He was young and smart. So smart that he saw a business opportunity when friends continuously complimented him on how good his feet looked anytime they met.

To them, he wore good quality custom made shoes from Italy. The truth, they were the handiwork of Master Effah whose rickety shop was only a few meters away from where Tonyi lived during his National Service days.

Tonyi would tell his friends that the shoes were made locally in Ghana, and these friends, the doubting thomases they were, would sometimes place orders with him to get some of these shoes in order to satisfy their curiosity, of course, to also look good and receive compliments from their colleagues as well.

This would go on for some time until one friend of Tonyi who worked at Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) also placed an order for a shoe. When the order was met and this friend wore the shoe to work, Tonyi would then realise a real business opportunity.