By: Dorothy Oforiwaa Ocran
Zongo mall? I know what you may be thinking right now but hold on – far from being stereotypical or anything derogatory, Madina Zongo mall is significant to residents of Madina. Well it is called Zongo mall but contrary to the massive architecture of West hills, Accra, Achimota, Legon and Junction malls and what they sell, Zongo mall is nothing close. Yet, it is a household name in the Zongo Community of Madina.
A first glance at the signage with the bold inscription, ‘Zongo mall’ triggered several spontaneous reactions from me – I shook my head, giggled uncontrollably, soliloquized the several questions that ran through my mind, laughed again, and then I got really curious. The kind of shop that bore the signage ‘Zongo mall’ was unbelievably ironic. For a moment I wondered what or who might have influenced the shop owner to give the ‘mall’ label to a mere shop as that.
Fuard Ali’s Zongo mall sits at the centre of Madina Zongo, amidst houses and shops. He sells sportswear, televisions and home theatres. Aside from these, he uses the facility as a commercial football viewing centre, where he charges viewers GHȻ2.00 per game. The shop is able to accommodate a maximum number of 30 people for every game.
Fuard said he branded his shop that way because it is situated within the Zongo community. “I wanted to give Madina a mall because they did not have one,” he explained. For him, the idea to provide Madina with a mall turned out to be a business strategy. He said the name has popularized the shop so much so that people who are usually fascinated by the brand name troop in often to catch a laugh, and they almost always end up buying something from the shop.
People rely hugely on Fuard’s mall when giving directions to others in the vicinity. Zongo mall is so eye-catching that no one seems to remember what name the neighbourhood was called before the commencement of the mall three years ago; not even Fuard.
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