Looking for a platform that has everything to do with Ghana? Ghana Made is your friend!
GhanaMade is a digital media company which thrives on the energy of the Culture. Ghana Made celebrates everything Ghanaian and African – people, places, experiences, music, creatives, history, achievements, and more. GhanaMade was established on December 25, 2016 on Instagram. Freddy Coleman (Founder) started the brand during that winter season because he was one of those unlucky ones who did not get to go to Ghana for the December festivities and had to rely on his friends’ social media stories to see the action. After some thinking, he considered how many other people were going through the same struggle that he was. “It made sense then and still does now – why not create a platform which can immerse an audience in Ghanaian or overall Afro-focused experiences. GhanaMade was born, and I never looked back” says Freddy.
From curating music playlists of inspired moods or favourite artistes via Apple Music and Spotify to using social channels to allow their audience to experience top-tier events in music and culture digitally whilst ensuring to keep them in the loop with what Ghanaians are doing across the globe. The aim is to introduce their audience to more creative focused personalities and developments. They have red carpet hosted the Ghanaian Independence celebrations in New York City each year since their founding. Ghana Made provides digital media services such as online promotions, social media consulting; and experience curation services such as red carpet hosting, travel curations, and event management marketing.
One thing Ghana Made wants to achieve as a brand is to make people feel something different when they view Ghana. After interacting with the platform digitally or through a curated experience, their GhanaMade family (as they like to call it) should be able to say they felt a bit closer to their Ghanaian roots – that they feel “GhanaMade”. The brand strongly believes that when you can affect how someone feels about something, you can then affect how they think about it. They want to instil a sense to be unapologetically African.
Take us through the GhanaMade Team?
GhanaMade is led by a global team of 5 individuals that span over three continents and they each bring unique backgrounds which make them critical to GhanaMade’s success. As the platform grew, I have been fortunate to have really great people to take the vision to heart. Adrian, better known as DJ Neizer, was the earliest to join the team. He has a lot of experience in the Ghanaian entertainment industry as a DJ in-residence based in Ghana. Dani is based on my side of the Atlantic in the US. She also has a strong entertainment background, and knows when a new track is coming out – even before the artist themselves know it. Cathryn is our UK based team member. Her deep ties in London and her breath of ideas have given the brand a lot of structure since she joined. And Habecca, who recently joined this year, is also based in the US. With her creative fashion background, GhanaMade is forming up to have an energetic and vibrancy to stand out amongst our peers – physically and digitally.
Together the GhanaMade team has a wealth of experiences and perspectives that allows us to offer a lot to our global community.
Where do you see GhanaMade in the next 3 years?
In the next 3 years, GhanaMade would truly be a name to be reckoned with. GhanaMade would be more than a digital outlet, but a creative community from end-to-end: a space for people to create and discover to share exhibit – whether that be art that we can see, read, hear, or feel.
Why start a brand to uplift Ghanaians at home and abroad?
If not us, who will uplift the community like GhanaMade; if not now, when will someone bring recognition of our community like GhanaMade? There are so many great things that are coming out of Ghanaian communities and there is not enough attention being brought to them. It is amazing to see the achievements of our people individually; however, we can push the community to the next level if we coordinate our efforts. GhanaMade continues to strive to be the premier platform to celebrate our people. It is a part of our culture as an organisation to invite greater interest in Ghanaian and African affairs, and instil a stronger sense of cultural heritage.
Are you looking into venturing into events, merch etc.?
It is funny that you ask this question. There is still so much to see from the brand in the near future. Last year we did a lot of work partnering with several organisations in the entertainment space throughout the year. We averaged about 1-2 major events every month. Some of the events that we really enjoyed were “Afrobeats to the World” in New York, “Live with Kwesi Arthur” in London, “GhanaFest” in Chicago, and “Tribvl Africa” in Accra. As it is the nature of the creative space, it is still early days for us to define the limits of what we will venture doing.
Money, status and power? Put these in order of importance and give a reason why?
Power, status, money. As much as money makes moves, I think when it comes to the creative space having the power to create good content is more meaningful. What is in the mind cannot be bought, but with the right environment and encouragement you can influence a whole community. To have the ability to influence, you would need status – something that our team has been working hard investing in GhanaMade’s status. I put money last because I believe when power and status is focused on a venture worthwhile, the right monetary result will make itself available. GhanaMade will see this come to pass.
How much effort goes into creating content for the brand?
Initially, it took a lot of planning. We originally started exclusively as a content curator which in itself can be challenging to source the right media to convey our vision to our audience. It was and still is critical to understand what works taking into account whatever is happening in the news, cultural festivals, day of the week, and geographies as well. It has become a bit easier as we are slowly developing the communities and the identity for creatives to contribute to our movement. So looking at our track record – we have had a number of good wins with engaging with our audience. Now entering a phase of predominantly original content whether that be visual, audible, or readable – there is more planning and review before we publish.
One quote you live by?
“The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart.” – Kwame Nkrumah
Now more than ever, it is so important to encourage the unity between Ghana and the Diaspora. If the Year of the Return did anything, it signalled to the world that the unification of black people culturally, politically, and economically is inevitable. GhanaMade is a brand which stands in the light of this.
5 random facts about Ghana?
1) Kofi Annan was the most recent African Secretary-General of the United Nations.
2) Ghana was rated the fastest growing economy in 2019.
3) The Satellite Launch
4) The Google Venture Hub
5) Osu Mantse Education Fund
CONNECT WITH GHANA MADE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA:
Instagram: @ghana.made
Facebook: @ghanaian.made
Twitter: @__GhanaMade
Apple Music: @GhanaMade
