The West African nation of Ghana has 32 of the 48 slave castles in West Africa, and estimates that over 90% of African Americans are descendents of Ghana. Proudly, it has declared itself the first choice destination for African Americans longing to identify their heritage with the Motherland. The country has initiated work on the “Joseph Project” (Biblical ref.) which will allow African Americans to retrace the steps of slavery by transferring them to replicas of slave ships off the coast of Ghana, sailing them back to the slave castles and slave holding quarters, registering them into a DNA data bank hosting all the tribes of Ghana, and arranging a pilgrimage to visit identified relatives. The project, an entitlement for the African diaspora, was announced by Ghana’s Minister of Tourism to a delegation of the National Black Chamber of Commerce in June 2004 and will be launched in 2007.

Speaking of entitlements, in the US, there has been much discussion in affirmative action circles around white Americans’ presumption of entitlement to the best schools, jobs, housing, business, etc. Ghana has declared entitlement to an African American group to be the first to establish access to its markets for American stock investors (Ghana has the best performing stock market in the world at 144% increase in 2003). An emerging market “hedge fund” and a Ghana Stock Exchange Mutual Fund are currently being organized. San Francisco Securities Attorney and Law Professor, Timothy Alan Simon, is handling the complex operational and regulatory set-up. In the meantime, a Ghana stock IPO for Benson Oil Palm Plantation was launched on June 16, 2004. Recent Ghana IPO’s have doubled within a year or two. The e-mails of leading stock brokage firms in Ghana are sasitd@africaonline.com.gh or kelelli@databankgh.com. Your risk, but this is also your entitlement!
Closer to home, minorities are also seeking a new level of access to capital. Recently, in Washington, DC the Minority Business Roundtable announced a venture capital fund for small, minority and women owned companies. The fund will take an ownership position in early-to mid-stage companies. Black owned companies traditionally get less than 1% of the $21 billion venture capital funds in the US. Black owned venture capital firms focusing on funding local African American companies are Newvista Capital, Palo Alto, CA; Opportunity Capital Partners, Fremont, CA and Polestar Capital Partners, Chicago, IL.

Last year, Bank of America made 623 SBA guarantee business loans to African Americans, finishing 2nd in the nation behind Innovative Bank at 1,024 loans. However, with over 800,000 Black businesses in America, the impact is miniscule. Unfortunately, African Americans currently don’t own any banks in California, despite the five black owned banks and savings 20 years ago. In a capitalistic American society, access to capital should be an entitlement to credible black owned businesses like any other group--but it’s not! The renewed pursuit of independent Black owned financial institutions is mindful of the song, “God bless the child that’s got his own.”

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