About the Entrepreneur
Tess Karl Buah is a successful entrepreneur and the founder of Ghana Locals, a restaurant that specializes in Ghanian, Nigerian, and East African cuisines. With the support of her friends and family, Tess founded Ghana Locals six years ago in Chungking Mansions. She was inspired to pursue her passion for cooking and bring the authentic taste of African cuisines to Hong Kong, after facing discrimination and language barriers in her job search.
Tess has shown remarkable resilience and has built a highly competent restaurant that is widely known by Hong Kong locals and expatriates alike who have visited ChungKing Mansions. Tess’s signature dishes, like Jollof Rice, Fufu, and Noodles, are all made with a perfect blend of ingredients, herbs, and spices.Over the years, she expanded her restaurant from 15 seats to 30 seats, proving her resilience and dedication to her vision.
Challenges Faced by the Entrepreneur
- Language Barriers and Communication Challenges: Tess faced challenges in effectively communicating with the local audience in Hong Kong due to cultural and language barriers. The primarily English menu, including unfamiliar terms for dishes like Fufu, and absence of description of ingredients made locals feel overwhelmed and indecisive in venturing into the unfamiliar cuisine.
- Inadequate Access to Entrepreneurial Resources and Support: Limited availability of support in English hindered Tess’s ability to to fully benefit from entrepreneurial resources and support. Cultural barriers also posted challenges in finding tailored assistance for menu translation, renovations, and food license applications
- Outdated Menu: The existing menu was made six years ago, and new dishes, updated prices, and different serving styles are not reflected in the existing menu. This made it difficult to attract customers and accurately represent the quality and variety of her African cuisines.
- Lack of Professional Dish Photos: The absence of enticing food shots on the menu and social media posed a challenge. This may have caused potential customers to be hesitant in trying the unique dishes, leading to missed opportunities for business growth.
Direct Business Support Provided by CBI Interns
Through FSI’s Community Business Support Internship Program, Ghana Locals’s challenges were addressed successfully with notable enhancements in the deliverables. With the collaborative efforts of FSI interns, Gia Anand, Saanvi Ravi Katyayan, and Jagjeet Singh, who contributed a total of 10 hours from September to October 2023, the following objectives were accomplished:
- New Menu with Chinese Translation: Revamped Ghana Locals’s menu by incorporating Chinese translations and description of the dishes and ingredients, making it more accessible and appealing to the local audience.
- Professional Photos of Dishes: Produced professional photos of Tess’s dishes for the new menu and social media posts to enhance the visual appeal and entice potential customers.
- Social Media Post Templates and Captions: Designed eye-catching templates and provided engaging captions, empowering Tess to showcase her cuisines effectively on social media platforms, to attract more attention and generate interest from existing and potential clients.
- Leaflets to Enhance Awareness of African Cuisine: Created informative and visually appealing leaflets to highlight the unique aspects of African cuisine. These materials will be put up at the restaurant to raise awareness and educate the local community about Ghana Locals’s offerings.
From the Entrepreneur
“Grateful for the invaluable support from FSI’s youth interns! Their marketing skills and unwavering support surpassed my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised by their genuine interest in my business and their proactive approach in helping me overcome these challenges. They showcased my brand, culture, and helped me set up designs to enhance my branding and social media presence. More young people should seize this transformative opportunity to support community businesses like mine. I sincerely also hope that more businesses can benefit from this unique initiative.” – Tess Karl Buah
From the Youth
“I believe one of the takeaways was how many small businesses struggle when it comes to reaching economies of scale and customer outreach. I also learnt how they each have unique stories and values they can sell along with their products, which was inspiring and may also help them improve their outreach to get the right collaboration opportunities.” – Saanvi Ravi Katyayan
Get Involved
Here’s how you can help FSI support more grassroots businesses in mutually beneficial ways:
- Join our Community Business Support Internship to equip yourself or your students with business consultation skills and help under-resourced entrepreneurs;
- Sponsor and/or volunteer for our Community Business Support Internship, Impact Jams, Mentorship Program for Ethnically Diverse Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneur’s Toolkit etc. to channel private-sector resources towards positive social impact;
Check out GuideFong to find more grassroots businesses, try them out, leave reviews, and tell others about Hong Kong’s first online directory for ethnically diverse businesses!
