The King of Business Battles: How Joseph Siaw Agyepong Turned Garbage into Gold and has survived many governments till date.

The Three Cedis Beginning The story of Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, founder of the Jospong Group and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, begins humbly in the late 1980s. With his mother’s illness forcing him to abandon dreams of becoming a pilot or marine engineer, Joseph turned to hawking exercise books from her small stationery shop in Teshie-Nungua. Armed with just three cedis, he built the resilience and street smarts that would shape his entrepreneurial path. By 1995, he had established Jospong Printing Press in Jamestown, transforming a cramped shop into the cornerstone of what would become a vast conglomerate.

Printing Power and Politics In the 1990s, as Ghana’s democratic process deepened, politics became big business. Campaign seasons demanded posters, banners, and millions of T-shirts. Joseph seized the opportunity. Through Appointed Time Screen Printing, he became the man behind the fabric of Ghanaian democracy. Election years turned his presses into cash machines, but more importantly, they connected him to the heartbeat of political power. He learned how to anticipate timelines, deliver under pressure, and convert political urgency into long-term relationships.

Waste as Wealth By the mid-2000s, Accra’s waste crisis offered a new frontier. Streets clogged with refuse, markets overwhelmed by filth, and narrow alleys inaccessible to traditional trucks presented an opportunity that most ignored. In 2006, Joseph launched Zoomlion Ghana Limited with a bold idea: tricycles for door-to-door collection, armies of workers mobilized nationwide, and logistics scaled with precision. Waste was constant and unavoidable, and in it he saw unending demand. What began as a sanitation company soon grew into a national fixture.

Surviving the Presidencies Under Kufuor: Joseph’s timing was perfect. President John Kufuor’s administration sought answers to youth unemployment. Zoomlion’s sanitation module, integrated into the National Youth Employment Programme, offered thousands of jobs and instant visibility. The contracts drew criticism for being inflated, but Zoomlion had become embedded in the machinery of government.

Under Mills: When the NDC won in 2008, many thought Zoomlion’s days were numbered. Instead, Joseph adapted. A company under his group was discovered to be named Better Ghana Management Services Limited, echoing the ruling party’s campaign slogan. By embedding himself in the language of power, Joseph made his services politically inseparable. The Mills administration chose continuity, and Zoomlion survived.

Under Mahama: By 2016, Joseph was not merely a contractor but a presidential confidant. At Zoomlion’s 10th anniversary, President John Mahama declared his unwavering support for the company. Days later, Mahama lost the election, but Joseph was already seen at the NPP’s thanksgiving service. His presence signaled a truth he had perfected: Zoomlion was aligned not with parties, but with power itself.

Under Akufo-Addo: The “incorruptible” Nana Akufo-Addo inherited Zoomlion and, when COVID-19 struck, turned to the company as a frontline partner. Nationwide fumigation of schools, prisons, markets, and airports cemented Zoomlion’s public profile. The contracts were sole-sourced and controversial, but the public visibility drowned out criticism. At the same time, Joseph expanded abroad, signing sanitation deals in Nigeria, Ethiopia, the DRC, and Kenya. Each foreign endorsement strengthened his domestic legitimacy.

Mahama’s Return: In 2025, John Mahama returned with the promise of a 24-Hour Economy. Joseph moved first, branding Zoomlion as “24HR Sanitation Services” — complete with the national Coat of Arms. Once again, he was positioning himself as the executor of the government’s vision before policies were even rolled out.

The Formula of Survival Joseph Siaw Agyepong’s business resilience rests on a simple but devastatingly effective formula:

Political Alignment – Align early with every administration, often branding his companies after ruling party slogans or pledges.

International Validation – Secure awards, endorsements, and contracts from across Africa to present Zoomlion as a continental leader.

Media Amplification – Saturate the press with coverage of contracts, expansions, and corporate social responsibility to shape public perception.

Through these levers, Zoomlion became more than a contractor; it became a constant in Ghana’s political economy.

The Crown of Ghana’s Business Battles No other Ghanaian businessman has matched Joseph’s ability to navigate political transitions. From Kufuor to Mills, Mahama, Akufo-Addo, and back to Mahama, he has remained a dominant force. Critics point to inflated contracts, monopolistic control, and lack of competition. Supporters highlight job creation, rapid mobilization, and international recognition. Both sides agree on one thing: his survival is no accident.

In a country where power shifts often reset the fortunes of businesses, Joseph Siaw Agyepong built an empire designed to endure. He turned waste into wealth, contracts into castles, and political transitions into stepping stones.

This is not just a business story. It is the story of Ghana’s fiercest business battle — and the man who has always emerged unshaken.

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