Traders

The commercial importance of Kumasi encourages both men and women to trade, and many moved here for that purpose. The savannah-based trading networks to the north of Kumasi are dominated by Muslim men. Long before Kumasi was founded, towns like Salaga were important centers in this network, and attracted traders from present-day Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Mali. After British conquest allowed them access to Kumasi, men from these ethnic groups continued to control wholesale trade in cattle, kola nuts, and other important commodities.

About 80% of the total female population of working age in Kumasi makes a living by trading. Muslim women trade in the Central Market and in smaller neighborhood markets, especially in shea butter and in other foods popular with the Northern ethnic groups. A few women own stores in the commercial areas of town, but it is more often men who have this much capital. Many women also sell from tables on the roadside just outside their houses. Those who wish to stay at home can still trade, and many sell cooked food to regular customers. They can also buy and resell other goods by visiting suppliers and customers at their homes, by receiving visitors in their own homes, and by selling through hawkers who carry their goods from door to door.

English Interviews:

Hajia Raamatu Sanni

A Trader and a Teacher (2006)

My uncle saw that I was not interested in marriage, so one day he just called me and said 'I want you to be married to your brother', and it worked.

Hajia Habiba

Woman Can Do Anything Man Can Do (2006)

It is only me, a woman selling these double axles here. My family are proud of me as a woman selling this, because it is not easy for some women to learn this trade.

Hofsota Oumar

An Arabic Teacher (2006)

My advice to those who are petty traders is that they should be honest. Any time they collect goods from those who are going abroad to buy, they should send their money back to them.

Twi Interviews:

Rukaya Usman

We Give Everyone the Same Respect (2006)

My uncle was in Liberia. I went there; someone took me from my father and took me to live there. I was getting to fifteen years old before I came back.