a new way of doing things

Artists set their own prices, earning more than they can locally, while customers benefit by paying far less than traditional retail for beautiful works of art. Novica has been so successful that it is today the leading world arts site on the Internet.*

Novica has faced and overcome many of the same obstacles that challenge any international business. Extensive strategizing and computer programming was needed to develop a complex, international direct-shipping infrastructure that could dramatically narrow the divide between creator and consumer.

planting the seeds of economic freedom in ghana

But can direct market access actually improve the way people live? It has in Ghana where Novica established one of its first four offices. (The others were in Lima, El Salvador and Rio de Janeiro.) The choice was a wise one. Ghana was the first West African country to adopt the Internet. In addition, several competing mobile phone operators and Internet service providers have stepped up the pace of development in the country's technology sector.

Of Novica's 12 regions, Ghana currently leads in terms of sourcing new artists and artwork and ranks sixth in sales volume. The popular and unusual Ghanaian creations on the Novica Website range from original oil paintings by previously unknown artists to throne-stools carved by the chief carver for the King of the indigenous Ashanti Nation.

no limits!

Despite the current shakedown in the Internet economy, Novica's business continues to grow. Indeed, The World Bank's Department of Commerce estimates the current market for traditional, handmade arts and crafts is $22 billion in the United States and $280 billion worldwide. How much of that business transpires on the Internet? Forrester Research estimates that $271 million was spent online in 2000 for specialty gifts, up from $167 million in 1999.

"We continue to accept new artists daily in all our regions," says Chief Operating Officer Andres Milk. "And we continually work to develop new sourcing and direct shipping offices in other countries. There's no limit to our expansion options."

excitement and passion in accra

If Kofi Kyeremeh is any example, exuberance among Novica's staff in Accra, the capital of Ghana, is jumping off the charts. The 29-year-old Financial Controller rises seven days a week at 3 a.m. for a two-hour morning ritual of singing and dancing at a charismatic Christian mission church. Working 12 hours a day, he dispatches 200 pieces of local artwork each week to online buyers around the world and is hoping to add another 140 artists this year to the 60 already working with Novica in Ghana.

"I get home at 11 p.m.," says Kyeremeh who claims to find time for dinner and story-telling with his family before a nightly prayer and going to bed. "I'm used to staying up late and getting up early.

this is where my heart is

It wasn't always this way. "Unlike my previous jobs, Novica has drastically changed my life," says Kyeremeh. "Now I'm very focused on results. Through the power of computers and the Internet, Novica has truly changed my outlook."

An internal auditor in his previous job, Kyeremeh began at Novica by packing boxes; he knew it would eventually give him the chance to learn about the Web and help local artists. "I wanted to do something totally different," he says. "With Novica, I can go out in the country to help the company discover new artists and their beautiful artwork. This gives me the chance to directly share with less privileged people the opportunities that providence has given me. This is where my heart is."

making dreams come true

Novica has had an equally vitalizing effect on Josephine Okaijah who came to Accra from the Volta Region of northern Ghana to fulfill her goal of becoming a world-class secretary. "It's been my dream since I was a child," says the 23-year-old. "I've always thought it's the best way for me to contribute." Josephine's official title is Assistant to the Managing Director, but she also serves as head of the new listings department. "Working with Novica," she says, "has lifted me up to a different level. When I get up in the morning and prepare to go to work, all I can think of is how to improve and how to work more productively with my colleagues. Even at home after work I try to recollect all the activities of the day. Novica has given me the ability to focus on my career as well as discover other talents I didn't know I had."

"wander woman" finds a home

Former journalist Catherine Ryan is another of those who've been reinvigorated by Novica's vision. Under the pen name "Wander Woman," Ryan writes an ongoing column for the Novica Web site wherein passion and enthusiasm are not feigned but heartfelt.

"Now, instead of just reporting on events as a journalist, I have the opportunity to promote real change," says Ryan. "Novica has broken down the traditional international barriers to direct trade between individuals. Our goal is to leverage the Internet to help usher in a second, positive era of globalization that moves away from the consolidation of the marketplace and the homogenization of culture. What's most exciting is that it's working; it's really making a difference in people's lives.'

a new view of the world

Ghanaians most often use Malaysia and other Asian countries as models because of the high-tech success those countries have achieved. "Technology has the best chance of increasing our productivity and national income," says Okaijah. Kyeremeh agrees: "That's why so many of our policymakers are focusing on technological solutions. By combining technology with our natural resources, they believe we can achieve significant results. I think they're right."

Kyeremeh admits that even though he's traveled outside Ghana (he attended university in London), Novica has made the world smaller and far more accessible than he imagined. "For me," he says, "e-mail and computers are wonderful tools for bridging the gap between Ghana and the world at large."

"I used to think of the world outside Ghana as out of reach," says Okaijah. "But now, with computers and internet services, I see that we all share the same world and that it's all within our reach."

we hate to lose

What makes Novica so special, says Kyeremeh, is that "everyone is important, every contribution is valued. And because our mission is a collective one," he says, "we hate to lose."

Okaijah has seen her standing in the community rise enormously because of the value Novica has brought to her life. "Now people come to me for advice," she says. Her goal of making her family proud seems assured.

"Wander Woman" Catherine Ryan says that the good will embodied by Novica is contagious: "Novica is about promoting artisans as individuals and increasing appreciation of all cultures on a gigantic scale. That's what inspires us each day."

company on a mission

"I have a very big dream," says Kyeremeh. "I dream that through Novica's mission the world will end all senseless wars and replace them with the kind of love, togetherness and warmth that our artists send to each of our cherished customers in their artwork."

Okaijah hopes to become "a shoulder to lean on for those who are disadvantaged. I want," she says, "to work hard and find all the God-given talent in me so that I can share it with my country."

In a nation that has seen its hopes dashed by violent coups and demoralizing corruption, the reemergence of innocent idealism is a victory in itself, one that Novica's staff in Ghana seems to be celebrating everyday.

* According to Jupiter Media Metrix and P.C. Data.