First bite down and we both shook our head. It wasn’t the same as the cubano’s we had at Guantanamera Restaurant in Manhattan. Were we asking for too much? No I don’t think so. Anyone who boasts of being the only Cuban restaurant in West Africa should live up to the hype. The cubanos was too cheesy and the overly generous pickles overwhelmed the overall taste. The key player; the roast pork was hardly noticed from start to finish. It was actually surprising to learn there was also ham. It was an okay sandwich to have when hungry but if you are looking for the authentic cubanos taste, this didn’t quite cut it. And at GHC40 come on, give us some roast pork here!

Our waiter asked for our feedback and we gave it as succinctly as possible. Ghanaians have a hard time dealing with negative feedback or any form of criticism. He tried explaining (foodsplaining) and had a frown but i think he managed it well. We just had to explain to him that ‘ it wasn’t bad oh! It’s just not an authentic cubanos from what we had eaten in cuban restaurants’. We promised to come back and he seemed a bit placated and later came to tell us the chef said next time it will be to our expectations. Yay!

Overall, Little Havana Ghana gives a sultry afro-latino vibe from their fun Friday salsa nights to the warm lighting, excellent mojito’s and okay cubanos , it’s worth a visit or becoming a regular.

Find LittleHavanaGhana here.

THE KUMODZI RESTAURANT RATING : ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Kumodzi Restaurant Rating Guide:

* ⭐️ is a restaurant which is spotless, very affordable, basic amenities in place, food is just okay, service is average.

*⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- Exceptional and well presented food, outstanding and flawless service from staff, executive space for VIP services, seamless online payment options.

It’s a typical poor visibility day in East Legon and everywhere else in Accra as I climbed up the short steps leading to the entrance of Vida Cafe East Legon. The usual Portuguese greeting was thrown at me like flipped pancake hitting a skillet , as I walked towards the coffee & sandwich counter. It was easy recognising Benard Sokpe thanks to his current artist-drawn profile photo on Twitter.

At first glance, his soft eyes and almost shy but friendly smile makes it difficult to connect the same guy you think you ‘know’ on Twitter. That was how I first ‘met' Benard Sokpe aka MistaMeister. One of my followers retweeted a tweet he shared after being published in one of the local newspapers. I clicked on his bio and scrolled through his timeline. Oh herh! Several highly sarcastic, savage & witty tweets jumped out at me with a few racy ones. Twitter boys i thought to myself *eyes rolled* and i followed. He followed back.

We chose the back booth in the corner of the cafe to have our chat. The waiter brought his cappuccino and brown baguette and my Early Grey tea which was calming as usual.

So Benard, share a bit about your early school days

I was a student at PRESEC and as a student who had chosen to study Visual Arts I was often teased by my peers. Back then, much respect wasn’t shown to students who chose the arts specifically Visual Arts. There was the perception that such students hadn’t earned the right grades to study the sciences or more ‘important’ subjects. It also seemed hard for people to accept that a student can actually without duress or external influence, choose to study Visual Arts. Sometimes as we sat beneath the pottery shed moulding and working on clay, our peers would pass by and sneer, “you people dierr you no come school.” But I loved the arts. I have loved drawing ever since I was little. My Mom would often call me to draw create portraits of relatives who came to visit. One time we went to a village and she asked me to draw the village scenery and some of the old ladies. This part of me has been a major influence in my work as a graphic designer over the years.

I continued on to KNUST to study Communication Design - a rebrand from Graphic Design. Even in KNUST, it was common to have other students tease you about your course selection. But I knew that nothing makes me more happy or driven than what I am passionate about.

What would you say led you into planning of events?

Back in KNUST, I had four friends and together we came up with INSOMNIA ENTERTAINMENT where we would keep people awake with parties on campus. I then met Beryl Agyekum CEO of Echo House back then in school and showed interest in being part of her publishing team for her student magazine. It was a regular magazine featuring stories on student strikes, department activities etc. After the first edition, that’s when I joined as an editor and came up with an idea to organise a party on campus and to have the content of the party published in the magazine. We hyped the party and the party was a hit! The magazine also increased in popularity. The second edition completely run out as students who came to the party rushed to get copies just to see themselves on the pages. Soon, it became a thing for students organising events to have Echo House be a sponsor for their events to be published in the magazine. We earned money by covering these events. This was back in 2009-2010. I became a general manager in my 3rd and 4th year where I was handling almost everything from content, team management and graphic designing.

I remember one time how we helped a rundown bar in Kumasi called TimeOut to rise out of the ashes to become a hit bar. We rebranded it by changing the lights, signage, created fliers and renamed the bar to Insomnia and hyped it on campus. It was a hit as well. Most of the students thought I had bought a club and patronised it even more. I loved the whole vibe of entertainment event planning.

As a Graphic Designer, did you work freelance after school or you got a job in an agency?

Thanks to the work i did at Echo House, my work got noticed by a new agency in town and I soon found myself as a their in-house graphic designer. It was a very different environment for me. My workflow involves painstaking time to get the concept right but at the agency, it was working on demand with briefs being pushed at you with a very short delivery time. Highly intense. Whilst there, I tried my hands at several things; copy writing, social media, documentaries, radio and tv ads concepts etc. One day a friend recommended that I apply to a social media manager vacancy position at Vodafone because she saw how good I also was at creating content for social media for clients.

That’s how come I ended up at Vodafone .

How different was it working in a corporate environment as compared to an agency ?

At the agency i was able to explore my different interests and do different things which were still connected to my passion. My time at Vodafone, I believe shaped me into how I am today. It was more of a defined structure style of working, i understood more about diversity, how to work with agencies as a client and have a richer understanding of organisational structure. I started work there just when the company was focused on rebranding and creating customer loyalty. It was interesting how in the corporate environment, I had to deal with approvals for creative work through several channels. You know social media must always be on point with content and must move fast as well. I took things in my hands and created all kinds of content, increase the Facebook page likes, shared fun content for the target audience. I just wanted to be in that environment. Not knowing all that I was doing was noticed by Uche Ofodile. At the Vodafone Hero Awards, I was picked as one of the heroes to my utter shock. I picked up several marketing awards which really boosted my confidence. I started running training internally and being more visible in the company.

So Mr. Eazi. What’s the story here?

Mr. Eazi and I were actually studying at KNUST in the same year. He was a friend then who was very entrepreneurial as a student. He was also at the same time organising entertainment events for Nigerian students on campus around the same time we had INSOMNIA just that ours was targeted at Ghanaian students. He was very good at it. He brought Sarkodie to one of his events. I used to wonder how he managed to combine his Engineering course with his side gigs. He owned most of the sharwarma spots on campus and was running a taxi business as well. He was 17 doing crazy entrepreneurial gigs. So Eazi and I decide to collaborate together on some events. It was during this time that I realised that he was good at mimicking other artistes. He asked for studio time one time and recorded his first song called My Life.

After school he was still on campus running his businesses. Eazi hyped himself and his music in the early times by sending emails to bloggers and other websites. He also did his Masters at the Telecomm University and I wondered how he combined that with his work but he would come stay with me in Accra and make time to study.

I told him he could do more with his music and I could push it for him. After listening to Bankulize , I was like ‘herh! this is dope!’ I sent it to Ms. Naa to push it for airtime.

Around that time, he had started a startup called Obiwezy with another Nigerian which he pitched to investors for funding.

He had a falling out with his partner and he diverted into creating PhoneTrader.Edge which partnered with Airtel. So i would help him with his music whilst he focused on the startup. And things picked up from there.

What’s your career path now?

Currently, I am a brand consultant for several companies. After Vodafone, I took a job at Tigo, Tonaton, FIDO and Hubtel. I made a decision to stick to branding because I knew that’s where I needed to be. I looked at the long-term and decided to stick to what I loved to do. I was making revenue from working as Mr. Eazi’s brand manager and also from my day job at Hubtel also as their brand manager during their rebranding from SMSGH. The work of a brand person is to produce an experience worth more than a given budget. If you give me 1000 cedis, I would give you an experience worth 10,000 cedis but it will be a 10,000 cedis value release over a long term period. Dealing with people’s emotions isn’t a short-cut solution, it’s a long-term investment. It’s actually difficult marrying branding and numbers. The people who deal in numbers are more interested in immediate yields. As a company you have to work hard and aim at being a lovemark Brand. An example of a love mark brand is Coca-Cola and Arsenal. Irrespective of how things turn out, people will still defend the product. At Hubtel, I launched the #RethinkSeries to build brand loyalty but after two sessions management cancelled it due to budget limitations or perhaps not enough commitment towards building the lovemark brand.

After Hubtel, I decided to settle down and to venture out on my own to consult for brands. I am actually more focused and even less stressed now as a consultant having different projects to work on. That’s what makes it exciting!

Follow Benard on Twitter

Pick Your Startup Name from These 22 Select Ga Words ..jpg

Generating a great startup name can be a quite a task, isn’t it? And especially if you want to avoid using your personal name, religious connotations ( which are very popular with small businesses and corner stores ) or downright pirating of existing global companies, then picking the perfect business name can be daunting and frustrating.

For the past 5-8 years, Akan and a few Northern language catch phrases and words have become quite the thing for Ghanaian startups to use for their business names. A few of these are; SikaApp, Aduanehene, Mmofra Park, NokwareSkincare, Mintoma, Adongo, Jaara, Tonaton etc. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the use of Akan words & phrases don’t get me wrong but what of the Ga language ?

A few startups have taken to the use of Ga words to name their businesses such as Jaarnor meaning market, Hei Julor meaning ‘Hey Thief’ picked by a security firm; TeaBaa meaning tea leaves is a popular eatery in Osu, Forhey meaning to wash used by a laundry startup. Are these startups owned by Ga founders? Not really.

Here are my select list of common Ga words ( mostly nouns) with their meanings and also the industry they can be applied to. I will also share a trick being used by startup name generators to make it way easier than just using the words. You are welcome.

Shia

Meaning: House

Industry: Real Estate / Mortgage Startups

2. Sanfle

Meaning : Key

Industry: Fintech Startups

3. Tsone

Meaning: Car

Industry: Transport / Ride Sharing Startups

4. Gbek3

Meaning: Child

Industry: Maternity & Baby Supplies Startups

5. Tsofa

Meaning: Drug

Industry: Medical startups

6. Samla

Meaning: Soap

Industry: Laundry/Detergent Supplies Startups

7. Saatso

Meaning: Bed

Industry : Interior-design and accessories startups

8. Adoawa

Meaning: Fruit

Industry: Greens & Organics Startups

9. Dzama

Meaning: Celebration

Industry: Entertainment Startups

10. Gowa

Meaning: Guava fruit

Industry: Veggies & Fruits/Fashion Startups

11. Akutu

Meaning: Orange fruit

Industry : Veggies & Fruits/ Beverage Startups

12. Hunu

Meaning: Sun

Industry: Fintech/ Energy Startups

13. Sunde

Meaning: Pillow

Industry: Interiors/Artwork Startups

14. Sane

Meaning: Issues

Industry: Law Firm Startups

15. Manye

Meaning: Queen

Industry: Fashion/ Beauty Startups

16. Ashinor

Meaning: Beads

Industry: Fashion/ Crafts Startups

17. Tsuru

Meaning: The color Red

Industry: Fintech / Medical Startups

18. Dzata

Meaning : Lion

Industry: Fintech/ Fashion / Agribusiness/ Petshop

19. Hewale

Meaning: Healthy

Industry: Medical / Automobile / Music Studio Startup

20. Kunim

Meaning : Victory

Industry: Fintech / Religious App Startups

21. Falefale

Meaning: Neatness

Industry: Cleaning Services / Housekeeping Startups

22. Suban

Meaning: Character

Industry: Educational Startup

Although not a comprehensive list, these are some easy words to inspire naming your startup.

Does your startup need social media consultancy advice? Do you need one-on-one bespoke social media training for your startup? Reach out now.

The trick I mentioned to find that great startup name? Combine two words in the list to create a single startup name . Example: HunuTsuru ( Red Sun) ManyeAshinor ( Queen Beads). Word combination is great not only in this aspect of using Ga words but also for other local languages.

Now it’s so much easier thinking of the name for your startup isn’t it? Think of this; ManyeCouture , Hewale Studio, Kunim Money Wallet, Sunde Interiors, cool isn’t it? Make sure to check the availability of these names on the various social media platforms before you get all excited. If available, save it for later and perhaps start thinking of the domain availability as well. You can also ask your existing customers or prospective audience on the new name to gauge their receptiveness towards it.

Which word was your favourite? Do you know other Ga words which will be awesome for naming a startup? I would love to know them as well, please share in the comments below.

Ingredients

Instructions:

Whiskers

Why You Should Absolutely Take Some Self-Love Time

The Vacancy

The Research

Updating My resume

Interview Day

This is Lloyd Mensah according to Mama Tess:

Aforementioned car

Blogging Mistakes You Are Probably Making

1. You Are Not Keeping a Blog Schedule

2. There Are No BackLinks On Your Blog Posts

Read More: How I Nailed My First Job, Thanks To Freelancing

3 . Zero Engagement With Your Readers

4. Not Taking Your Headlines Seriously

5. You Are Staying Indoors

Instructions

Look at those edges 😫

How To Use Shea Body Butter In Your Everyday Life

Skincare

Haircare

Facial & Body Wash

So Benard, share a bit about your early school days

What would you say led you into planning of events?

As a Graphic Designer, did you work freelance after school or you got a job in an agency?

How different was it working in a corporate environment as compared to an agency ?

So Mr. Eazi. What’s the story here?

What’s your career path now?

Shia

2. Sanfle

3. Tsone

4. Gbek3

5. Tsofa

6. Samla

7. Saatso

8. Adoawa

9. Dzama

10. Gowa

11. Akutu

12. Hunu

13. Sunde

14. Sane

15. Manye

16. Ashinor

17. Tsuru

18. Dzata

19. Hewale

20. Kunim

21. Falefale

22. Suban

Does your startup need social media consultancy advice? Do you need one-on-one bespoke social media training for your startup? Reach out now.