Veteran broadcaster Tommy Annan-Forson has shared the remarkable story behind the birth of Joy FM, Ghana's first private radio station in 1995, revealing how a simple meeting over a bowl of fufu in his living room laid the foundation for Ghana’s private radio revolution.

Speaking on The Career Trail programme on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, he recounted how he first heard whispers about plans to establish a private radio station during the era of Jerry John Rawlings. At the time, the idea seemed far-fetched.

“We heard through the grapevine that there was going to be private radio springing up. I thought, hey, private radio, would that even be allowed in this country?” he said.

According to him, the turning point came when Kwasi Twum, CEO of Multimedia Group Limited, approached him with an offer to join the yet-to-be-established station.

“Mr Kwasi Twum came to me and said, ‘We’ve got the license to start a private radio station, and we want you to join us,’” he recalled.

At the time, Annan-Forson was working with Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and admitted that leaving the security of a government job for an untested private venture was a difficult decision.

“I was still at GBC at the time, and it was a huge decision because I had a secure government job. But this is new. Is it going to work? What if it doesn’t work? What do I do? But I’m someone who likes to take risks, so I said, maybe this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for,” he noted.

He revealed that the early planning stages of Joy FM were surprisingly modest, involving just three people mapping out the station’s vision and programming.

“We met at the house and we started, you know, direction, focus, what are we going to do, what kind of programmes and stuff like that. And every single programme initiated on Joy FM was done by just three people, which included myself and Kwasi Twum, in my living room over a bowl of fufu that we were eating,” he recounted.

Tommy Annan-Forson officially resigned from Ghana Broadcasting Corporation on April 30, and by 6 a.m. the very next day, May 1, he was already on air for Joy FM’s test transmission.

“It was thrilling, but people were confused at first. They didn’t know if it was a new GBC frequency or something completely different. Once I clarified that this was the first commercial private radio station in the country, people began to accept Joy FM,” he explained.

Annan-Forson credited the station’s rapid growth to the creative freedom he was given by Kwasi Twum.

“Kwasi Twum gave me the green light to do whatever I thought was best for the station—play what I wanted, run programmes how I wanted. The station was virtually mine. That trust allowed Joy FM to grow quickly,” he acknowledged.

He noted that this freedom and clear vision created opportunities for several of Ghana’s most celebrated media personalities, including Mark Okraku-Mantey, Gabby Adjetey, Kofi Kum Bilson, Doreen Andoh, and the late Komla Dumor, among many others.

Leaving Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, however, did not come without backlash.

“At one point, I went to GBC to pick up my LPs, and people started calling me a traitor because I left at the peak of my broadcasting career. But life goes on. You have to move forward,” Tommy Annan-Forson revealed.

Despite the criticism and early operational challenges—organising programmes, managing equipment, and perfecting schedules—the team remained determined and pushed through.

The station later relocated to Kokomlemle, where Annan-Forson launched the iconic Super Morning Show and several other programmes, cementing Joy FM’s place in Ghana’s media landscape.

“It was an experience worth leaving a job for. I am very proud to say that I am one of the success stories of Joy FM today. It all started over a simple bowl of fufu,” he said.