What began with a series of confused phone calls has grown into a touching story of pride, surprise and youthful ambition, after the Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, shared his daughter’s unexpected entrepreneurial journey on Facebook.
According to him, unusual posts on his page initially left many of his contacts wondering whether his account had been hacked or taken over. He later clarified that the posts were tied to a personal family development that highlighted independence and initiative.
The MP revealed that his daughter, Dillys, a law student, had quietly ventured into entrepreneurship without his prior knowledge.
“My little girl, Dillys, who is a law student, unbeknownst to me, registered her own business at the Registrar General when she came back to Ghana on vacation,” he wrote.
He added that she went on to open a bank account and begin operating her business independently, a move he only later learned about through her mother.
“Do you know your daughter, whom you are training to be a lawyer, has a desire of being an entrepreneur, and this is her business?” he recalled being asked.
The revelation, he said, left him momentarily stunned. “I paused and said, ‘Wow!’” he shared.
Mr Afenyo-Markin, himself a lawyer, noted that while he initially envisioned his daughter fully pursuing law, he has chosen instead to support her entrepreneurial direction.
He explained that he believes in nurturing independence and self-reliance among young people.
“We want people to be independent-minded. We want people to build their own capacity to make ends meet, and if a university student can use her savings to start her own business at age eighteen, then I should be her biggest fan, her cheerleader, and support her to be an entrepreneur so that she wouldn’t depend on me or anyone’s success for her own survival,” he said.
He added that rather than discouraging her, he decided to publicly celebrate her effort by sharing her business on his page.
“So, proudly so, I decided to surprise her by posting her business on my page. That is the least a dad can do for a daughter,” he wrote.
He also used the moment to encourage young people to explore entrepreneurship alongside formal education.
“I encourage the youth to be entrepreneurial, look out for ideas, start in their own small way, and build their own business empire,” he said.
While Dillys continues her law studies, the MP acknowledged that her entrepreneurial path could still shape her future in ways yet to unfold.
“Dillys wants to be a lawyer, but you never can tell. Maybe this path she has chosen will be her future, and her law background would just be an added advantage,” he reflected.
He concluded with a personal message of support: “So, D, I am proud of you. Get going. I’ll support you with all ideas.”
The story has since resonated widely on social media, striking a chord with many parents and young people about independence, ambition and the quiet determination behind early entrepreneurship—even when it diverges from parental expectations.