If you think Abossey Okai the biggest car parts hub in Accra came go be by virtue of serendipity, then you got it completely wrong. It was a journey of a thousand mile which began with a step.
Abossey Okai is one of the busiest towns in the national capital of Ghana, Accra. It used to be an open place just like any other geographical location until in 1981, when a businessman, Mr. Asare thought it worthy to engage in a small-scale trade in secondhand or home used car spare parts.
I guess some people at the time might have been skeptical about the viability of dealing in car spare parts, but in no time, the business began gaining momentum.
As the spare parts business looked increasingly lucrative, more business inclined individuals begun to join the bandwagon.
The more merchants joined the craze to deal in spare parts, the faster the business expanded until it got to the state it is now.
Abossey Okai has earned its fame from the spare parts trade to the extent that parts of almost every car brand could be found there, ranging from Toyota, Kia, Honda, just to mention a few.
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If you visit Abossey Okai today, you will be marveled at the fact that almost every corner of the town there are various car parks consisting of new, slightly used and old ones.
The merchants import the various car parts from car manufacturing countries like Japan, china, Australia and others for sale to their customers.
The little speculative step taken by one Mr. Asare about 36 years ago, has grown into such a massive trade that is saving lots lives today. It has become so recognised that the central government has recently waved all the taxes on the importation of their goods, ostensibly to enable the trade boom.
So, the Abossey Okai you see or hear of today did not gain its fame overnight.