JAB Podcast

JAB Podcast Bold voices. Real stories. The JAB Podcast sparks conversations that inspire change straight from the heart of Sierra Leone.

80–90% of businesses fail within ten years. The problem is not always the idea. Often, the founder and the business were...
11/08/2026

80–90% of businesses fail within ten years. The problem is not always the idea. Often, the founder and the business were never ready.

Michael Abbiw expected his own breakthrough in 12 months. It took five years to see good money. At one point, he reduced his monthly expenditure from GH₵15,000 to GH₵2,000.

In this episode, we unpack 10 readiness tests: personal preparedness, technical and commercial capacity, industry knowledge, customer validation, true financial requirements, money boundaries, people, emotional cost, governance and knowing when to pause or walk away.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rX15x4lpctU?si=3KWyd8KEFL9kpmJw

Then test your own business: audit.startupbodyshop.com

READY OR NOT?A new episode of the JAB Podcast is coming your way!You already know at least 80% of all businesses don't m...
07/08/2026

READY OR NOT?

A new episode of the JAB Podcast is coming your way!

You already know at least 80% of all businesses don't make it past year 5.

So what separates the 20% that do survive and thrive, from the rest?

Luck? Or something they got right from the start?

In this episode, Joe Abass sits down with Michael Abbiw CEO & Lead Consultant at MGA Consult (Ghana), President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana, and named one of Ghana's Most Influential Corporate Leaders of the Decade (2025).

With 20+ years across strategy, sales, marketing, HR and enterprise development in financial services, insurance, real estate and government, Michael breaks down why enthusiasm alone doesn't build a business; ex*****on capability, personal preparedness and real market understanding are amongst the key ingredients for entrepreneurial success.

If you're an entrepreneur, aspiring founder, or just business-curious, this is the readiness check you didn't know you needed.

Stay tuned, the episode drops soon!

What if you won six pitch competitions and still had not proven the business?Andrew Sahr Norma entered more than 50 Pitc...
27/07/2026

What if you won six pitch competitions and still had not proven the business?

Andrew Sahr Norma entered more than 50 Pitch competitions and won over $23,000. But the harder lesson came after the applause: Green Tech Bio Energy had targeted the wrong customers, measured the technology instead of the customer benefit, and made claims that still needed market proof.

In this episode, Andrew and I unpack the work founders must do before marketing or scaling: identify the real customer, validate the offer with measurable numbers, document results and let customers speak for the product.

Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6po3MZn4oic

Then find the constraint holding back your business: https://www.startupbodyshop.com/constraint-audit

He built a LinkedIn AI tool. Spent 6 months on it.Launched it. Got 40 users.His competitor launched one week earlier and...
19/07/2026

He built a LinkedIn AI tool. Spent 6 months on it.
Launched it. Got 40 users.
His competitor launched one week earlier and got 1,000.

Same idea. Same market. Different speed.

David Conteh, founder of Tenacity Technologies, sat down with Joe on the JAB Podcast and told the story straight. And then he talked about what changed.

The code is not the product. The market is the product.

This episode breaks down what that actually means from bootstrapping to closing your first customers to the real cost of building a business as a young African.

Watch the full episode on YouTube. Link in the comments .

Free Business Audit → audit.startupbodyshop.com

"I spent 20 years fixing people problem. I forgot to build wealth."Edleen Elba has run Job Search for two decades. She's...
10/07/2026

"I spent 20 years fixing people problem. I forgot to build wealth."

Edleen Elba has run Job Search for two decades. She's placed hundreds of people, built an HR consultancy, and started a foundation.

And her honest verdict on her own journey: She should've made the money first.

She also thinks Sierra Leone's labor laws are quietly killing small businesses — and she has the numbers to back it up.

The full conversation is live now. Link in comments.

Free business audit: https://www.startupbodyshop.com/constraint-audit

JUST WRAPPED: An incredible sit-down with Edleen Elba on the JAB Podcast!For over 20 years, Edleen Elba has been at the ...
03/07/2026

JUST WRAPPED: An incredible sit-down with Edleen Elba on the JAB Podcast!

For over 20 years, Edleen Elba has been at the heart of building Sierra Leone's workforce — from KPMG to GTB to NPA, and now as founder of Job Search and the Elba Group.

In this episode, she gets real about:
✅ Why skills > degrees when it comes to building industry.

✅ Her honest take on TVET and why perception (not quality) is the real problem.

✅ The hard truths about our labor laws — and what needs to change…

✅ Her biggest regrets as an entrepreneur, and the lessons in them.

✅ Why "it's people, people, people" in everything she does.

This one's packed with wisdom for founders, HR leaders, and anyone building something in Sierra Leone.

"Full episode dropping soon — stay tuned! Missed a previous episode? Watch them all here: https://www.youtube.com/"

🎙️ NEW EPISODE — The JAB ShowJoe Abass Bangura walked into a microfinance industryhe knew nothing about.He had his acco...
02/07/2026

🎙️ NEW EPISODE — The JAB Show

Joe Abass Bangura walked into a microfinance industry
he knew nothing about.

He had his accounting background. His faith. And a notebook.

9 years later, ACTB Savings & Loans had grown into one of
Sierra Leone's biggest microfinance institutions — with a
Central Bank licence to operate as a deposit-taking bank.

In this episode, Joe shares the 5 real lessons he learned
building a multi-million dollar business:

🔑 Be a student before you lead
🔑 Hire better than yourself
🔑 Be accountable to your team
🔑 The right hire is never too expensive
🔑 Never let your ego kill your mission

If you run a business, manage a team, or you're building
something from scratch — this one is for you.

▶️ Watch now: https://youtu.be/AStUahG2wdc
📊 Find what's holding your business back (free, 15 mins):
startupbodyshop.com/diagnostics

Drop a 🔥 in the comments if lesson 5 hit home.

Hello, July! Who should be on The JAB Podcast this month? We're lining up another month of bold conversations, inspiring...
01/07/2026

Hello, July! Who should be on The JAB Podcast this month?

We're lining up another month of bold conversations, inspiring stories, and game-changing insights.

Now it's your turn! 👇

Who do you want to see as our next guest? Tag them or drop their name in the comments—we just might make it happen.

Let's make July our biggest month yet!

She landed in Freetown on the 17th of January with £17 in her bank account. No, that’s not a typo.Mahawa Kamara had clos...
25/06/2026

She landed in Freetown on the 17th of January with £17 in her bank account.

No, that’s not a typo.

Mahawa Kamara had closed the Ghana chapter. She’d spent over a decade building businesses soap-making, consulting, surviving COVID, surviving Brexit, surviving the things nobody talks about when they talk about entrepreneurship.

And she came home. With faith, a framework, and £17.

In the latest episode of the JAB Show, Mahawa breaks down something we don’t talk about enough:

- Why your business might not be loving you back even when you’re giving it everything.
- The “family tax” and how it quietly eats your profits.
- Why growing your business too fast might be the worst thing you can do.
- The 6 love languages of entrepreneurship (yes, she’s writing a book ).
- What it really takes to go from market trader to scalable business.

This one is for every Madam Adama out there running a shop, keeping numbers in her head, and wondering why things aren’t growing.

Watch/listen now — https://youtu.be/ulICEb8AWB4

Tag a business owner who needs to hear this 👇

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