Mr.  Michael Owusu Okyere is the Business Development Executive of the Ghana Cooperative Pharmacists Credit Union. His first appointment was as an Accounts Officer in 2021. He also serves on the Educational and Editorial Committee (EduEdiCom) of the GCPCUL. Michael has become a familiar face and voice for the company, as he leads the Field Services and Telesales Department of the GCPCUL, striving to leverage the use of technology and digital tools to enhance the growth of the company.

1. Kindly tell us about yourself
I am Michael Owusu Okyere, a native of Akwamufie in the Eastern Region, and specifically from the Asuogyaman constituency. People often confuse the people of Akwamu with the Akuapems, but the two ethnic groups are very much unalike. I am the third of my parents’ five children. I had my basic education at the B-Akoto Experimental School, then to New Akrade Presby JHS, and then to Akwamuman SHS. In secondary school, I read General Arts and completed in 1997. I went on to obtain a Diploma in Business Studies at the Koforidua Technical University in 2002. After this, I worked as an Accounts Officer with Bio-Exotica Ghana Ltd., an indigenous company in Akosombo that specializes in growing and exporting organic pineapples from Ghana to the rest of the world. As an individual keen on improving myself continually, I left the company in 2007 to enroll at the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) where I obtained a bachelor’s in business administration degree in 2013. In 2016, I enrolled in a certificate program at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where I obtained a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. I continued to manage the books of the family’s printing press business until I took on the role of Business Development Associate at Mobile Business Clinic Africa (MBC-Africa), an agri-business consulting firm offering Ghanaian farmers with agri-inputs, mechanization, extension services, and most importantly access to markets. At MBC-Africa, I managed operations in the Eastern, Volta, Ashanti and the then 3 Northern Regions working with over 4000 smallholder farmers in two value chains (maize and rice). I then took over the appointment as Accounts officer at the Ghana Cooperative Credit Union Limited in 2021 after my previous employment got truncated by COVID-19. I would say that by dint of hard work and good fortune, I have been upgraded to the role of Business Development Executive at the GCPCUL.

I am married to Abigail Adomah Gyamfi, a registered midwife at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital – popularly known as Ridge Hospital.

2. Can you walk us through your time as a member of the GCPCUL, beginning from the circumstances that culminated in your membership?
I had little knowledge about the credit union movement until my employment. I had read about it in school, but it was merely an academic exercise. By virtue of my employment, I have become a member of this incredible movement. It is safe to say that I am now an unofficial ambassador of credit unions, and I use every given opportunity to trumpet the benefits of the movement to anyone who would care to listen.

3. How have those experiences in GCPCUL shaped and guided your decisions as a staff of GCPCUL?
I think that the most significant lesson I have picked up is the need to continuously cultivate a savings culture among the youth. We are living in a quick-fix generation, and I think that it is important that we spare a moment or two to build into the ethos of our youth the need to save rather than spend. There is nothing like overnight success. The surest way to be rich, is to start saving and investing today.

4. What nuggets of wisdom would you like to share with GCPCUL members, so they maximise the benefits of membership?
Particularly to our youth, they must believe that opportunities for growth exist out there. They must therefore aspire for the good things in life by taking advantage of these opportunities. I would add that there is need to cultivate a healthy risk appetite and couple it with perseverance. Additionally, the credit union is about comradeship and mutual self-help. It is often said that your network is your net worth. By becoming a member of the credit union, you have grown your network by associating with likeminded people who are committed to grow their wealth. Take advantage of this network.

5. What recommendations would you make to the next BOD of the GCPCUL to make the union even better?
The potential of the GCPCUL to grow is boundless. Statistics show that there will be over 10,000 pharmacists in Ghana in the next few years. As the bond of the union is also open currently, there is the potential to onboard even more members, and the next BOD to target this opportunity to grow our membership. There must also be a deliberate attempt to transition pharmacy students into mother union. Finally, with the remarkable changes in the financial arena, it is important to consider increasing the threshold in access to facilities.

You are doing very well for yourself and for the GCPCUL

6. What are the highlights (highs and lows) of your journey so far?
I was not held back by my dearth of knowledge in the credit union movement when I first took on the job of Accounts Officer with the GCPCUL. I should add that my experiences from my previous employments also shaped my conduct and that is what has brought me this far on this journey. My appointment as Business Development Executive is one of the highlights of my stay here in GCPCUL, and I consider it a recognition and endorsement of my devotion to the business.

7. What has been your key driving force to coming this far?
The desire to achieve more. I see myself as an ambitious individual, and I believe that for anyone to achieve great things in this life, they must fuel not only their passion, but their ambition as well.

8. What do you enjoy most about your work?
The work I do is rather stressful. It requires a lot of multitasking. We are a small and compact team delivering on several tasks. The demands of the job push me to become more pro-active and innovative and these bring out the joy in me when I see all the stressful moments culminate in results that bring joy to our members.

Outtro

9. If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I would be more prepared for opportunities when they come my way. There were many times in my young life when my preparation was inadequate to respond to the opportunities that came my way. As I have matured, I see each day at work as an opportunity to learn, network and be a better version of myself. Now, I am more prepared to take advantage of these opportunities.