How Ghanaian business mogul McDan made $1m at 28, lost everything, and bounced back

Meet Ghanaian businessman Daniel McKorley. Born on June 17, 1971, in the Ghanaian capital Accra, McKorley fought his way out of poverty to build the McDan Group of Companies, a transportation and logistics company with operations in freight and contract logistics.

His businesses include McDan Shipping, McDan Aviation, and McDan Logistics. It is reported that his companies are widely recognized in Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, and his own home country, Ghana.

His McDan Shipping Company, headquartered in Accra, also has branches in Tema and Takoradi. What is more, it has a presence in over 2000 major air and sea ports worldwide due to its partnership with Cross Trades and World Cargo Alliance (WCA).

The company is also the first and only Freight Forwarding Company to obtain an Air Carrier License in handling chartered cargo flights in Ghana and currently is the GSA for multiple airlines, according to the company’s website.

The businessman is touted in the Ghanaian media as one of the richest entrepreneurs in the West African country. However, not much is known about his estimated net worth although some Ghanaian news websites claim he is worth between $600 million to $1 billion.

His journey to success was not without challenges, as it has been the story of many entrepreneurs across the world. Speaking in Accra, Ghana, during a startup summit on December 23, the entrepreneur recounted how he made his first $1 million at the age of 28 and lost all four years later.

“I made my first $1 million at the age of 28 years…you know one funny thing. I lost it all at the age of 32. Life is funny and there’s something called attitude,” he revealed.

McKorley blamed his losses on a lack of proper business principles and understanding at the time, according to Modern Ghana. “To make money you need to apply certain principles, understanding and having the right attitude to make money,” he advised.

The entrepreneur was recently in the news for expressing interest in purchasing English Premier League side Nottingham Forest. According to the businessman, he has been a supporter of the club for a long time now.

The 52-year-old investor is also a known supporter of Ghana Premier League side Accra Great Olympics.

“The only team I support in the world apart from Oly [Acrca Great Olympics] is Nottingham Forest,” he stated, according to Ghana’s Joy FM. “I have been a supporter of Nottingham Forest when Nottingham was even in the third division. Why? Because I want to buy that team. I want to buy Nottingham Forest imagine with all this development going on.”

According to him, should the takeover be successful, he will make sure that more Ghanaians get the opportunity to play for the club. “McDan buys Nottingham Forest and every time you see about 60% of the players [in the team] from the English league are from Ghana,” he said.

Not too long ago, the commercial private jet services of MccKorley announced the addition of two new airplanes to its fleet. The move signifies the business’s commitment to expanding and stamping its position as one of Africa’s first private jet service providers.

The two planes in his possession are; the Beechcraft King Air b200 – a seven-seater aircraft that will make its operations mainly in Ghana, the West Africa sub-region, and occasionally to other parts of Africa.

The second plane, the Airbus EC135 T1 helicopter, is set to travel anywhere in Ghana and West Africa to give clients scenic tour views from a helicopter, and also function as a secondary medical transfer to connect topographically separated hospitals, helping patients to reach facilities for appropriate medical attention.