Togbe Afede XIV is the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State in the Volta Region of Ghana, an investment banker and a renowned entrepreneur. Born James Akpo on 23rd April, 1957, he was installed as the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State on the 4th October, 2003. He serves as the President of the Asogli Traditional Council and is currently President of the National House of Chiefs.
Togbe Afede had his secondary education at Kpedze Secondary School and Labone Secondary School where he sat for his ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels respectively. In 1979, he obtained a BSc in Administration (Accounting) from the University of Ghana School of Administration. He later gained a Master’s in Business Administration from the prestigious Yale University in the United States of Ghana.
James Apko began his working life at the now defunct Bank for Housing and Construction as a planning officer performing analysis of projects undertaking by loan applicants. He continued at the Cocoa Marketing Board as an accountant before moving to Nigeria to lecture in Economics and Accounting at Sokoto State Polytechnic's School of Management Studies in Nigeria. When he returned to Ghana in 1989 after his studies at Yale, he took up an appointment as a lecturer in Financial Accounting and Accounting Theory at the University of Ghana. He held the position till 1994, during which time he teamed up with others to establish Databank Financial Services. He went on to found his own investment firm, Strategic African Securities (SAS). In 1999, he set up Strategic Initiatives Ltd, a private equity and portfolio investments firm. He played a vital role in the development of Ghana’s capital markets, which was then in an infant stage and is credited with the publication of the first ever stock market indices in 1991.
A serial entrepreneur, he has several successful businesses to his name, including Africa World Airlines, the largest domestic airline in the country; Sunon Asogli Power (Ghana Limited), a power producing company; and Navigator Communications & Technology, an ICT firm.
Togbe has also at various times, held or continues to hold positions on several governing boards including those of Aluworks Ltd, Bank of Ghana, National Investment Bank, China Africa Company limited, Pioneer Kitchenware Limited, Trans Africa Telecom Ltd and the Volta Region Development Agency. He is currently the majority shareholder of Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club Limited and chairs the board. In 2015, he joined the Board of Directors of the World Trade Centre and is chairman of World Trade Centre Accra. In 2009, he served as a member of the Government Transition Team and the Head of the Committee on the Economy, leading the preparation of the 2009 budget. He was also a member of the President’s Economic Advisory Council between 2009 and 2013.
