Godfada Gh Houston: How Ghanaian Businessman Sold Secondhand Clothes and Hawked Snacks Before Success

• Born Michael Houston, Godfada Gh Houston is a software engineer, Bitcoin 'guru', and the founder of the Facebook brand Inside Life
• The Ghanaian businessman emerged from extreme poverty following his first investment in Bitcoin
• Houston recalled in an interview with YEN.com.gh about the challenges he had to overcome in his journey to becoming a self-made entrepreneur

Everyone has something in them that can give them a breakthrough in life when they decide to focus on it and pursue a dream in light of it.

That's similar to the story of Godfada Gh Houston, a successful Ghanaian businessman who has made impressive strides as a Bitcoin 'guru' and founder of the Facebook brand Inside Life.

Since emerging from extreme poverty following his first investment, Godfada Gh Houston continues to touch lives with his benevolence.

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His imposing physique, personality, glittering accessories, and unique hairdo grab the attention of all eyeballs whenever he appears, but his humble personality and soft spot for the deprived, especially single mothers, quickly earn him the love of many.

Godfada Gh Houston's entrepreneurial journey with his mom in Accra

Godfada Gh Houston started his entrepreneurial journey at a very young age. Before he turned 10 years old, he was already making money. Born Michael Houston in Tudu within the central business district of Accra, he grew up with his birth mother, who worked as a trader in Makola Market.

He recalls that his father was not very present in their lives because he lived with his second wife at Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana. Both his parents are natives of the northern part of the Volta Region of Ghana.

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''I was raised with my mom, who was a Muslim. I became a Christian when I moved to my father in Takoradi. I lived with my mom in Accra, but I visited my father when the school went on vacation. Before then, he converted my mom to become a Christian, and she started training me the Christian way when I turned seven years old,'' he told YEN.com.gh.

Godfada Gh Houston's early education in Accra

Godfada Gh Houston credits his birth mother with his nursery and junior high school education but says his father provided financial support at some point when he was in primary school.

''I started at 31st December Women’s Movement Kindergarten and Primary School in Makola Market (Accra) and moved to Providence Preparatory School in New Town to complete primary school.

''I attended Independence Avenue in Accra, where I completed junior high school (JHS) in 2003,'' he recalled to YEN.com.gh.

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Godfada Gh Houston remembers balancing his studies with helping his mother at Makola Market, where he hawked and sold some of her secondhand clothes. Despite the challenges, he tells YEN.com.gh that he completed JHS with flying colours.

''I was a bright student then and could grab things easily. My mom was also interested in my education, so she allowed me to learn. My grades were excellent,'' says Godfada Gh Houston.

Godfada Gh Houston relocates to Tarkoradi to further his studies

In 2003, he moved from Accra to Takoradi to live with his father and continue his education at the Bompeh Senior High Technical School, where he studied Woodwork and Chemistry. He tells YEN.com.gh that he lacked the care of his father because he worked with a marine company and was mostly on a trip.

Godfada Gh Houston said his father's absence affected his studies as he had to help his stepmother with home chores. He recounts having a difficult life living in Takoradi. ''I yearned for a father's love, but it was missing,'' he said softly.

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''I was the oldest among the children of my father and stepmother and had to support with house chores. I didn't have much time to study unlike when I was with my mother in Accra because my mom did most of the house chores.

''... It affected my final year results in senior high school,'' Godfada Gh Houston recounted to YEN.com.gh.

The businessman said the introduction of the international West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), which replaced the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) in 2006, also affected his performance in his final examination.

''We were the first batch of students who sat for WASSCE in my school. We did only two years then instead of three years, which affected my performance,'' says Godfada Gh Houston.

Godfada Gh Houston returns to Accra for his tertiary education

After failing to achieve stellar results in his final year examination, his parents sacrificed his tertiary education for his younger siblings' education. He said he had to work and save to finance his education at the IPMC College of Technology.

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''I started selling on the street and saved to attend IPMC to do my bachelor's in software engineering ... I did a one-year course and completed it in 2009. I sold in traffic: yoghurt and snacks. Anything that earned me money. I was able to make a lot of money there to finance my education.''

Despite the hustle of combining his education and studies, Godfada Gh Houston said it was not a challenge.

''I am naturally bright when it comes to learning, I don't need much for something to stick in my head, and I am good with computers naturally. With the course at IPMC, it was easier ... I was too good for the course, so I completed it earlier than expected... It was easy for me because I knew what I was looking for,'' he told YEN.com.gh.

While Godfada Gh Houston has been an entrepreneur since childhood, he recalls working as an untrained security officer at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, where he claimed an encounter with a dead person compelled him to quit. With that experience, he decided not to work for any establishment but for himself.

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Godfada Gh Houston's journey into investing in bitcoin

He tells YEN.com.gh that after IPMC, he decided not to get personally involved in selling secondhand clothes.

'''I struck a deal with other traders; I gave them money to sell. I take my share of the profit and invested into Liberty Reserves.'' Godfada Gh Houston said then invested his profits from Liberty Reserve into Bitcoin.

''I invested between $4,000 - $6,000 into Bitcoin when it came out fresh,'' says Godfada Gh Houston.

But in May 2013, Liberty Reserve was shut down by the United States federal prosecutors under the Patriot Act after an investigation by authorities across 17 countries.

The United States charged founder Arthur Budovsky with money laundering and operating an unlicensed financial transaction company. The BBC reported that Arthur Budovsky had pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering.

What is Bitcoin?

Per the BBC, Bitcoin often described as a cryptocurrency, a virtual currency, or a digital currency, is a type of money that is entirely virtual. It's like an online version of cash. One can use it to buy products and services.

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Godfada Gh Houston says he has invested tens and thousands of dollars in Bitcoin, which explains how he funds his luxury lifestyle and donations. The self-proclaimed Bitcoin guru owns fleets of cars and houses in affluent areas in Accra. Godfada Gh Houston tells YEN.com.gh that he has a residence in Kasoa, not far from the plush home of former Black Stars captain Asamoah Gyan.

How Godfada Gh Houston leveraged social media to grow his business and impact lives

The businessman told YEN.com.gh that David Boahen Deuces, the founder of the Facebook brand Inner Real Life, sought his services to promote the page.

''I was connected to Deuces, and he needed my help to promote his group, Inner Real Life. He needed me to promote the group because of my Software Engineering background.

''I came on Facebook only to help promote that group, but I ended up becoming popular with the group, and I became his co-CEO. I started getting attention from members of Inner Real Life,'' Godfada Gh Houston recouted to YEN.com.gh.

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With that attention, Godfada Gh Houston started promoting his business and selling Bitcoin on the group.

''I decided to give back to the community, especially to people who needed help. I shared 20gh and 50ghc to at least 300 people per week or twice a month on my Facebook page and my brand group called INSIDE LIFE. Some returned to give testimonies about how the money helped them.''

Godfada Gh Houston disclosed that he later created his Facebook group called Inside Life to reach more people. ''With Inside Life, I was able to touch more people.''

Before the Christmas holiday, he took action to help a struggling mother named Adobea Kyei and her one-year-old son. The Mamprobi-based single mom made her plight public in the Facebook group Inside Life, saying she needed a mattress to sleep on with her one-year-old son.

The father of three took action to change the deprived mom's condition when her situation came to his attention.

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Impact of Godfada GH Houston's charity on people

The businessman, who earned the moniker Godfada GH Houston due to his charitable deeds, plans to positively impact more people in 2023.

''In life, we leave a legacy to our children; we leave our footprints wherever we travel, and we leave our fingerprints on every heart we touch,'' said popular author, Pat Patrick. And Godfada GH Houston's impact would live long in the hearts of the people he touched.

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Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh previously reported that Anthony Dzamefe's troubled journey into entrepreneurship began at an early age with his birth mother in Ho in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Source: YEN.com.gh