Meet Young Money – The Ghanaian Miner Building an Empire with Tricycles, Transport, and Farming
Benjamin Eshun Junior, popularly known as Young Money or Money Minded, is a hardworking entrepreneur and miner who’s changing lives in Afosu, Birim North. Though originally from Amanase, he spent much of his life in Tarkwa and now works in the mining sector while running multiple businesses.
“I choose money over people,” he says boldly. “Humans can be wicked, but money doesn’t lie. That’s why I work hard.”
In an interview with Dj Nyaami on Business Link, Young Money revealed that For the past 12 years, he has worked at Newmont Gold Mine in Akyem, a U.S.-based company. He operates heavy-duty machinery at the Mat Crusher department, where they break down stones to extract gold. He studied automobile engineering at the School of Mines, and during community-based training in 2012, he learned how to mix reagents and handle chemicals in gold extraction.
While working full-time in mining, he started investing his salary into a new dream—transport. He began by buying a single tricycle (pragya), then added more. By 2023, he had acquired 23 tricycles and 25 motorcycles, creating a solid transport business.
Using Google Sheets and Excel, Young Money keeps track of all payments and performance from his riders.
“I can monitor who pays, who defaults, and when servicing is due,” he said. “I reinvest my mining salary into the transport business.”
Each of his riders signs a formal agreement, and the police are involved when necessary to ensure accountability.
“I currently employ over 80 people directly and indirectly through my transport venture,” he shared.
Before he started this business, people used to steal plantains from his farm. But now that he’s created jobs in the community, theft has stopped.
“People needed jobs—and the tricycles and motorcycles solved that problem. Now the youth are earning, and the whole community benefits.”
Young Money is also venturing into poultry farming, where he expects to start collecting eggs soon. He has plans to expand into real estate and filling stations, with dreams of launching a honey brand and hair braiding salons as well.
He also installed CCTV at home to monitor his transport business operations. His system is tight:
“If a rider breaks the rules, my team retrieves the vehicle immediately.”
Young Money encourages young people to stop relying solely on salaried jobs.
“My mining salary for a month—I can make that in a week from my side business,” he says. “Only weak-minded people say there are no jobs in Ghana. Start small, work hard, and don’t be ashamed to hustle.”
He recalled advising a young man who was celebrating his 23rd birthday.
“I asked if he had GHS 2,300 saved. He said no. I told him to invest in something simple like koko (porridge) sales. Start small, and you’ll see growth.”
Benjamin once planned to move to Canada and even completed replica documentation for the journey. But after some time, he realized that with the right mindset, one could make money right in Ghana.
“Some people abroad don’t even make what I make here. We need more entrepreneurs to take control of Ghana’s economy.”
He believes Ghana’s future doesn’t rely solely on politics.
“Only about 1% of Ghanaians control everything. If we had more entrepreneurs, we’d shape the system. Stop saying ‘I can’t afford it.’ Ask ‘how can I afford it?’ and your mind will start finding solutions.”
Young Money’s story is a powerful reminder that success isn’t always about going abroad—it’s about maximizing what you have, right where you are.
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