Joseph Daniel Annan

A Ghanaian entrepreneur who revolutionized West Africa’s cocoa industry, driving economic independence through agricultural innovation.

Joseph Daniel Annan (1898–1975) was a Ghanaian businessman and founder of the Gold Coast Cocoa Growers’ Association. Born in the Ashanti region, he pioneered cooperative farming models that empowered smallholder cocoa producers. His 1930s initiative to establish St. Benedict’s Cocoa Processing Plant reduced reliance on British middlemen, increasing farmers’ profits by 40%.

Annan lobbied successfully for the 1947 Cocoa Control Act, which nationalized cocoa exports and funded rural infrastructure. His vision of vertically integrated production inspired post-colonial agricultural policies across Africa. During Ghana’s independence era, his company trained over 10,000 farmers in sustainable practices, earning him the Order of the Star of Ghana in 1962.

His memoir 《The Cocoa King of Kumasi》 details his battles against colonial monopolies. Annan’s legacy persists in Ghana’s modern cocoa sector, which remains the world’s second-largest producer.