Osei Kwame ‘Despite’ is a serial entrepreneur who owns Despite Company Limited, a trading company with subsidiaries in the media industry such as, PEACE FM which is touted to be the largest and the most popular radio station in the country. Other radio stations owned by Despite include OKAY FM, NEAT FM both in Accra and HELLO FM in Kumasi. The versatile entrepreneur has equally diversified into manufacturing– Neat Foods Ltd. and Antona Foods Ltd.
With burning ingenuity coursing through his veins, Kwame Despite along with his brother, Ernest Sarpong, founded the U2 Salt mining company, which is located at Winneba. The duo also co-founded the United Television (UTV) which is a leading TV station in the country. The revered businessman is also the co-founder and Vice Chairman of Best Point Savings and Loans Ltd, a very renowned financial institution in the country.
The Chief Executive of Despite Group of Companies was a far cry from his current affluent status as he was born into a poor home. Born on February 2, 1962, at Wiamoase in the Ashanti region, young Kwame had to mature to fend for himself. In the pursuit of keeping himself fed, he started trading in padlocks, cassettes, and feeding bottles at Dunkwa Offinso. Recognizing the state of his family, he was determined to correct the anomaly by applying himself to work in a bid to make a difference in their situation. It is in such efforts that he made the decision to move to Nigeria for greener pastures. This happened at a time when Ghana was in a precarious state due to the 1980’s famine which occurred.
His dreams of making it there was soon truncated as he was part of the several Ghanaian immigrants in Nigeria, who were deported in 1983 due to the inherent political tension. Returning home was not a celebratory moment for Kwame Despite as all he could lay claim to was a chainsaw and a trident cassette player.
He had to quickly make a choice to move his life forward and opted to venture into lumbering. However, being inexperienced in that plain, he incurred some losses as a result of a tree falling on his chainsaw rendering him incapable of making any profit.
Unperturbed by the temporary hiccup, he consequently made the decision to return to his usual cassette business. Through acts of diligence, Kwame Despite found success in the sale of the cassettes and established his first radio station, Peace FM in Accra in 1999. The station’s experimentation with the Akan language worked to perfection as radio listeners in search of local content jettisoned stations which were broadcasting only in English for the 104.3 frequency. He extended his media conglomerate to include Okay FM, Hello FM, Neat FM and the most watched television station in Ghana, UTV. This led to the expansion of the business empire to other sectors.
Following this, Dr. Osei-Kwame set up Neat Foods Ltd. which processes local plantain, cocoyam, maize and palm fruits. This convenience food has become a preference to the traditional fufu. He also owns a manufacturing company, Antona Foods Ltd, producing the much popular ‘THIS WAY’ chocolate drink and other products including the Motherlac cereal for children.
A man’s true wealth and legacy is measured by his impact on society and the lives he has imparted in no mean ways. Dr. Osei Kwame Despite has over the years left an indelible imprint in the many philanthropic gestures he has meted out in the country. The CEO of Despite Group of Companies donated a Children’s Block as a birthday present to the 37 Military Hospital in 2018. The completed ultramodern facility was commissioned on 2nd February 2018 and the building named after him. In that same year, he built and commissioned the Tesano Divisional Police Headquarter in Accra. Also, Dr. Osei Kwame has in the past organized a blood donation exercise as part of his corporate social responsibility to society to replenish the blood banks in the country.
In 2020, Dr Osei Kwame ‘Despite’ and Mr Ernest Ofori Sarpong presented a sum of US$100,000 to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) to help the facility combat the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Apart from donating items and cash to thousands of widows and widowers of Agona Wiamoase in the Ashanti Region, the Despite group embarked on a life-changing journey with the establishment of the Despite Disaster Relief Fund, aimed at raising money to be given to victims of the June 3 flood and fire disaster in Accra.
Undoubtedly, Dr. Osei-Kwame, is a business magnate with distinct insight into creating employment avenues for the jobless and relentless promotion of the Ghanaian culture and he has in the process received countless awards in the past. In 2019, Dr Osei Kwame was adjudged the ‘Social Entrepreneur of the Year’ at the Ghana Business Awards, whiles his company, Despite Media Group whisked away the Media Organization of the Year Award. He also received an Honorary Ambassador of Business Entrepreneur in West Africa and Honorary man of the moment, Ghana, West Africa. Similarly, he has also been awarded with the ‘Best Entrepreneur for Multimedia’ by Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and Industries in 2013. The Business mogul and owner of the Despite Group of Companies was elevated to the status of a Doctor by the Canterbury University for his continuous contribution to innovation, provision of job opportunities and relentless promotion of the Ghanaian Culture.
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In spite of his jaw-dropping wealth and affluence, Dr. Osei Kwame Despite has always gone about his life in constant humility and poise, drawing all and sundry to himself and helping people the best way he can.
