Interview Summary
Sam Jonah is a Ghanaian businessman and the former CEO of the Ashanti Goldfields Company.
Jonah begins the interview with a discussion about golf, which he believes teaches honesty and integrity, and advises young students to be ready to embrace risk and failure in the business world. He elaborates his journey from being an intrapreneur at Ashanti to becoming an entrepreneur with Jonah Capital. He talks about his childhood, imbibing discipline from his military father and leadership from his mother. He shares how growing up in Obuasi, where mines were run along apartheid lines with no Ghanaians in senior positions, influenced him to study mining management. He also shares how his father’s guidance helped him shine in what was then a “white man’s” industry.
Jonah proceeds to discuss the growth of Ashanti Goldfields, which he joined in 1969 and became the CEO of at the age of 36. He explains how investment in modernization, exploration and capitalizing on the Cold War through mine acquisitions in Africa helped the one-mine company expand into a publicly listed multinational. He stresses how collaboration and empowerment constituted an important part of his leadership style.
In the context of his involvement on the boards of different public and private firms, Jonah discusses his efforts to ensure female representation at the highest level of companies. Discussing innovation, he shares how AngloGold Ashanti embraced groundbreaking mining technologies such as heap-leach and BIOX. He now encourages conscious adoption of AI so long as it does not threaten local livelihoods.
Citing figures from the banking, oil, and telecom sectors, Jonah maintains that empowerment of the people and greater local ownership is imperative for the future development of Ghana’s economy. He discusses how governance and strong institutions promote accountability and development. He emphasizes how businesses can strengthen institutions through intolerance towards corruption. He also talks about his philanthropic activities in the fields of education, human rights, and the environment.
In 1999, Ashanti, along with many other firms, found itself in a liquidity crisis caused by unprecedented fluctuation of gold prices. Jonah discusses the factors leading to this crisis and Ashanti’s navigation through margin agreement with a counterparty.
He concludes the interview by encouraging African students abroad to return and invest their knowledge in local opportunities for Africa’s development.
There is a direct correlation between governance structures, institutions that hold people accountable, and economic development. I daresay, in the absence of rule of law, development is only an illusion.
Additional Resources
" The Man with the Golden Touch. "
Forbes Africa , April 1, 2013.
The Northern Miner , July 14, 2003.
" Ghanaian investor secures rights to Abuja's River Park Estate. "
Ghana Web , September 20, 2025.
" Sam Jonah hails first large-scale indigenous mine – As E&P secures US$100m facility. "
B&FT Online , July 9, 2025.
Interview Citation Format
Interview with Sam Jonah, interviewed by Archie L. Jones, Accra, Ghana, 12 May, 2025, Creating Emerging Markets Oral History Collection, Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/.
Video Clips by Topic and Full Length Video
- Play Video duration:1:44Sam Jonah on Leadership
