This Ghanaian is making it possible for people to walk in the ‘sky’ with his famed canopy walkways

Ghana is blessed with incredible natural environment, making it one of the go-to destinations in West Africa. You’ll regret as a tourist if you happen to visit Ghana without touring its national parks.

And when you do visit the Kakum National Park, Kintampo Waterfalls, Legon Botanical Gardens, you will definitely use the much-talked about canopy walkways built by no other than a Ghanaian.

Kenneth Akufo Asare, a man from Akyem Maase in the Eastern region, is behind all the famed canopy walkways in the country.

In an interview with KOFI TV, he revealed that he acquired the skill of building these canopy walkways way back in September 1994. According to him, a former government official during the military regime – PNDC – Ato Austin thought it wise to attract tourists to Ghana through its national parks after a canopy walkway experience in Malaysia.

He recalled some Canadians were brought into the country to begin the construction work in 1994. As a parrot trapper, the Wildlife Division contracted him to understudy the contractors in order to maintain the walkway upon completion in April 1995.

Since then Asare has been the brain behind the canopy walkways in Ghana. He worked at Kakum as Wildlife Division Maintenance Manager from 1994 to 2012 until he had a gig to build a similar canopy walkway in the Kwara state of Nigeria.

On his return to Ghana, Asare set up his own company – Kenneth & Sons Company Limited. He went on to partner with the government to build the walkway at the Kintampo waterfalls and currently receives 40% of the revenue generated while 60% goes to the government.  

In 2014, he built a 105-metre long canopy walkway – the first on the sea in Africa – at a cost of $200,000 to link the Ave Maria Resort, formerly known as Halcrow beach, in Ghana’s industry city, Tema.

He is currently working on a 460m long walkway in Akosombo expected to be completed by December 2019. It will be the longest in Africa upon completion.

Asare operates his canopy walkway business with his 16 children – 11 males and five females.