Loading
Retail and distribution
Consumer goods moved from a container to a shelf, including in towns a national distributor rarely reaches.
- COVERAGE
- Greater Accra and the northern regions
- ORDER PATTERN
- Weekly and monthly
- PAYMENT
- Cash and transfer, terms by account
What they buy
- 01
Wholesalers
Bulk supply to regional wholesalers serving the markets around them, ordering to a schedule.
- 02
Retailers
Smaller drops to shops that order weekly and cannot hold much stock at a time.
- 03
Brands entering Ghana
A route to market for companies that want shelf presence without setting up their own operation here.
- 04
Beyond the corridors
Towns off the main routes, which most national distributors treat as too small to bother with.
What this market is
Getting goods into Ghana is the straightforward part. A container clears Tema, a broker handles the paperwork and the pallets end up in a warehouse in Accra. Companies rarely fail there. They fail on everything between that warehouse and a shop counter four hours north.
That stretch is difficult in specific ways. Roads deteriorate outside the main corridors and worse in the rainy season. Shops order small quantities because they cannot afford to hold stock and have nowhere to keep it. Many pay cash on delivery, which means somebody has to be there with the goods and manage the money.
We already drive that route in the other direction to buy crops. The same vehicles that come south loaded with shea can go north loaded with soap and cooking oil, and the traders we buy from are often connected to the shops we sell to.
How it works in practice
- How goods travel
- By road from our stores, on our own arrangements or with hauliers we use regularly rather than the cheapest quote that week.
- Typical order size
- From a few cartons for a shop to full loads for a regional wholesaler. Neither is treated as the awkward one.
- Payment
- Cash on delivery is normal at the smaller end. Terms are agreed by account for wholesalers with a trading history.
- What we will tell you
- Which towns are worth the journey and which are not yet. Guessing at coverage is how a launch stalls in its second month.
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE
Goods received and checked into store. 
Orders picked for a weekly run. 
Loading for the northern route. 
Delivery to a regional wholesaler. 
Smaller drops to shops that order weekly. 
Settling in person, which is still how most of it works.
The last two hundred kilometres are where distribution in this country is actually decided.
Latlink Enterprise
OTHER MARKETS
Bringing a brand into Ghana?
Tell us the product, the pack size and where you want it seen. We will tell you honestly what coverage we can give you now.