Oheneba Boamah Tells Young Creatives To Build Success Deliberately

Ghanaian fashion entrepreneur Oheneba Yaw Boamah has told young business owners that career success is rarely accidental, urging them to make clear choices, seek practical experience, and position themselves deliberately for the future they want.

The founder and Creative Lead of the menswear brand Abrantie TheGentleman made the call at the maiden edition of My Hustle, a Hitz FM initiative designed to support young entrepreneurs and small businesses with practical lessons from people who have built real careers in competitive sectors.

The event took place on April 25 at the Joy Prime Studios under the theme “Building Smart Businesses, Growing Strong.” It brought together emerging entrepreneurs, creatives, and industry players to discuss how small and medium-scale enterprises in Ghana can build stronger foundations and grow sustainably.

Boamah says planning shaped his fashion journey

Speaking about his own path, Boamah said he did not treat his career as something that would simply fall into place. He explained that from an early point, he was conscious of the kind of professional story he wanted to build and the experiences that would help him get there.

“I always tell people that I made a conscious decision to be very particular about what I was doing. I planned my path by thinking about how my CV would be read and what I wanted it to represent. That is how I positioned myself.”

For him, the lesson for young people is direct: ambition must be matched with preparation. Boamah said people who want to enter fashion, design, textiles, or any creative business must pay attention to how each decision contributes to a bigger goal. In his view, the small choices made during school, internships, national service, and early employment can later become the backbone of a serious career.

His own foundation began in secondary school, where he studied visual arts. That choice later led him to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, where he studied Industrial Art with a specialisation in textiles. At KNUST, he said he became clearer about the direction he wanted to take. He wanted to be a designer, but he also understood that good design required deeper knowledge of textiles.

“While at KNUST, I realised I wanted to position myself as a designer, but I also needed a deep understanding of textiles.”

Internships, national service and sacrifice built the foundation

Boamah told the audience that he used his school breaks, attachments, internships, and national service period to immerse himself in Ghana’s textile industry. Rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity, he moved toward the spaces where he could learn, observe, and sharpen his craft.

He worked with several textile firms and at one point took on experience with two textile companies at the same time. He later completed his national service at Tex Styles Ghana Limited, widely known as GTP, before expanding his professional exposure through other textile firms in Ghana.

“I made sure I positioned myself within the textile field. From internships to national service, I fully immersed myself. At one point, I was working with two different textile companies at the same time.”

Those years, he suggested, were not glamorous, but they were important. He recalled closing from work at GTP and heading straight to Katamanto for months, describing that routine as part of the sacrifice required from anyone determined to succeed in the creative industry.

“I remember closing from GTP and heading straight to Katamanto for months. These are the sacrifices you make when you are determined to succeed.”

His message was especially relevant for young entrepreneurs who often expect quick wins. Boamah said progress is not always visible in the moment, but each stage can add value if a person pays attention and treats the experience seriously.

“You may feel like you are not making progress, but every experience is adding to your story and shaping you for where you are going.”

Fashion is wider than clothes, he tells young creatives

Boamah also pushed back against a narrow view of fashion. He said the industry is not only about making garments. It also includes make-up, models, visual presentation, storytelling, production, and the ability to build an emotional connection around a brand.

“Fashion is not just about clothes. There is make-up, there are models, there is storytelling. I made a conscious effort to educate myself across all these areas.”

That wider creative understanding has influenced the Abrantie TheGentleman brand. Boamah has experience in television production, and he said that background continues to shape how he approaches fashion shows and brand presentation. His shows, he explained, are designed to tell stories rather than simply display clothes on a runway.

“When you see my fashion shows, they are not just about clothes -- they tell a story. They are artistically driven, and that comes from deliberate decisions I made over time.”

Boamah’s work reflects that multidisciplinary path. He is a Ghanaian-born art enthusiast and KNUST College of Art graduate who majored in textiles. He has worked as a textile designer for GTP and the Ghana Textiles Manufacturing Company, and he currently works as a freelance print designer. Through Abrantie TheGentleman, he has combined textiles, fashion design, film, and fashion education into a distinctive creative identity.

He is also a resource lecturer on fashion and African textiles for local and international institutions, including King’s College London and Belmont University in the United States. His brand has clothed personalities across fashion, sports, film, music, and academia.

Closing his remarks at My Hustle, Boamah returned to the central point of his presentation: success is built through consistency, discipline, and intentional effort. He said people who know where they are going must position themselves properly and do excellent work wherever they find themselves.

“When people hear my story, they ask how it is possible. I tell them -- it is a journey. Once you know where you are going, you must position yourself and excel in whatever you find yourself doing.”