Little Ibrahim Sumaila, at the time, spent his playtime making little toy cars from empty cans. From these cars, he made a little money by selling to his friends who expressed interest.
With this mindset, he worked hard to enroll in a technical school in Tema – Don Bosco Technical Institute where he built on his knowledge in mechanical engineering.
After school, whilst working as a labourer at the Tema Habour, Sumaila also decided to help repair the faulty bicycles of his friends after he realized his ability to.
Over time, his skills grew and he decided, why not make these bicycles instead of just focusing on repairing them? That’s how his journey into mechanical engineering and the making of automotive began.
Today, he makes go-carts, motorbicycles, bicycles among others and he does this from scraps.
Speaking to Wonder Ami Hagan on the ‘People & Places’ show on GhanaWeb TV, Sumaila narrated how he has grown his ‘Ibrahim Spider’ brand over the years with hard work and determination.
“Since I was a kid, I was doing these tin cars using this milk tin, the ones we used to play with when we were young. I started when I was 10 years old. Fortunately for me, I was even selling them at that age, to my friends at that time.
“I started with art, I used to paint and sketch, even if I use clay, I can create something beautiful.
“I got the name Ibrahim Spider from this bike that I designed myself. I made it for one of my guys, he uses the bike to distribute coilers. He went to a man and someone saw it and asked where he got it, he told him I’m at Ashaiman and the next day, we went to him and looking at the design, the name came about. I started 5 years ago to help the people around me,” he stated.
Sumaila’s dreams however are somewhat in limbo, with the lack of resources and support.
“I’m using just simple tools but the timing even for one I use so much time. If I’m resourced and using power tools and all, I think we can go far and this thing I’m doing can help reduce unemployment even in my area. Looking at my area, the crime rate, if this thing is going to be resourced well, government or private organisations, this thing can create jobs – I need a shop and power tools,” he said.
