Mike's Bikes Mentoring Program in Ghana

Ghana: California Bicycle Coalition Industry Road Show
Mike’s Bikes promises its customers ‘the ride of your life’, and recently two of the company’s owners, Matt Adams and Ken Martin, journeyed to Africa to give new meaning to that message. As part of a program run by the non-profit Institute for Transport and Development Policy, Adams and Martin traveled to the country of Ghana to work with local bicycle dealers to improve the availability of bicycles and the quality of the service local shops provide.
 
"There's a growing working class in Ghana that can afford a quality bike, but right now there is no established dealer network serving that market," says Martin. "If we can help them boost their level of bicycle retail across the country, we can help the bicycle flourish as a form of sustainable and affordable transportation in Ghana."
 
In Ghana, Adams and Martin used their 25 years of combined experience in bicycle retail to help local bicycle dealers fine-tune their business practices, boost their level of customer service, understand basic marketing concepts and take the initial steps to develop a dependable supply network. “The people of Ghana are clamoring for bikes,” says Adams. “Right now though, the local dealers need more training and education to properly fill that need, and the wholesale distribution network still needs to be established.”
 
Located in West Africa, Ghana is a country of 20-million and has an average annual income of $2,100, with roughly 60% of the workforce involved in agriculture. For the average person in Ghana, a private automobile is largely out of reach. Yet, especially in rural areas, a bicycle is an affordable, efficient and sustainable method of daily transportation.
 
After visiting local bike shops around the country including the capital city of Accra, Adams and Martin presented a series of free seminars to a groups of invited dealers.  The training was free of charge and the entire expense of the project was borne by Mike’s Bikes and Morgan Hill-based Specialized Bicycle Components.
 
“The goal is to get more people in Ghana on bikes. I think we were able to have an immediately positive impact with the dealers, which is the most efficient way to achieve that goal.” says Martin. “The great thing about this project is that establishing an improved supply network and creating retail excellence is a long-term proposition that will provide social benefits far beyond the bike dealers alone - so I know we’ll be working in Ghana for a long time to come.”