Osei Kwame Despite

Despite Kwame Osei
Born2 February 1962
OccupationBusinessman
Known forCEO of Despite Group of Companies
ChildrenKennedy Asante Osei

Osei Kwame Despite (born 2 February 1962) is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and a philanthropist with a foundation in music creation and knowledge of the broadcasting sector.[1] Osei-Kwame is the CEO of the Despite Firm Ltd, a trade company with subsidiaries in the media industry, including UTV, PEACE FM, OKAY FM, NEAT FM and HELLO FM in Kumasi.[2][3][4][5] He was named Africa Entrepreneur of the Year at the African Achievers Awards in the United Kingdom in 2021.[6][5] He was also honored with GH CAPTAIN's Award in 2019 for his contributions to the socio-economic development of the country.[7]

Early life

In the Ghanaian town of Agona Wiamoase, he was born, in the Ashanti region. He began his career as a merchant in Dunkwa-On-Offin, Ghana's Central Region, selling music cassettes, feeding bottles, padlocks, and other items. After years of struggling to make ends meet in the countryside, he and his colleagues relocated to Lagos, Nigeria.[8]

In 1983, he returned to Ghana with other Ghanaians who had fled Nigeria due to the country's political unrest. Back to his country, he only had a trident cassette player and a chain-saw machine. He started a timber contracting business with the chain-saw machine, but it was smashed by a falling tree on his first business trip. [9] He eventually moved on to selling cassette tapes before diversifying his business.[10][11]

Career

To show his support for the local music industry and to prioritize Ghanaian culture, he moved into radio and founded the PeaceFM at Achimota Mile 7 Junction in 1999.[2] The station's experiments with the Akan language paid off, as radio listeners looking for local programming abandoned stations broadcasting primarily in the Queen's language on the 104.3 frequency.[citation needed] The radio industry flourished, culminating in the establishment of Hello FM in Kumasi and OkayFM in Accra, as well as peacefmonline.com.[12]

List of Companies[13]

Now, the Despite Group of Companies (DGC) has the following companies;

  • U2 Company Limited (Iodated Salt Production)[14]
  • Okay FM
  • Peace FM
  • Neat FM
  • Hello FM
  • Despite Stores
  • Best Point Savings and Loans (Finance)
  • Farming and Building Construction businesses
  • Neat Foods Company Limited (which produces and markets NEAT Fufu, NEAT Banku, NEAT Abenkwan, NEAT Hausa Koko, NEAT Dairy Products)[15]
  • United Television Company Limited
  • Atona Foods LTD ( which produces THIS WAY chocolate drink which comes in different flavors, and the THIS WAY Motherlac children's cereal )[16]

Personal life

Despite has a wife and nine children. Kennedy Osei Asante, his first son, is the General Manager of Despite Media.[17] In 2019, he married Tracy in an expensive ceremony that drew the attention of many people both inside and outside the country.[18][19][20] He is noted for collecting luxurious vehicles and has a great love for exotic cars.[21] He purchased a 3'000'000$ Bugatti Chiron in February 2022 to mark his 60th birthday, making him and Fkay one of just 5 individuals in Africa who own a Bugatti. [22]

References

  1. ^ "Social media celebrates Kwame Despite as he turns 60 - MyJoyOnline.com". Myjoyonline. 2022-02-02. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  2. ^ a b "Osei Kwame Despite, Biography". GhanaWeb. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. ^ Online, Peace FM. "EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Dr. Osei Kwame Despite Celebrates His 60th Birthday In Grand Style". Peacefmonline - Ghana news. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  4. ^ Larnyoh, Magdalene Teiko (2021-04-24). "One of Ghana's millionaires, Osei Kwame Despite, prays for the country to have more rich men". Business Insider Africa. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  5. ^ a b "Dr. Osei Kwame Despite Crowned African Entrepreneur Of The Year At The African Achievers Awards Ceremony In The UK - Ghanajoint.com". 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. ^ Essel-Lamptey, Vida (2021-12-11). "Osei Kwame Despite is African Entrepreneur of the Year". GhanaPlus. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  7. ^ "Osei Kwame 'Despite', Ernest Ofori Sarpong, others to be honoured at GH CAPTAIN'S Award". The Ghana Guardian News. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  8. ^ "From a Cassette Seller to a Media Mogul: The Success Story of Kwame Despite". Ghana Talks Business. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  9. ^ "Osei Kwame Despite, Biography".
  10. ^ Annang, Evans (2020-09-23). "This is how Osei Kwame Despite makes and spends his money". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  11. ^ "Dr. Osei Kwame Despite Biography | Profile | Ghana". www.peacefmonline.com. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  12. ^ "The list of businesses owned by Osei Kwame Despite". Myinfo Ghana. 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  13. ^ "Dr. Osei Kwame Despite Crowned African Entrepreneur Of The Year At The African Achievers Awards Ceremony In The UK - Ghanajoint.com". 2021-12-11. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  14. ^ "U2 Company Limited". Ghana Mom-rsf. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  15. ^ "Neat Foods Company Limited". GEPA Buyer Portal. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  16. ^ "Atona foods company limited,Tesano | Accra - Ghana". toptradefairs. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  17. ^ "You're the king and love of my life - Tracy honours Kennedy Osei and Damon Osei the founder of Youth In Business". GhanaWeb. 2021-10-10. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  18. ^ "Here Are All The 9 Children of Osei Kwame Despite - Georgeweb". 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  19. ^ "Personality Profile of Kennedy Osei Asante | Accra Mail". 2021-01-03. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  20. ^ "Kennedy Osei: School, houses, cars, businesses, family etc-Here's everything you need to know". GhPage. 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-05.
  21. ^ "Osei Kwame Despite, Biography".
  22. ^ "Ghana: Bugatti Chiron breaks down; crowd tries in vain to push-start it". 29 December 2022.