Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong is the founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies one of the most diversified Holding Companies in Ghana with over 60 subsidiaries in 14 sectors of the economy. Best described as a Serial Entrepreneur, he has a penchant for identifying business opportunities across various industries. He is a fearless risk-taker with great international recognition and a passion for improving lives through job creation.

Dr. Agyepong became a Chief Executive Officer at the young age of 25, transforming his mother’s exercise book business into a printing press (Jospong Printing Press) in 1995. With his sharp business acumen, he ventured into other businesses and sectors where he saw opportunities. Over the years, he has proven to be a visionary leader with a remarkable knack for recognizing business opportunities and building strategic partnerships to implement his vision, leading to various businesses under the Jospong Group of Companies.

In 2006, he revolutionized Waste management in Ghana with the introduction of Zoomlion Ghana Limited- a private waste management company by the adoption and utilization of simple, and modern technologies, and methods of waste collection and disposal. Today, Zoomlion Ghana Limited is an award-winning company, and leader in waste management in Ghana providing sustainable and integrated waste management solutions covering municipal solid waste, medical and liquid waste.

For his extensive work in the environmental sanitation sector, the T.H. Chan Department of Public Health of Harvard University has since 2019 instituted an annual Lecture in his honor-the Joseph Agyepong Distinguished Lecture in Public Health. He also serves as an advisory board member of the Harvard Center for African Studies and also presented the Harvard Veritas Key inducting him into the Veritas Society.

He is a member of the Annual New Year School Corporate Advisory Team of the University of Ghana, Vice Chairman of the Enterprise Development Unit of KNUST-a Unit established to advise the Vice-Chancellor on matters associated with generating and sustaining viable enterprise and investment in the University.

Dr. Agyepong leads the Jospong Group with its over 60 subsidiaries, which have been strategically clustered into five Groups for easy administration. These are; Environmental Sanitation, ICT, Commercial and Allied Services, Financial Services as well as Technical and Logistics. His businesses put together employ over 6000 core staff, about 55,000 operatives and creating over 250,000 job opportunities for people of different ages, gender, and cultures, including Americans, Asians, and other African nationals.

He is a thought leader and international conference speaker on private sector development, waste management, wastewater management, and the impact of sanitation on public health. He is currently the President of the Environmental Service Providers Association. He has single-handedly built sustainable environmental sanitation infrastructure for Ghana- in the form of Waste treatment plants, including integrated recycling and compost plants, liquid waste treatment plants, plastic waste recycling, and medical waste treatment plants. These facilities do not only create jobs but protect the environment and serve as research centers for students of higher studies in environmental engineering.

Awards

Dr. Agyepong is the recipient of several laurels and recognition as a distinguished statesman who has made phenomenal contributions to environmental sanitation and higher education in the country, through ingenuity, sterling leadership, business acumen, and entrepreneurship. He has received two doctorate degrees for his works over the years-that is the Doctor of Literature from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in 2011 and recently in 2022, The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) conferred a Doctor of Science on him.

In 2008, the then President, His Excellency John A. Kufour conferred on him one of the highest honors of Ghana-the Award of the Order of the Volta. This was followed by the Best Entrepreneur of the year 2010, by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana. He was also a finalist in the Master’s Division of the maiden Ernst & Young West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2011. In the same year, he was adjudged the Overall Best Entrepreneur of the Year by the Ghana Entrepreneurs Awards.

The University of Ghana, Legon in 2013 conferred the Platinum Vessel Award on Dr. Agyepong, in recognition of his meritorious dedication, selfless services and contribution towards National Development. In 2016, he was awarded a Lifetime African Achievement Prize in Sustainable Development in Africa by the Millennium Excellence Awards and the African Achievers Award in Business Innovation by the Institute of Leadership and Management in Nigeria.

In 2021, alone he received the Most Influential African Business Leader of the Decade; CEO of the Decade; Overall Best Entrepreneur of the Decade; Induction into the CEO Hall of Fame; Entrepreneur of the year 2021; the CEO of the Year for Sanitation and CEO of CEOs award at the Ghana CEO and Vision Awards.