FOTO VIM: Leaders of a New School

by Sionne R. Neely

CHALE MAN – photo by ACCRA [dot] ALT

Accra is a city in transition. It’s a place filled with a multitude of beautiful, thick struggles.

In January, The New York Times described Accra as “a buzzing metropolis for business and pleasure” rating the city #4 of 46 places in the world to visit in 2013. New residents are continually streaming into the city from all over the country and throughout West Africa. Ghana draws major tourist traffic [The World Bank reports 803,000 visitors in 2009] along with more and more immigrants [and returnees] moving into the city for business opportunities from the U.S., Canada, Thailand, India, China, Lebanon and all over Europe [via Horwath HTL].

BAG LADY – photo by ACCRA [dot] ALT

Earlier this month, The MasterCard African Cities Growth Index rated Accra #1 of 19 cities with the highest growth potential on the continent over the next five years. You see it in the countless construction cranes covering the city, rapidly churning up new luxury developments – shopping malls, high rise offices and lofts, hotels and gated communities. The city is shifting and taking on a different shape. Its five million+ population is bulging at the seams – stuck in tight trotros and taxis on traffic-choked two-lane roads.

COCONUT WATA FEVA – photo by ACCRA [dot] ALT