From Ottoman army escape to Ghana success: The untold story behind the Kalmoni business dynasty
A family’s fear of losing its sons to military conscription in the Ottoman Empire set in motion a journey that would eventually produce one of Ghana’s longstanding automotive businesses, Japan Motors Trading Company. More than a century after his grandfather arrived in the Gold Coast, Salem Kalmoni has recounted how the family’s roots in Ghana can be traced to 1912, when the older generation left Lebanon for West Africa. Speaking on Joy FM’s Personality Profile with Lexis Bill on Thursday, November 5, the Japan Motors chief executive said his grandfather, also named Salem Kalmoni, travelled to the then Gold Coast with his brother, Subhi, after their family became concerned about the possibility of further military conscription. He said the family’s fears followed the conscription of Subhi…