Everything retailed in Accra is bought wholesale a few streets away first. The gap between the two prices is large, and it is open to anyone buying in enough quantity - which is often less quantity than people assume.
Where the wholesale trade is
Accra’s wholesale trade is geographic. Each street sells one thing, and that is what makes it navigable:
| Where | What |
|---|---|
| Okaishie, Accra Central | Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, toiletries |
| Abossey Okai | Vehicle spare parts |
| Tip Toe Lane, Circle | Computers, phones and parts |
| Kwame Nkrumah Circle | Electrical goods and appliances |
| Makola and Accra Central | Provisions, cloth, stationery, plastics, almost everything |
| Timber Market, Hansen Road | Timber and building materials |
| Agbogbloshie and Kaneshie | Foodstuffs in bulk |
| Tema and the port road | Importers, containers and distributors |
The further up the chain you go, the cheaper and the larger the minimum. The importer sells by the container, the distributor by the carton, the wholesaler by the dozen and the shop by the piece.
What actually gets you the wholesale price
Less than most people think. Many wholesalers will sell a carton, a dozen or a sack, and the price per unit drops sharply at that first step. The big discounts beyond that need real volume.
- Ask for the wholesale price directly, and ask what quantity earns it. Nobody volunteers it.
- Going regularly matters more than going big. A wholesaler prices a returning customer differently from a stranger.
- Buying with other people works. Splitting a carton three ways is still bought at the carton price.
The rules of buying in bulk
- Count and inspect before you leave. A short carton discovered at home is a short carton you paid for.
- Check expiry dates on everything perishable, and check them across the carton rather than on the top layer. Bulk stock near its date is exactly what gets moved cheaply.
- Work out the per-unit price before you buy. A bigger box is not automatically cheaper, and sometimes it is not cheaper at all.
- Know where you will keep it. Damp, heat, insects and theft undo a bulk saving quickly, and this is the commonest way a good buy turns bad.
- Do not buy more perishable stock than you can sell or use. The saving is per unit; the loss is on everything you throw away.
Money, credit and receipts
Cash and MoMo are how most of this trade settles. Carrying large amounts of cash through Accra Central is a real risk, so mobile money is worth using where the seller takes it.
Credit exists and it is mostly relational. Wholesalers extend goods on credit to shopkeepers they know, and that trust is built by paying on time over months. It is not offered to new buyers, and asking for it early damages the relationship you are trying to build.
Get a receipt or an invoice. It is what makes a return possible, and if you are buying for a registered business it is what lets you account for the purchase properly.
— Registering a business — VAT in Ghana
If you are buying for a shop
Buying stock is the whole business, and the mistakes are predictable: too much of what does not move, too little of what does, and money tied up in shelves instead of in the till.
— Starting a provisions shop — Starting a business in Accra
Importing it yourself
Beyond a certain volume, the cheapest source is not in Accra at all. That is a different undertaking, with duty, clearing and a great deal of paperwork attached.
— Importing goods and customs — Clearing goods in Ghana — Using ICUMS