{
  "id": 18416839,
  "title": "From Ottoman army escape to Ghana success: The untold story behind the Kalmoni business dynasty",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/from-ottoman-army-escape-to-ghana-success-the-untold-story-behind-the",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-05T23:43:50.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Joy Business",
    "slug": "joy-business",
    "url": "https://www.myjoyonline.com/from-ottoman-army-escape-to-ghana-success-the-untold-story-behind-the-kalmoni-business-dynasty/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The story of the Kalmoni business dynasty in Ghana stems from a family's fear of losing their sons to military conscription in the Ottoman Empire. This concern prompted their ancestors to leave Lebanon for West Africa in 1912, with the first generation settling in Ghana. Salem Kalmoni, one of the founders, recounted this journey during an interview on Joy FM’s Personality Profile with Lexis Bill. The family's initial trading businesses were established in Winneba and Swedru before they moved to Accra in the late 1940s. Their activities began with the sale of provisions and spare parts, which later expanded into vehicle sales and transport. This transition from trading shops to transport services laid the foundation for Japan Motors Trading Company, one of Ghana's longstanding automotive businesses.",
  "summary": "A family’s fear of losing its sons to military conscription in the Ottoman Empire set in motion a journey that would eventually produce one of Ghana’s longstanding automotive businesses, Japan Motors Trading Company.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}