You have signed for the place and handed over 12 months of rent. The flat is almost certainly unfurnished, and in Ghana unfurnished often means genuinely empty — no wardrobes, no light fittings, sometimes no kitchen units.
Here is how to fill it without spending another advance.
Have it made
This is the Ghanaian answer and it is usually the right one.
Carpenters and furniture workshops are everywhere — along the Spintex road, around Achimota, at Timber Market and in every neighbourhood. You describe what you want, or show a photograph, agree a price and a date, and it gets built.
- Cheaper than imported furniture, often by a lot
- Made to your dimensions, which matters in oddly shaped rooms
- Local hardwood, which is durable
- Slower than buying, and the date will slip
How to do it well:
- Agree the exact specification, in writing or by drawing: dimensions, wood, finish, fittings
- Agree the price and the payment stages. A deposit for materials is normal; paying in full up front is not
- Agree a date, and expect it to move
- See previous work before commissioning anything substantial
- Inspect before final payment
Where to buy instead
Melcom — the Ghanaian default. Beds, wardrobes, sofas, appliances, kitchenware, fans. Fixed prices, branches everywhere, and cheaper than the malls.
China Mall — cheap homeware, plastics, storage, tools, curtains. Quality varies, priced accordingly, and unbeatable for filling a house fast.
Furniture showrooms along Spintex and the Tema motorway for the mid and upper range.
Second-hand — Tonaton, Jiji and Facebook Marketplace are full of departing expatriates selling entire households at once. This is the single best value in Accra furnishing, and the timing follows the international school year: June and July are when people leave.
Appliances
Buy locally rather than importing. Once duty, levies and clearing are counted, an imported appliance is usually more expensive than the same thing from Melcom — and the local one comes with a warranty someone will actually honour. — Importing and customs
Check the voltage. Ghana runs 230V, 50Hz, on Type D and G plugs. North American appliances need a transformer, not just an adapter, and frequently are not worth shipping.
Buy a fridge with a decent freezer. Power cuts are easier to survive with a full freezer.
Air conditioning is the big decision. It transforms sleeping in Accra and it dominates your electricity bill — more than everything else combined. A good ceiling fan plus a standing fan is what most of the city uses.
The Accra-specific kit
Things a household here needs that you would not think of elsewhere:
- A polytank, if the property has none. Around ₵1,400 for 1,000 litres, and the difference between an inconvenience and a crisis when the mains stop. — Water in Accra
- Buckets. Several. Non-negotiable.
- Surge-protected extension boards for anything expensive. Power returning after an outage can spike.
- Rechargeable lamps and power banks, kept charged.
- An inverter, if you work from home and cannot lose the router.
- Mosquito nets, and screens on windows if there are none. — Malaria
- A gas cylinder and burner. LPG refills run around ₵350.
- A water filter or a bulk dispenser, which pays for itself against sachets and produces far less plastic.
- Curtains or blinds. The sun is relentless and the rooms get hot.
- A good doormat and a broom. Harmattan dust gets into everything.
Getting it home
Melcom and the larger shops deliver, usually for a fee, often the same day.
For markets and small shops, a dispatch rider or a hired pickup is the answer. Ask the trader — they will know someone.
Agree the fee before loading, and expect to help carry.