Ghanaian tycoon Togbe Afede XIV tells Africa's chief executives to stop enriching themselves at shareholders' expense

Togbe Afede XIV, the Ghanaian multimillionaire and paramount chief who chairs the Asogli State in the Volta Region, took the stage at the 10th Ghana CEO Summit in Accra on Thursday and told the gathering of business leaders and senior government officials, including President John Dramani Mahama, something they did not necessarily want to hear.

Stop enriching yourselves.

Speaking as Chairman of the summit at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Togbe Afede called on Ghana's corporate and political leaders to anchor the country's development agenda in ethical conduct, inclusive growth and technological innovation. He said Ghana could not afford to be left behind in a rapidly changing global economy, but warned that the country's progress was being undermined by leaders who came into positions of power or corporate responsibility with personal enrichment as their primary objective.

He identified conflicts of interest as a central governance failure, urging CEOs to separate their personal financial interests from the interests of the organisations they lead. "Some of our leaders suddenly become businessmen," he said, echoing his own longstanding written arguments about leadership failure in Ghana. "They obstruct genuine entrepreneurs, frustrate them, or steal their ideas." He warned that predatory and parasitic tendencies among both political leaders and corporate executives were syphoning resources that should be building roads, schools and hospitals.

The remarks carry particular weight coming from a man who has walked away from significant compensation he considered unearned. In 2022, Togbe Afede returned a GH¢365,000 sitting allowance he had received as a member of the National Economic Advisory Council to President Akufo-Addo's government, saying publicly that the payment was inappropriate given the country's economic difficulties at the time. The gesture received significant national attention and became a reference point in Ghana's public debate about leadership standards.

Togbe Afede founded and chairs Africa World Airlines, one of Ghana's leading domestic and regional carriers, alongside multiple other business interests spanning banking, real estate and energy through his SIC Financial Services, State Enterprises and other vehicles. He received his MBA from Yale School of Management in 1989 and was appointed Chairman of Yale SOM's Council of Global Advisors effective February 2026, a three-year term through which he will advise the dean on the school's international strategy.

The Ghana CEO Summit, now in its tenth edition, draws a cross-section of Ghana's private sector and government leadership alongside international investors and development finance institutions. This year's edition took place against a backdrop of Ghana's own ongoing IMF-supported economic reform programme, which has required significant fiscal austerity and has put pressure on household incomes across the country.