27 February 2022 The Birthday Journal Our twenty fifth anniversary slogan is about Love, Community and Stories. It’s our one liner strategy for moving forward as a business by working from a place of love, building a community both within the business and outside and being a business that is committed to the Arts, allowing creatives to utilise the space for their stories whether through music, film, fashion or theatre. Whowouldhavethought thatalittle, uncertain idea for a neighbourhood café would take seed, blossom and survive long enough to celebrate twenty five years in business? We are so grateful as a business to God for the vision in the first place and for being the author and finisher of all things. Because of His grace we have come far. It has not been an easy journey but nothing good comes easy. I am just blessed in the knowledge that the original purpose for Josie’s Cuppa Cappuccino, the seed, the intention has materialised. That it has served as a haven, a space that heals, restores and creates harmony. I believe that each business has an essence that represents in an intangible way, what it stands for. My encouragement to other entrepreneurs and those who wish to embark on this journey is whatever happens, keep going, stay true to yourself and your vision. The race is yours to win, but only, only if that’s what you want. With all the twists and turns, this is the road I was meant to be on and it has proved a challenging road indeed, but one that is truly fulfilling. It’s been a journey that has allowed me to express myself in a myriad of ways and revealed in the process, many gifts of creativity. Thebeautyof reflection is in looking back and understanding why things happened the way they, why there were some roadblocks along that way and I am convinced that God’s plan is best and I’d rather savour the wisdom discovery than have pre knowledge of the future. I’d rather journey with Him in the discovery of His purpose. Franka-Maria Andoh was born in Accra. She started writing Christmas plays with her dad’s old typewriter aged 8 and took a long break fromwriting until 2004when she was selected to be a part of the Crossing Borders Programme organised by the British Council. Franka took off from then and has under her belt several children books, Koku the Cockerel, Dokono the Donkey, Yum Yum the Bully Boy, The Kente Curtain, The Kente Dress, Kumasi to London and Dear Kweku. With a grant from the Danish Cultural Fund, Franka selfpublished a collection of short stories, I Have Time and Other Short Stories. This won the Ghana Association of Writers (GAW) – Ama Ata Aidoo Short Story Award. She also published a collection of essays celebrating ten years in the café business titled Still Passionate About Coffee. Her short story Mansa was featured in the Caine African Writers anthology and translated into Spanish. In 2021, her touching short story Twin Butterflies was accepted into the ‘Lockdown’ Anthology. Franka won a national award for her handbook for young girls titled Having a Period, Not a Little Girl Anymore. Her gift of creative non-fiction saw her co-author the book Sam with esteemedMember of the Council of State and lawyerMr SamOkudzeto. Her boutique publishing house Lemontree Publishing has birthed its first book by Franka-Maria entitled Under the Light which was launched officially in December during the 25th anniversary of her café. Josie’s Cuppa Cappuccino was listed in 2015 by Ventures Africa as one of the leading café’s in Africa.
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