A start-up bridge to Ghana

Babson College dean Dennis Hanno stands with Benjamin, a resident of Sekondi, Ghana, who has gone from being an apprentice of a furniture maker to owner of a manufacturing business with four employees, after taking business-training courses provided by Hanno and his students. (emily hanno)

F or the past eight years Dennis Hanno has been trekking to Sekondi-Takoradi in Ghana to encourage economic development through entrepreneurship. He's also picked up a little bit of two Ghanaian languages, Twi and Fante, along the way.

Hanno, the undergraduate dean of Babson College in Wellesley, began his work in Ghana while a professor at University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

In his first stint, he worked with 12 students, transforming part of a local church into a computer center. Last month he had a team of 36 students teach nearly 1,000 people the basics of how to start a business.

"Our goal is to get people to think about putting things together in a way that will help them start a business," or improve one they've already started, said Hanno. "They have to have the seed of an idea before they come to us, but we'll help them germinate the seed."

One Ghanaian who has benefited from Hanno's program is an artist named Kobina, who was looking to sell more of his work and serve as an agent for other artists. He has carved out a niche with the tourist market, launched a website, and was recently asked to exhibit his paintings in one of the largest resorts in the capital city of Accra, a four-hour drive from his home.

"Every year he sits down with our group to talk about his marketing plans and how to take his business to the next level," said Hanno.

Other participants include a cement-cinderblock manufacturer who wanted to expand his product line and is now producing decorative garden urns using the same raw materials with different molds. There is also a chicken farmer, as well as a dog breeder and a person interested in providing child-care services.

"I tell my students that if they think they're going to get on a white horse and go over to Ghana to save people, then they're going for the wrong reasons," said Hanno. The purpose, he tells them, is to learn about a different culture, to experience a different environment, and to show that Americans care and are interested.

Over the years, Hanno said he has walked down the streets of Ghana and had people yell such remarks as "Go Osama Bin Laden," or profanities aimed at President Bush.

"It's interesting how well people know American politics," said Hanno. "I'm often asked what I think about George Bush."

Hanno says that despite being in an entrepreneurial environment both on campus and in Ghana, he hasn't been bitten by the business bug.

"If I had all of the time in the world I'd probably spend six months a year in Ghana," said Hanno. "I've never been particularly motivated by money, as it seems to have come in as I've needed it."

Hanno's childhood was far from extravagant. He grew up on a dairy farm in Lowville, N.Y. His father did most of the milking, but as soon as Hanno was old enough to drive a tractor, it was his job to spread manure around the fields.

"I never had a day off in that environment," Hanno recalled.

Despite living 50 miles from the Canadian border, he made it across only once or twice before he turned 18. The first time he traveled west of Buffalo was when he went to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, where he majored in accounting.

Hanno earned a master's degree in accounting from Western New England College in Springfield and ran his own accounting firm, but soon realized that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life crunching numbers. He found the academic environment alluring and went back to school for good - in 1990 for a doctorate in accounting at UMass-Amherst. Then he became a professor at Boston College. Two years later UMass hired him as faculty member, and eight years later he was named associate undergraduate dean in its school of management.

The Ghana connection began over a decade ago by chance, when Leda McKenry, a nursing professor at UMass, met the Rev. Robert Andoh, a native of Ghana, while waiting in an airport. Their conversation led to McKenry asking what she could do to help. He cited a need for vaccinations and health screenings, so in 1997 she flew to Ghana with a team of nursing students.

Two years later, Andoh said he'd like help with business and technology issues, so in 2000 Hanno went to see what he could contribute.

Hanno said he will never forget his first night in Sekondi. After a 30-hour trip, he was welcomed by a crowd of 300 residents saying, "We're so glad that you're here. Are you ready for your speech?"

Hanno's team has held a business plan competition among 11 Ghanaian high schools for the past five years. Winners compete in a regional competition that draws an audience of 700.

Three schools are awarded $100, which Hanno hopes will be used for scholarships (tuition runs $30 a month). Each of the 11 schools is also presented with a computer.

Hanno became Babson's undergraduate dean in 2006 and has continued his work in Ghana. This year, he brought along 12 groups of three students, each with a different level of knowledge.

Betty Chen, a 21-year-old senior at Babson majoring in finance and cost control, taught one of the entrepreneurship classes.

"I found the people there very hospitable and very open to outsiders," said Chen. "Being able to experience the lifestyle of a developing country, and watching our students at the business plan competition with their school supporting them, was a moment to remember."

Two years ago Hanno returned home with an infection caused by an African tumbu fly larva that had burrowed into his arm. His wife helped pull the bug out with tweezers, and "then slept in the guest room for the next two weeks" while he recovered, Ganno said.

In 2006 Hanno launched the nonprofit Nyansa Project - named for a Twi word for knowledge - to stimulate economic development in Ghana. He has a board of directors and is trying to raise money for student scholarships as well as the entrepreneurial work.

"The beauty of the long-term relationship" he has formed in Ghana, said Hanno, "is being able to witness the changes and growth that have occurred."

For more on Dennis Hanno's organization, log on to nyansaproject.org.

To suggest a subject for a People column, e-mail Lebovits@globe.com