Esoko (and Hajia Talhatu Kudi) on CNN!

It’s easy to see why Hajia Talhatu was given a new last name by friends and co-workers in Accra—Kudi, the Hausa word meaning money. Hajia Talhatu Kudi started working in Nima market with her mother when she was just 11 years old; she later took over the business and has since grown it considerably, putting her boundless energy to work—Hajia is proud to say that she now buys and sells in metric tonnes what her mother began buying and selling in kilos so many years ago. Hajia deals mainly in cowpea, wheat, sesame and millet, travelling bi-weekly to Northern Ghana to purchase in bulk from producers, then hiring transporters to bring the goods down to Accra. She usually works with the same set of producers and traders, but says that she still needs to take these frequent journeys north to ensure that the goods meet her quality standards. Hajia says that finding new contacts and markets is something she’s always interested in doing, but that she needs capital to be able to grow her business outside of her regular contacts with whom she has mutual trust and works with on a credit basis. Hajia has five children, and is putting them through school with the money she earns as a trader in Nima. She shared her thoughts on TradeNet, as well as her infectious spirit, with CNN’s Inside Africa a few months ago.