It has been estimated that over five million weddings take place each year in Africa, so it is no wonder that the industry has been a booming area for businesses.
As well as the market for domestic weddings in Africa, tourists have also been branching out when it comes to their own wedding ceremonies, many deciding to travel abroad for a more exotic ceremony than they would perhaps experience in their home countries. Whilst it’s perfectly true that the tourism industry in Ghana has taken an unexpected hit due to the COVID crisis, it remains a near certainty that a global wedding industry that was estimated in recent years to be worth nearly 300 billion US dollars will at some point return to being a flourishing market in West Africa once more.
Ghana as a wedding Destination
Weddings present a superb opportunity for businesses to provide goods and services to make the experience memorable. With a secure democracy, a thriving cultural life, and a rich set of natural resources, Ghana has for some years been perfectly poised to make the most of this entrepreneurial business opportunity. It is also poised to be an attractive potential marketplace for businesses across the globe to offer their services to. It’s worth looking at the range of considerations involved in a wedding to get a true sense of the scope and scale of opportunities.
Bespoke Business Options
Choosing the right rings is an integral part of organising a wedding. Necessary for every proposal and ceremony, they can be modern or antique, and they are durable but beautiful, eye-catching statements. The diversity of options for wedding jewellery for both men and women is the bedrock of a multitude of businesses. The bride and groom are no longer restricted to the simple, traditional gold band. The choice and variety of wedding rings for both the bride and the groom forms an extensive and lucrative business model.
Then there’s the food. Ghana is renowned for its rich array of traditional dishes and tastes, as well as for its welcoming hospitality. It’s no surprise, therefore, that there are hundreds of businesses that cater for weddings, offering new twists on customary staples such as soups, stews and seafood. Ghana and its people have a vigorous appetite for cuisine, and weddings are the perfect chance to cater for this appetite, producing bespoke menus for clients.
ALSO READ: 5 Ghanaian dishes every foreigner should try before leaving Ghana
Traditional And Local Business Opportunities
Ghana is also famous for its traditional kente fabrics. These textiles are woven by hand and cut and designed into beautiful styles, and they offer a distinctively colourful edge to every occasion. A traditional Ghanaian wedding is full of elegant, vibrant fashion, and offers a marketplace for designers, weavers and stylists.
Ghana also has a climate perfect for cultivating flowers. The combination of rich soil and weather has led to a healthy and bountiful floral culture. Ghanaians are quite rightly proud of their vast array of colourful, indigenous flowers and plants, such as Caladium, Jasmines and Orchids. Businesses both small and large are springing up in great numbers to provide displays and bouquets suitable for every occasion.
Every business faces continual pressures and challenges, and every business owner learns to adapt, regroup, reorganise, and grab opportunities to develop and diversify. The current global situation has undoubtedly provided a stark and arresting obstacle. However, once it passes, businesses will surely take their lead from the previously flourishing growth of Ghana, and will learn to build up their wedding businesses and services so that they can ensure a profitable future once more.
Author: Brianna Hilton
