Lifestyle

MacCarthy M. Mac-Gbarthy , 25, a  student of Tamale Polytechnic, an Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Hopin Academy. Hopin is a social enterprise that grew out of a growing frustration with the existing educational system in Ghana.  For the period of seven(7) months during 2013 this year, Hopin has trained ninety (90) local participants in our program. Hopin is based both on personal experience with self-directed learning as well as exposure to many kinds of technology for learning. Hopin collects the best content and tools from the internet and mobile content and combines it with a strong local learning community where you can learn individually and collectively via, coaching, Peer to Peer learning, mentoring, project-based learning and experimental processes.(www.hopinacademy.org). He is an active member of a a vibrant youth networking ogranisation in Ghana called Barcamp Ghana.

Alloysius Attah, 24, is the co-founder of Farmerline, a mobile venture offering improved information access and communication pathways for smallholder farmers and agricultural stakeholders. He is passionate scaling technology to smallholder farmers across Africa. He was a speaker at both TEDxKNUST and TEDxAccra speaker and has been named by the World Bank and InfoDev as one of the top 20 high impact entrepreneurs in the world. He is a recipient of many international awards like the World Summit Youth Award and Apps4africa Climate change competition. He is also the Front End Developer for iCottage Networks, a full-service multimedia agency providing top-of-the-class web development services, compelling graphic design and cutting-edge branding tactics. He won the Global Innovation Through Science and Technology in 2012 and also the 2012 Apps4Africa Climate Change Competition winner.

Nina Oduro, 27, founder and editor of AfricanDevJobs.com, a platform for Africa-based development job opportunities and career advice with a special focus on highlighting the contributions of Africans and the African diaspora in the field. Committed to education and youth leadership development, she has worked as an education advisor, trainer, and facilitator for programs and initiatives aimed at positive youth development in the US and Africa. Nina is a member of the Diaspora African Women’s Network’s (DAWN) and was named “DAWNer of the Year” for 2013. She received a Master’s degree in African-American Studies from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia.

 

Fiifi Baidoo, 29, Co-founder of iSpace, a successful initiative that offers product-oriented technology start-ups with a dedicated co-working space, community gathering point and network for driving entrepreneurial success. He is also a Web Enthusiast and has worked in the internet industry since 2003. In 2010, he accepted the role to be a managing member of GDG Ghana (Google Developer Group) where he helped set up new GDGs across Ghana and SSA. He until recently was a Program Coordinator at Google Ghana.

Valerie Labi, 28, is part of the senior management team of  Clean Team Toilets, a social enterprise pioneering a relevant and affordable household sanitation solutions for urban communities in developing countries. She acquired significant experiences whilst working for a host of international corporations including Vodafone Ghana and Ernst & Young UK. Since relocating to Ghana in 2008 she has supported the fair trade co-operative of Global Mamas.  Working with more than 300 women owned businesses across Ghana. Furthermore Valerie was a critical member of the team who developed the site www.tradeforchange.com enabling this co-operative of small businesses to trade their produce direct to international buyers online. Valerie is also Chief Marketing Officer of www.votekastafrica.com an online platform dedicated to strengthening democracy and transparency during elections across the continent.

Gary Al-Smith, 25, known as the controversial sports journalist.  At the young age of 19, Gary Al-Smith’s first ever journalist work was with the BBC. He did a feature piece for them for their Focus on Africa magazine and he has been doing bits and pieces for them ever since. He regularly does radio work for BBC; in the past two African Cup of Nations, in Gabon and in South Africa. He has also corresponded a few times for CNN, the biggest being the African Footballer Awards last year. He is currently the editor for SuperSport online in Ghana and has worked for ESPN. He currently works for network on a commission basis and has worked on documentaries for Radio Netherlands. He is also part of the CitiFm Sports team.