Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey
Konnected Minds Podcast with Derrick Abaitey
Konnected House
Segment: You're Not Young Anymore - Stop Waiting for Government Jobs
12 minutes Posted Aug 3, 2026 at 6:00 am.
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Show notes
He built a thriving dessert empire with 12 employees and three branches across Kumasi before most people his age even think about starting a business, and he says the biggest lie young Ghanaians believe is that you're too young to make money in your 20s.
In this episode, Kobby Owusu-Bright breaks down how he and his business partner built Favory from selling popcorn and ice cream on the KNUST campus into a multi-branch operation serving boba tea, waffles, milkshakes, and hot chocolate across Kumasi. From creating an environment where students can escape depression, heartbreak, and financial stress, to expanding strategically from a stand with no seating to three locations with plans to hit Accra, this is the blueprint for building a business that solves real problems while scaling with almost no capital, just hustle, reinvestment, and customer-driven strategy.
We dive into the brutal reality of what students actually go through on campus, why thousands of young people are dealing with finance issues, academic pressure, and relationship problems but have nowhere to turn because they don't feel comfortable going to counselors, and why Favory became more than just a dessert shop but a safe space where students can experience joy, play games, and forget their problems even if just for a moment. We break down why Kobby himself went through severe depression on campus when his parents couldn't provide as they used to, why he had to get a job at Pizza Man Chickie Man for almost two years just to survive, and why the moment he stopped calling his father for money and started earning his own income was one of the most liberating feelings he ever experienced. We discuss why taking the stress off your parents and letting them enjoy instead of constantly asking them for money is one of the most powerful mindset shifts a young person can make, and why this drove him to find every possible way to make his parents happy.
But we also confront the uncomfortable truth about youth entrepreneurship in Ghana, why people accuse young people of fraud simply because they are making progress at a young age, and why this toxic mentality is pulling an entire generation back from building wealth. We unpack why young people in Ghana wait until they are much older to make financial decisions because they fear being tagged as fraud boys or accused of doing black money, why this is a dead mindset that will keep millions broke, and why the African perspective that you are too young to make money in your 20s needs to change immediately. We discuss why in other parts of the world people in their 20s to 30s are the ones making millions, why entering your 20s means you are not young anymore to make money, and why any energy you have to bash somebody who is making progress should be redirected into yourself to go and make your own money.
We get into the strategy of how they expanded from one branch to three, why customers told them exactly what the next step was when they kept asking for a place to sit and dine in, and why opening a second branch didn't split the market but doubled the revenue because they became a household name on campus. We break down why they opened a third branch in town not just for expansion but as a survival tactic to pay 12 employees during the four month student vacation period, why proper planning means having a branch in town to generate income when students vacate campus, and why this mindset of planning and having a backup is what separates businesses that thrive from businesses that collapse when circumstances change. We discuss why if you pay close attention to your customers they will tell you what the next step in your business is, and why this customer-driven approach is what built Favory into what it is today.
We also tackle the powerful lesson about employment and entrepreneurship, why Kobby studied human settlement planning at university and would have waited for the government to post him to the Lands Commission, and why out of 137 classmates not many have gotten jobs since they finished. We break down why if just four or five people in his class started businesses they could have employed the rest of the class, why he's earning way more money today than he would have earned in an entry role waiting for government posting, and why although they haven't started profit sharing yet just seeing the money in the account is good enough. We discuss why it's all well and good to get yourself educated but the problem is there aren't enough jobs so some people have to come out and create businesses to employ the others, and why this is the mindset shift every young Ghanaian must make.