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Editor-in-Chief report

My name is Curtis Okona-Frimpong; the Editor-In-Chief of Verso magazine. This is not just a magazine but a platform where young people are given the opportunity to express their creative and entrepreneurial skills to build a better Africa. Verso Africa as a company is focused on building such talents and also advertising them on a larger scale. It is the reason for this publication. Apart from it being a business magazine, it also has in it educative, entertaining,exciting articles. In this maiden edition, we will get to know what young people are doing on and outside campuses. These are aimed at provoking an individual to do extraordinary works. We could be reporting your story next

versoafrica@gmail.com

THE TEAM

CONTENT

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Curtis Okona-Frimpong EDITOR Deborah Agyei-Minta

Exclusive Edition

INSPIRATION

The KFC Story......................................... 3-4 Quotes aimed at setting you up for greatness....................................... 9

RESEARCH MANAGEMENT

Cover Story

The Power of Marketing..................... 11-12 Verso’s Icon of the Month................... 21 Harnessing one’s cranial capacity...... 37-38 Time is money......................................... 26

David kojo Ofosu Nicole Amoo-Yankey Serene Boyson Adwoa Nyamekye Appiah Artist Devine Bayuo

FOUNDATION

Tech Era................................................. 23-28 Jesus Campaign.................................... 13-14

BUSINESS

Twist...................................................... 33-34

5-6 Korlekki Davies.................................... 19-20 Focus Eye.............................................. 35-36 Grafie..................................................... 39-40 BlackDreams........................................

TELEPHONE +233 (0) 266671636 +233 (0) 501589994 E-MAIL versoafrica@gmail.com

INNOVATION Comparison.........................................

29-30

WEBSITE www.versoafrica.tk FACEBOOK Facebook.com/Verso Africa INSTAGRAM Instagram.com/verso_africa

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Inspiration

FC’s current ad campaign stars a cartoonish Colonel Sanders played by “Saturday Night Live” alumnus

Darrell Hammond, but the fast-food icon was a real person who followed an unlikely path to creating a multibillion-dollar international company. The real Col. Sanders was an entrepreneur who didn’t become a professional chef until he was 40, didn’t franchise Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was 62, and didn’t become an icon until after he sold his company at 75. According to a 1970 New Yorker profile by William Whitworth, as well as biographies from Bio and the University of Houston, here are the highlights of the Colonel’s remarkable rise to success. Harland Sanders was born in 1890 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. When he was 6 years old, Sanders’ father died, leaving him to take care of his younger brother and sister while his mom spent long days working. One of these responsibilities was feeding his siblings, and by age 7 he was already a decent cook, according to the New Yorker. His mom remarried when he was 12 Because his new stepfather didn’t like the boys around, Sanders’ brother was sent to live with an aunt while he was sent to work on a farm about 80 miles away. Sanders soon realized he would rather work all day than go to school, so he dropped out in the seventh grade. In addition to a stint in Cuba with the Army, Sanders spent the first half of his life working a series of odd jobs, including stoking the steam engines of trains throughout the South, selling insurance, selling tires, making lighting systems, and operating a ferry boat. He acquired a service station in Corbin, Kentucky, in 1930 and began serving classic Southern dishes to travelers. The location became known for its food, and Sanders eventually got rid of the service station’s gas pump and converted the location to a full-fledged restaurant. His breakthrough came in 1939 when he

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found that frying his chicken and its signature “11 herbs and spices” in a new device, a pressure cooker (different from the ones used today), resulted in the ideal consistency he had been looking for. Sanders’ restaurant enjoyed great popularity over the next decade, and in 1950 the governor of Kentucky named him colonel, the highest title of honor the state can give. Sanders began dressing the part, adopting the white suit and Kentucky colonel tie that would help make him a pop-culture icon. In 1952, he made a deal with his restaurateur friend, Pete Harman, to sell his chicken dish as “Kentucky Fried Chicken” in exchange for a 4-cent royalty on every piece sold. After it became a top-selling item, Sanders made the same deal with several other local restaurants. Things were going great, but when a new interstate bypassed Sanders’ restaurant, it spelled doom. He sold the location at a loss in 1956, leaving his $105 monthly Social Security check as his only income. Sanders then decided that he was not going to settle for a quiet retirement. A KFC and Sanders Cafe sign at the site of Sanders’ Corbin, Kentucky, restaurant where he developed his signature fried chicken.Flickr/Brent Moore Since he’d closed his restaurant, the Colonel decided to dedicate himself fully to the franchising side project he’d started four years earlier. He hit the road with his wife, the car packed with a couple pressure cookers, flour, and spice blends. He would enter a restaurant, offer to cook his chicken, and then make a deal if the owner liked what they tasted.

By 1963, Sanders was fielding franchise requests without having to put in the legwork, and had more than 600 restaurants across the US and Canada selling Kentucky Fried Chicken. That October, he was approached by John Y. Brown, Jr., “an aggressive young lawyer” as the New Yorker puts it, and a venture capitalist named Jack C. Massey who wanted to buy the franchise rights. Sanders was initially reluctant, but after weeks of persuasion, he agreed to sell his rights for $2 million ($15.1 million in 2015 dollars) in January 1965, and the deal went through in March. Under the contract, the company Kentucky Fried Chicken would establish its own restaurants around the world and would not compromise the chicken recipe. Sanders was to have a lifetime salary of $40,000 (later upped to $75,000), a seat on the board, majority ownership of KFC’s Canadian franchises, and would serve as the company’s brand ambassador. Sanders wasn’t happy to let go of his baby, but at 75, he decided that it would be best to see his company continue to grow beyond his capacity.

The New Yorker profile noted that some of his friends believed Sanders was shorted on the deal, but it also shows that Sanders turned down stock in the company and did not negotiate for a higher price. It seems Sanders’ pursuit was never really about becoming rich, but rather about becoming renowned for his food. That’s why he constantly grumbled and swore about the more profitable but lower quality gravy that the corporate KFC began producing. “If you were a franchisee turning out perfect gravy but making very little money for the company and I was a franchisee making lots of money for the company but serving gravy that was merely excellent, the Colonel would think that you were great and I was a bum,” a KFC executive told the New Yorker. “With the Colonel, it isn’t money that counts, it’s artistic talent.” Sanders spent the latter years of his life giving interviews on talk shows and appearing in commercials, like this one from 1969: The University of Houston, which honors Sanders in its Hospitality Industry Hall of Fame, says that up until his death in 1980, the Colonel traveled 250,000 miles each year visiting KFC locations and promoting the brand in the media. Brown, who sold his stake in KFC in 1971 for $284 million, became governor of Kentucky in 1979. When Sanders died the next year, Brown said Sanders was “a real legend” and “the spirit of the American dream,” the New York Times reported. Sanders may have lacked the motivation to become as wealthy as he could have been, but he’s now known in 115 countries for his favorite fried chicken recipe, which is more than he ever could have hoped for when he hit the road at age 65 with a car full of cooking supplies.

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Its comes a time in life where our appearance speaks a lot about us and what we stand for. We at Black Dreams know the needs of the public and are ready to provide you with a wide range of contemporary clothing beyond your expectations. Contact us

On +233 (0)554686582 +233 (0) 553150111 +233 (0) 204329232 +233 (0) 200618218 Or Visit Our Page at

instagram.com/blackdreams_clothing

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Research by Serene Boyson Verso Africa 7

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IMPACT

Quotes aimed at setting you up for Greatness

1. I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying. -- Mi-

chael Jordan

2. Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender, it’s holy ground. There’s no greater investment. -- Stephen Covey 3. In every success story, you will find someone who has made a courageous decision. -- Peter

F. Drucker

4. If you can dream it, you can do it. -- Walt

Disney

5. We must train from the inside out. Using our strengths to attack and nullify any weaknesses. It’s not about denying a weakness may exist but about denying its right to persist. -- Vince

McConnell

6. You can win [in life] as long as you choose to win. Nothing can make you fail or be defeated. – Pastor Chris Oyakhilome PhD. 7. My best advice to entrepreneurs is this: Forget about making mistakes, just do it. -- Ajaero

Tony Martins

8. Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes but they don’t quit. -- Conrad Hilton 9. Ambition is the steam that drives men forward on the road to success. Only the engine under full steam can make the grade. -- Maxi

Foreman

10. Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field. -- Dennis

Waitley

11. Everyone who achieves success in a great venture solved each problem as they came to it. They helped themselves and they were helped through powers known and unknown to them at the time they set out on their voyage. They kept going regardless of the obstacles they met. -- W. Clement Stone Verso Africa 9

12. Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you are generally better off sticking with what you know and the third is that sometimes, your best investments are the ones you don’t make. -- Donald Trump 13. Failure isn’t failure unless you don’t learn from it. -- Dr. Ronald Niednagel 14. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand and the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas. -- Henry Ford 15. Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal -- a commitment to excellence -- that will enable you to attain the success you seek. -- Mario

Andretti

16. The secret of joy in work is contained in one word: excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it. -- Pearl Buck 17. If you hear a voice within you saying ‘you are not a painter’ then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced. -- Vin-

cent Van Gogh

18. You are to set your own value, communicate that value to the world, and then not settle for less. Sound daunting? That’s just because it takes you out of your comfort zone. You have got to stop being an obstacle on your own path to wealth and security and happiness. You must understand that valuing yourself is well within your control. -- Suze Orman 19. The greatest discovery of my generation is that people can alter their lives by altering their attitudes. -- William James

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THE POWER OF MARKETING Series 1 Research by Nicole Amoo-Yankey

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arketing is an exquisite way to advertise a product or a service to lure people to purchase that product or service. Marketing comes from the word ‘Market’. In a market, there is an exchange of products for money and in that, there is a bargain and a form of advertisement. Marketing has a power of luring people to buy. This can be done through knowing the market type you want to reach out to, knowing the type of medium you want to use to communicate your message; which is through word of mouth, TV advertisement and posters. The question we should ask ourselves is what is the essence of all this? Why should companies advertise? Why should people waste energy going door to door to sell their products? That is where we think of the power marketing has. Marketing is not human but catches the eye of people. Marketing makes people fall in love with products. Marketing your business or product is just like a relationship. When you fail to advertise them properly you get no customers but make noise about it and you’ll see the customer base. So what does marketing do, what power does this have? Marketing promotes one’s business. This allows the business gain recognition of their target market (customers). This also leads to just not gaining recognition but the brand also gaining recognition. In this, the brand of the business gets recognised easily. It gets to a time were just the logo of the business makes customers recognise them easily (Apple, Nike). Also, marketing increases a company’s profit. Marketing increases the profit of the company or business by boosting sales. Sales of companies are boosted www.versoafrica.tk

when marketing of the product is on point. That is, when a business advertises its product so well it allows people know about it and want to try the product hence boosting sales. Finally, it builds authority and the credibility of the business and product. With a great product and perfect marketing, it creates this awareness about your business to the public allowing the public respect your company. But before a company gets to have all this power there’s a cost involve which sometimes discourages most companies. One thing we should learn is to be successful you need to sacrifice a lot. So then everyone, get your marketing hats on and let’s make some money.

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Vision

nowing the Truth, understanding the Truth and walking in the full consciousness of the Truth.

Mission

eaching Godâ€™s Word in a more revelational way by revealing and unveiling the full person of Jesus and raising up a brand new generation of believers into a deep and intimate relationship with the person of Jesus through the Holy Ghost.

For more enquires Contact us on +233 (0) 275 861 562 +233 (0) 547 146 028 +233 (0) 262 601 022

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Day Out

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he young, ambitious and inspiring 21 year old Korlekki Davies is a rising fashion designer and soon to be stylist and wardrope consultant who is strongly building a lasting fashion brand in Ghana , Africa and the world at large. Her passion developed while watching a fashion show when she was 8 years old. Her aim is to make her brand a household name in Ghana and beyond.

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b in a n t t e ai ee si or men ervi was lant rest . Si f tre n tr e-k el rst f p fo on o e be b fi n e p a ow Mov e su eny the t de rosi lion e be try, a No the m, n k lt er vis ll th f K in en l e il av es d Be der en o aid prev soi 50 m en h s for eive ng h acti ies a e un om n to elp d to ver om ch a rec aki her ntr hav W me to h n en t o of w s su She nt m to cou uld e it k wo eas ut a men lot eld ing. me Due d in t wo mak loo kar d p ove d a al fi cess ove ne. ate an i to g to ma . an is m d an ltur pro er m in o plic om oing goin rom act od th ante ricu od r h o w n re a w ot g ere er f imp sto pl e ag d fo ze fo an t bee ing s n le w p h an have e. and th g an Pri om has . Be e wa eop t sto king ho o liv ne in ace n w tive orld t sh r p no ma s w ce t he o Pe frica itia e w tha nt o t did or gem pla ou t i. a A is in d th ght eme tha eard caâ€™s tter to y e i h th oun hou ov but g h Afr a b ent at a ar en t er m her bein of iety res M be ith h on ice one soc n I p a o t e e w wn r v e e d t h m u do g he ind ake ntle M in e is p m d ge ri a Sh hel s an g n to die a La ly s.W on

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Art by Devine Verso Africa 21

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The pioneering class of Tech Era, a community engagement initiative, held an exhibition in Ashesi’s Norton Motulsky hall to showcase projects they worked on as part of their six-month IT-training program. Tech Era, led by Derick Omari ‘18, aims at equipping underprivileged children with IT skills. The initiative also seeks to raise IT professionals, from Berekuso, who will find innovative and effective solutions to problems in Africa. “Our goal is to expand the IT professional base of Berekuso,” said Derick Omari’ 18. “This way, we can have more IT experts to solve problems in Berekuso and Ghana at large. We are in an era where IT has taken over, and everyone should have the opportunity to be part of this. If we teach the pupils and give them these skills while they are young, they will be able to create technology that will impact their communities.” While Information Computer Technology is a required course for students in Ghana, some high schools, including the Berekuso Junior High School, have limited resources and so are unable to give their students the required training, even at the basic level. Tech Era’s goal is to not only fill this gap, but also deepen the interactions between the Ashesi and Berekuso communities and lead a movement to position Berekuso as a leading center of excellence in the country. Over the past six months, the students who took part in the class acquired basic computing skills in typing, using Microsoft Office tools and using the internet. As part of the exhibition, some of the students presented brochures, poems and write-ups they created using computers, to the audience made up students, faculty and staff from both Ashesi and the Berekuso Junior High School. Following the presentations, awards and certificates were presented to the pupils to mark their completion of the course. Moving forward Tech Era seeks to expand its curriculum and explore higher level computer training for the pupils through the introduction of a robotics program. “The robotics program is for those who showed passion and great potential during the class,” added Derick. “While this batch will form the first Berekuso robotics team, our goal is that they will participate in the national robotics competition, organized by the Ghana Robotics Academy Foundation.” By Ashesi University

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www.techera-gh.org www.versoafrica.tk

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TIME IS MONEY

Peter Drucker once said; ‘until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else’. Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin. – Victor Kaim The poorest man is not the man without money, but the one who places no value on time. In the same way, time is also the one of the most expensive commodities that riches cannot buy even a second used up. It is an equal commodity that is given to the rich, poor, short, tall and people from all walks of life. Time is money, a valuable asset which we can transact and produce money. The world is run on spiritual laws and principles. One of such chief principles is time management. Like Peter Drucker said, when it is out of order, many other things would go out of order. It is more or less money with a lifespan, if not utilized, expires. Time is the key difference between success and failure. TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY Productivity does not come by chance. It comes by as a result of a commitment to excellence. Commitment to excellence comes by as a result of persistence of achieving set goals within the allotted time. Intelligent planning is also a factor necessary for productivity. It takes time to plan any task or activity and most importantly, to keep focused within a set time frame for achievement of targets. Every second

By :Derrick Edem Kpodo, Awudzi Hansel Verso Africa 25

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you lose is gone for eternity, it can never be retained, returned of forwarded. There is no variation as to what amount of time given to anyone. We all have the same 24 hours daily, but as stated earlier intelligent planning and commitment to excellence are the elements needed for increased productivity. GOD THE PERFECT TIMER It is only God almighty who does his things in his perfect time. Unlike humans God has a way of perfect timing. Have you ever heard of anyone share a testimony about God imperfectly timing anyone’s breakthrough? No, it has never happened, and it’s not going to happen. God works in times and seasons, hold onto him, trust him, he’s working things for your good. He may delay, but his delay is in no way denial. Let us also not spend all our time given to us in pursuit of worldly success, storing up riches for ourselves here on earth. We should rather use our time, resources and energy, for the expansion of the kingdom of God. As you go through this life, know that this is not your permanent place of living. We have one lifetime to offer God our services. I’d like to leave you with this question… When eternity is up on me, does my time spent on earth qualify me for Heaven?

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Who Is Derick ?

Cover Story

Derick Omari

erick Omari is a Dalai Lama Fellow and a student in Ashesi University College. He is the Founder and President of Tech Era, a non-for-profit organization that seeks to expose underprivileged children to technology to give them hope and potential to transform their lives and communities. He is also the founder of Berekuso Music Project, an art initiative that engages junior high school students to develop skills in music and dance to transform their lives as well as pressure the culture we have as Ghanaians. He envisions a world where there will be a generation of leaders in Arica who will be compassionate, ethical and seek to solve problems and provide opportunities for everyone to flourish.

Founder and President of Tech Era

oming from a background with financial setbacks and no resources with which I could learn, I never imagined I would make any meaningful contributions to humanity. It was until I was fortunate to have received help from a friend I like to refer to as my destiny helper that I was introduced to the computer. It may seem little to many, but that moment was a turning point in my life; the moment my eyes were opened to a whole new world. I realized how much I had in me and what I could do to solve problems in my community and cause a change. Today, I am pursuing my undergraduate degree at Ashesi University College on scholarship in addition to achieving my dream of providing opportunities for everyone to grow irrespective of their background and setbacks. I continually ask myself how I would have been able to apply to the university if I had never used the computer and there was no one to help me. Would all my capabilities and dreams be shattered? Would I have been able to impact lives like I am doing now? Similarly, what is happening and what will happen to the 16 million poor children in Africa who, by no choice of theirs, do not have access to technology and most likely do not have any aspirations or hope for their future? I believe that with one heart and mind, we can make a difference by helping to eliminate this unjust equilibrium. These children need you and I to make it possible for them to have a bright future; aspirations and dreams which they know can be realized. That is why Tech era exists. I was fortunate to have been selected as a Dalai Lama Fellow in 2016 and this has led to a transformation of myself as a leader and as a human. With its extraordinary life-long leadership curriculum and guidance from my incredible coach who cares about my health and progress as a leader and human, has prepared me as a better leader to create solutions for our world. I have grown to have the big picture in mind while I strategize on accomplishing the little tasks that are presented.

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kwameomari6@gmail.com derickomari@techera-gh.org

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wist Company recycles plastic, paper, can and glass into creative flower

How to make a twist flower vase

vases, beads and colourful pencil cases at affordable prices to all. Twist makes good use of waste which people consider useless to a useful product, which promotes Green Ghana and is suitable for eco-friendly environments.

1. A Tomato Can 2. Yarn or Kente sisal is wrapped around the tomato can. 3. Gun glue is used to bind the fabric to the tomato can. 4. Spray paint is used to spray inside the can 5. Holes are created in the can with wall nails 6. Soil is put in the can 7. Then a flower. You can make one to support the Twist movement to brighten your home, class, or even office

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+233 (0) 26 243 3601 www.versoafrica.tk

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Photography Team

group of ladies and gentlemen brought togeth er by their passion for creativity, innovation and love for what looks beautiful in the eye, fostered a good working relationship that brought about the beginnings of “FOCUS EYE GH”,a photography team with no doubt will amount to great success in the near future. With the most dedicated of male personnel working on the team and the most beautiful ladies with one of the most creative eyes, history is yet to write home about. Spearhead by Parker Sefogah a great entrepreneur and assisted by the most dedicated of team mates, David Yeboah, Kafui Atsutse,

Curtis Okona Frimpong,Kingsley Hayford and Issac Sarpong and not forgetting our beautiful ladies Abigail Abena Gyebi and Emanuella Sangmuah. *Hey don’t blame us* for as the old adage goes “ *behind every successful man there is a woman* “. No doubt Focus eye will come out as one of the best photography brands in the near future, Vel primus vel cumprimus -the best or among the best.

instagram.com/focuseyegh

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Harnessing one’s cranial capacity. Research by David Ofosu

Visit http://thepeakperformancecenter.com

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id you know that the popular myth that we use only 10% of our brains is flat-out wrong, brain scans clearly show that we use most of our brain most of the time, even when we’re sleeping. So the difference between a geniuses like Albert Einstein and normal person is how one uses their brain and not how much of one’s brain they use. So this article is definitely not about how to increase the amount of one’s brain capacity one uses but how to uses one’s brain to its fullest capacity. What we perceive that our brain to be is just about cognitive processes of the brain like, knowledge, attention, memory and working memory, judgment and evaluation, reasoning and “computation”, problem solving and decision making, comprehension and production of language. I will touch on one of these things which I think is the most important; reasoning, or thinking. Thinking skills are the mental activities you use to process information, make connections, make decisions, and create new ideas. Everybody has thinking skills, but not everyone uses them effectively and I think this is what accounts for the difference in one’s level of intelligence. You use your thinking skills when you try to make sense of experiences, solve probwww.versoafrica.tk

lems, make decisions, ask questions, make plans, or organize information. . Good thinkers see possibilities where others see only obstacles or roadblocks. Good thinkers are able to make connection between various factors and be able to tie them together. They are also able to develop new and unique solutions to problems. Thinking skills are cognitive operations or processes that are the building blocks of thinking. There are several core thinking skills including focusing, organizing, analyzing, evaluating and generating. Focusing – attending to selected pieces of information while ignoring other stimuli. Remembering – storing and then retrieving information. Gathering – bringing to the conscious mind the relative information needed for cognitive processing. Organizing – arranging information so it can be used more effectively. Analyzing – breaking down information by examining parts and relationships so that its organizational structure may be understood. Connecting – making connections between related items or pieces of information. Integrating – connecting and combining www.versoafrica.tk

information to better understand the relationship between the information. Compiling – putting parts together to form a whole or building a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Evaluating – assessing the reasonableness and quality of ideas or materials on order to present and defend opinions. Generating – producing new information, ideas, products, or ways of viewing things. There are various types of thinking and some of us may know them already but how many of us make use of them. The types of thinking include; Convergent or Analytical Thinking: Bringing facts and data together from various sources and then applying logic and knowledge to solve problems or to make informed decisions. Divergent thinking: Breaking a topic apart to explore its various components and then generating new ideas and solutions. Critical Thinking: Analysis and evaluation of information, beliefs, or knowledge. Creative Thinking: Generation of new ideas breaking from established thoughts, theories, rules, and procedures. But among all these I will touch on critical thinking skill, as it is the commonest.

Divergent and Convergent thinking skills are both “critical thinking” skills. Critical thinking refers to the process of actively analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating and reflecting on information gathered from observation, experience, or communication and is focused on deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking is considered a higher order thinking skills, such as analysis, synthesis, and problem solving, inference, and evaluation. The concept of higher order thinking skills became well known with the publication of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Bloom’s Taxonomy was primarily created for academic education; however, it is relevant to all types of learning. Often times when people are problem solving or decision making, he or she flips back and forth between convergent and divergent thinking. When first looking at a problem, people often analyze the facts and circumstances to determine the root cause. After which, they explore new and innovative options through divergent thinking, then switch back to convergent thinking to limit those down to one practical option.

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