The resilience of traders at Kantamanto Market, their unity and their determination to rebuild after the January fire are among the biggest lessons Yayra Agbofah, Founder and Creative Director of The Revival, says he has learnt from working in the market.
Speaking on Episode 5 of Franco Vybz with Rev. Erskine, Mr. Agbofah was asked what Kantamanto had taught him about fashion and life, and how those lessons had shaped the way he runs ‘The Revival’. He identified three key lessons: resilience, unity and the ability to see possibilities in the face of adversity.
“I think my top three would be, number one, resilience,” he said.
He explained that uncertainty over earnings and profitability is part of everyday life for traders at the market, where business outcomes can vary from day to day. “It’s a norm that the traders work with uncertainties on how much they earn and their profitability of the business. You win some today, you lose some today,” he said.
Despite these uncertainties, he noted that trading at Kantamanto had continued for decades. He said the business model might appear difficult to understand from the perspective of someone accustomed to greater financial certainty.
“In somebody else’s mind, they will think, if you’re doing a business that you don’t have certainty, then why are you still doing it? Because it doesn’t make sense as a business person,” he said.
However, Mr. Agbofah said the traders’ passion and determination to keep going despite the challenges had left a lasting impression on him. “People still work with passion and keep going irrespective of the challenges. And that is something that I really learned. It taught me how to be patient, to be resilient,” he said.
His second lesson, he explained, is unity, which he sees in the collaborative process through which garments pass through different hands before becoming finished products for sale.
“The fact that one garment goes through different hands to become a product for it to be sold. It’s beautiful,” he said. “You can only achieve that when you are united.”
The third lesson, according to Mr. Agbofah, is the ability to recognize possibilities even in the face of devastating setbacks. He cited the fire that ravaged Kantamanto Market in January, describing the scale of the destruction as immense.
Although ‘The Revival’s’ operations were spared, some of his shops within the affected area were destroyed. “It didn’t get to this area. But some of my shops within that area were affected, and it was burnt down to ashes,” he said.
Despite the destruction, Mr. Agbofah said the market’s recovery demonstrated the determination and resilience of its traders.
“But look at Kanta now. It looks like nothing has happened. And that’s the beauty of people who are passionate about what they’re doing, who are united and are very resilient,” he said.
For Mr. Agbofah, the traders’ response to adversity reinforces the lessons Kantamanto continues to teach him: that resilience, collective effort and the ability to see possibilities in difficult circumstances can help people rebuild and move forward.
By: Mary Anna Cofie