General News of Saturday, 7 July 2018

Source: mynewsgh.com

I value education but success is possible even for dropouts like me - Ibrahim Mahama

Ibrahim  Mahama,Chief Executive Officer, Engineers and Planners Ibrahim Mahama,Chief Executive Officer, Engineers and Planners

Chief Executive Officer of Engineers and Planners, Ibrahim Mahama has revealed how he deeply values education, recalling his life story of how he dropped out of school but never gave up on his dreams

'I continued working to achieve what I have achieved today as one of the successful businessmen in Ghana and perhaps, West Africa" he said.

He made this revelation at the Parliament House of the United Kingdom where he was awarded with the 'African Industrialist of the Year Award'.

This comes barely two days after speaking as a distinguished panelist, at the Standard Bank Trans-regional Conference in Nigeria.

“Not everyone of us is cut for success in the classroom,this doesn’t mean that I am not in favour of schooling. School is very important and I will encourage every young man to aspire to the highest level of education” Ibrahim Mahama told the parliament of the United Kingdom.

At the 8th Edition of the Awards ceremony held at the house of Parliament London, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama was presented with the Award by Lindsey Oliver, a Co-Founder of the Aljazeera news channel.

Among the distinguished guests at the ceremony was the Right. Hon. Diane Abbott, MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington – London.

Mr. Mahama conveyed his appreciation to the organizers of the event, for the great honour done him and his company- Engineers and Planners, with the presentation of the award.

In 1997, with the equivalent of Five Hundred Pounds (£500) in his pocket, 26-year-old Ibrahim Mahama returned to Ghana, after his sojourns in the United Kingdom, to set up a Heavy Duty equipment rental company- Engineers & Planners.

Soon, he noticed a business opportunity when the Ghanaian government at the time, decided to privatize all the state-owned mining companies. Mr. Mahama reworked his business model to take advantage of the privatization drive of the government.

Today that Five Hundred Pounds Sterling rental company is now worth more than Five Billion dollars in both Assets and Human Resource thanks to the leadership of Ibrahim Mahama.

That is the story of Ibrahim Mahama, a school dropout, who narrated his story to as a recipient one of the most prestigious awards for African Businessmen in the UK.

The African Achievers Awards has consistently honoured great African Achievers from African Leaders, Young Achievers, Community Builders to Captains of Industries across the continent.

The Awards ceremony has fast become established as one of the biggest gatherings of influential and global African Achievers on the continent.