Changemakers

Call for Application: Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programme 2018

June 7, 2018

Call for Application: Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programme 2018

Introduction:

Are you a young person looking to create change in your community and want to make a difference across Ghana? Do you want to make an impactful and sustainable change?

 

The Competition:

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), in partnership with GhanaThink Foundation, is pleased to announce the the Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Programme. We are calling out to youth as partners for the implementation of their ideas which are geared towards “Social Innovation that Works for Women”. This application does not restrict innovations to be focused on women as a primary beneficiary only, so all ideas with a social innovation focus are welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DOT is an international non-profit organization that believes in the power of youth-led innovation, that communities can be shaped by empowering youth to create sustainable initiatives inspired by community needs, and that social innovation is accelerated when supported by digital technology.

 

Target Group:

This challenge is seeking youth as agents of community development through social enterprises. As an applicant, you must be passionate about social entrepreneurship, social innovation and be willing to create social change.

 

Challenge specifics:

  • Receive cutting-edge coaching and mentorship support to develop your own innovative social businesses.
  • Selected participants will go through a 4-months training on how to develop their social enterprise ideas using human centred design approach.
  • Selected participants will receive both financial and non-financial support to test and implement their ideas .
  • The final selected participants will attend the global DOT Unconference in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2018.

 

 

You will get the chance to pitch your ideas after the training.

You will get feedback from seasoned innovators

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guidelines and Requirements:

    • Age bracket: 18 – 29 years at the time of application
    • Tech savvy and computer literate
    • A citizen of Ghana or resident in Ghana
    • Should have a valid passport or able to acquire a passport within a short period.
    • Have an innovative solution to a community problem which is at the early ideation stage. If you have been thinking through an idea which has a social impact, then you can apply.
    • Applicants with gender focused ideas are encouraged to apply.
    • Applicants must be committed and available throughout the programme to attend trainings and workshops.
    • Young women are highly encouraged to apply.

 

You will be awarded after your training.

You will have fun with awesome people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Programme Timelines:

Applications are due by June 17, 2018 at 11:59 GMT

Reviewing of application and recruitment – June 18 – 24 2018

Reporting Requirements: Selected applicants will be expected to pitch their idea for support.

How to Apply

      • Step 1: Take time to research what a social innovation or social enterprise is to help clarify your social innovation idea.
      • Step 2: Fill in the online application form here – https://goo.gl/forms/ALf9FyNuCXA6vjz82

N.B:

    • Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
    • If selected, you will be required to attend a compulsory meetup with all the other selected participants between June 28 – 30 2018 or July 1 2018.
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Call for Application: Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2017

January 16, 2017

Call for Application: Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition 2017

Introduction:

Are you a young person looking to creating change in your community and want to make a difference across Ghana? Do you want to make a impactful and sustainable change?

 

The Competition:

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT), in partnership with GhanaThink Foundation, is pleased to announce the Ghana Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition. We are calling out to youth as partners for the implementation of their ideas which are geared towards achieving the SDGs.

 

DOT is an international non-profit organization that believes in the power of youth-led innovation, that communities can be shaped by empowering youth to create sustainable initiatives inspired by community needs, and that social innovation is accelerated when supported by digital technology.

 

Target Group:

This challenge is seeking youth as agents of community development through social enterprises. As an applicant, you must be passionate about social entrepreneurship and social innovation and be willing to create social change.

 

Benefits:

  • Receive free cutting-edge coaching and mentorship support to develop your own innovative social businesses
  • Selected participants will be through free 2-months training on how to develop their social enterprise ideas using human centred design approach
  • Selected participants will receive free financial and non-financial support to test and implement their ideas
  • The final selected participants will attend the global DOT Unconference in Kigali, Rwanda in May 2017 to pitch their ideas. All travel expenses will be covered by the organisers.

 

Guidelines and Requirements:

  • Age bracket: 18 – 29 years at the time of application
  • Tech savvy and computer literate
  • A citizen of Ghana or resident in Ghana
  • Have an innovative solution to a community problem which is at the early ideation stage. If you have been thinking through an idea which has a social impact, you can apply.
  • Applicants must be committed and available throughout the programme to attend training and workshops.

 

Timeframe: Applications are due by January 23, 2017 at 11:59 GMT

Reporting Requirements: Selected applicants will be expected to pitch their idea for support.

How to Apply

  • Step 1: Take time to research what a social business or social enterprise is, and to clarify your business idea.
  • Step 2: Fill in the online application form you can find here – https://goo.gl/forms/YEtsYyjUHR6BOOGx2

N.B:

  • Only the shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
  • Successful applicants will be notified by 27th January, 2017.
  • If selected, you will be required to attend a compulsory meetups with all the other selected participants.
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February 18, 2016

10 Young Changemakers That Made Ghana Better in 2015

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There has been tremendous contribution by young people to the development of Ghana in 2015 which is worth profiling. This is an indication that young people are very interested to see the country through their own works other than the traditional means – government. I have put together my list of the 10 top young people in Ghana who created impact in their personal life, workplace or community that had an impact on their community and the country at large. This is list is not based on how many employers they have or how much wealth they have been accumulated, but basically dependent on their selfless effort to making Ghana better than what they came to meet it.

Meet the 10 Young Changemakers That Made Ghana Better in the year 2015.

Bernard Koku Avle, Director of News Programming at Citi FM.

Bernald Alve

Bernard Alve

Bernard Koku Avle is the Director of News Programming at Citi FM, he oversees a team of young hardworking news professionals producing and covering news for Ghanaian radio and online audiences. He combines this role with hosting the Citi Breakfast Show, an exciting and most talked about daily talk show that addresses socio-economic issues in Ghana. He has been in broadcasting for close to 15 years and started as a volunteer broadcast journalist at the University of Ghana’s Radio Univers in the year 2000. His show was adjudged the Interactive/Talk Show of the year at the BBC’s Africa Radio Awards in 2007, in Nairobi Kenya and Radio Program of the year 2013 by the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG).

Basharat Saeed, Founder of XBash Fashion.
1173596_1778341859060042_921678594894348999_nBasharat Saeed is a 20 year old Home Economics student at the University of Cape Coast. Basharat strongly persuaded her parents from studying science at Wesley Girls High School, Cape Coast, in order to study her passion – fashion. At Wesley Girls High School, she won the best dress designer and best clothing and textile student. In her four years of following her passion, some of her clients include her lecturers and some prominent people in Ghana. Her company, XBash sows and sell clothing and accessories for both sexes and seeks to bring an exclusively and exquisite touch to the fashion industry in the world by fuding old trends with existing ones.

 

Prince Boadu, CEO and Co-founder of MapTech Logistics Limited.

Prince Boadu

Prince Boadu

Prince is the CEO and Co-founder of MapTech Logistics Limited. His company leverages the power of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to solve business problems by developing and deploying GIS-based applications to solve business problems relating to logistics and supply chain management. Prior to founding MapTech Logistics, he co-founded EVOLV.Africa; a non-profit that empowers the youth with entrepreneurship and leadership skills. To date, his NGO has reached close to 1,000 youth through seminars, conferences and workshops. He has worked as Logistics and Supply Chain Analyst for Clean Team Ghana. He is the founding curator of TEDxKNUST, a World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Shaper (Kumasi Hub), and recently named Future of Ghana Magazine 30 under 30 emerging Ghanaians to watch. Prince is a Ye! Fellow and was selected as 1 of 10 entrepreneurs from Ghana to pitch their businesses to investors at The Dutch Central Bank in Amsterdam. Prince also served as a speaker at the just-ended Atlantic Dialogues in Morocco as one of 40 named Emerging Leaders from four continents across the Atlantic Basin —an initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and the OCP Policy Center of Morocco. He is an active member of the GhanaThink Foundation as well as the Association of African Entrepreneurs.

 

Nana Ama Agyeman Asante, Citi Break Show

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Nana Ama Agyeman Asante is the the only female in Ghana who is on a morning radio show radio in Ghana and the only female who is part of the top morning shows in Ghana – Citi Breakfast Show. She describes herself as the lady with the annoying opinions on the show. She’s passionate about all issues affecting women, children and the underprivileged. It is this passion that drove her to the media to give voice to the voiceless. Since joining the Citi Breakfast Show crew in 2013, Nana Ama has added a much-needed feminine perspective to some of the most pressing issues confronting the country – issues ranging from governance and corruption to pension reform and sexual violence. In all her work on radio and on her blog, Nana is smart, witty and, above all else, an unwavering in her optimism Ghana and Africa will one day rise to glory. She was recently recognised as the Media Personality of the Year 2015 by Daily Graphic written Francis Doku.

 

Louis Appiah is the Founder of Louicage Studios and Creator of Tales of Nazir.Louis

Louis founded Louicage Studios in 2010 and he is the major designer for many materials for the West African movie industry. His company’s current project,  ‘Tales of Nazir ‘ has now become a household name in Ghana and beyond. It has received a lot of international movie nominations. A few of these nominations are the ‘Klik Film Festival Awards’ in Amsterdam for emerging African animator. Zafaa Glbal Award for best animated feature. AWA African movie awards for best short film. It also won an award for best short film at the Accra francophone Film Festival awards early 2015. His company has a fanbase of over 39,000 collectively on facebook, over 500,000 views collectively on YouTube only, just after a year. He is an illustrator and animator. He has been illustrating for the past 19 years and just began animating in 2014. Offered visual arts in Aggrey Memorial senior high school and graphic design at the University of South Africa.

Abigail Larbi is the Programme Officer, Media Foundation for West Africa. 12249669_10153291317511234_8040091137463488826_n

Abigail is passionate about using media (new and traditional) for improved citizens/public participation in governance processes especially in Ghana, women’s rights reporting in Ghana. On the regional level (West Africa), she has her eyes on advocacy for the passage and proper implementation of access to information legislation; increasing citizens’ awareness of ECOWAS protocols and compliance of ECOWAS Court judgements by member states. Abigail is known for her advocacy work on free press in Ghana and as result has spoken at many international forums and has also managed some very significant projects for reputable organisations such as USAID, IBIS-Ghana, Canadian High Commission, US Embassy of Ghana, etc. She was also an Adjunct lecturer in Business Communication at the Greenhill College of the Ghana Management and Public Administration.

Papa Oppong Bediako, Fashion Designer/Illustrator/Artist

image1Papa Oppong Bediako, the 23 year old guy has already started printing his name in the African fashion industry. He discovered his love for fashion at a very early age in life and pursued his passion to become one of the young renowned fashion designers he is today. In 2013, Papa began work on his very first collection which he named: “A Celebration of Darkness”. In the same year, in 2013, Papa was selected to intern at Studio 189; a fashion brand owned by fashion guru Abrimah Erwiah and Hollywood actress Rosario Dawson. In 2014, Papa Oppong also interned with the UN’s Ethical Fashion Initiative which provided locals with skills and training in fashion and garment production. Although very young, Papa Oppong has firmly planted his feet into the African fashion industry. He has been featured in a number of both local and international publications including the UK’s fashion illustration magazine: DASH Magazine (2012) and Ghana’s fashion and lifestyle magazine: Dream Magazine (2014). Legit retail, a fashion retailer in South Africa, also highlighted the young designer in their end-of-year catalogue (2014). Papa’s illustrations have also gained him international attention from celebrities such as singer: Kelly Rowland, singer: Rihanna, model Amber Rose and international celebrity stylist: Ty Hunter, who all follow his social media accounts. In 2015, Papa Oppong was contacted by global cosmetics brand: M.A.C to be an illustrator for their official launch in Ghana. The event saw Papa Oppong create lip illustrations of invited guests live. 2015 also saw one of the biggest moments in the young designer’s life when he was featured on CNN’s “African Voices” program which highlighted the young designer’s life and journey in fashion through a short documentary.

Perfectual Labik, Founder and Project Director of Northern Education Support Initiative

hiThe 24 year old lady hails from Nakpanduri in the Northern Region and is the  founder and project director of NORTHERN EDUCATION SUPPORT INITIATIVE, which is geared at supporting the cause of quality basic education in the three Northern Regions of Ghana. She is also the founder of RootsbyLinnan, a fashion brand that seeks to infuse current fashion trends with traditional Ghanaian northern trends by using native northern smock fabrics to create clothes for the modern individual, without comprising the ingenuity of the traditional smocks. She also has the Lin Model Management, which is to unearth and train virgin model talents in the Northern sector of Ghana. Perfectual is passionate about voluteerism and charity. Women supporting women is the newest of her undertakings in her quest to make women more appreciative and supportive of each other. It is a network seeking to bring women from all walks of life together to create a support system for business, growth, partnership and education.

Kofi Tonto, Executive Director of African Youth Excellence

MeinBlueSuitKofi Tonto is a man of many hats. He is an entrepreneur and an avid supporter of the Pan African movement. He currently serves as the Executive Director of a U.S. based organization called African Youth Excellence, Inc. African Youth Excellence (AYE) is a non-profit organization with a deep seated interest in promoting excellence. Its mission is centered on nurturing and developing the skills and talents of young Africans Abroad. Aside from AYE, Kofi also works as a Senior Data Analyst at the Hanover Insurance Group. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in Economics, and a minor in Political Science. Kofi also served as a Board of Director for Center for Family Progress, a nonprofit organization with a mission to assist new immigrants and underprivileged individuals and families to become members of the American society.

Gifty Bingley, Director of Corporate Communications & Responsibility at Tigo Ghana

12194614_948941128532012_3399699094355781496_oGifty incorporated Tigo’s Corporate Communications and Responsibility department and with her team has built a great brand for the company. One of Gifty’s top initiatives include, Shelter 4 Education which involved the construction of four brand new schools and the renovation of two others in rural Ghana and other innovative projects which led her company to win the “Best CSR Company of the Year Award” at the 2015 Ghana Telecom Awards and “CSR Telecom Company of the Year” at the Ghana CSR Excellence Awards 2015. She was also the first Communications Manager and official Spokesperson for the British High Commission, Ghana, I developed the UK in Ghana’s Public Engagement Strategy and managed public diplomacy on a wide range of policy issues. She was named the 2014 PR Discovery of the Year at the prestigious Institute of Public Relations Awards 2015.

Special Recognition  – Reuben Griffths Bekoe, First Person To Solo Ride Across Ghana

12460111_1271031679590266_1425105858_nI would like to commend the great work of Reuben, a 21 year old senior high school graduate from Shama Senior High school who took the risk to solo ride across the ten regions of Ghana in fundraising for the Ghana Cleft foundation. He is the first person in Ghana to do a solo ride in Ghana and as a means to raise funds for a social good. Beuben took 90 days to ride across the country to raise GHC2,500 so far plus other monies which were paid directly into the accounts of the Ghana Cleft foundation.
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December 14, 2015

British Award for African Development honoures Rex Idaminabo and Denta Amoateng

At a Private Parliamentarian Award Ceremony yesterday, hosted by Pauline Latham MP and Jeremy Lefroy MP, and other UK Parliamentarians at Westminster, UK Parliament, Rex Idaminabo was decorated with the honour for his significant role in promoting African and Diaspora entrepreneurial developments as well as setting good models of business and development in the UK and Africa.

1897790_10205034681733448_4183930468194750325_nThe Award, comes after Rex’s successive commitment to gathering African Entrepreneurs and Change Makers at the annual African Achievers Awards to honour and celebrate their works relating to the development and sustainability of the African Continent.

He is also the co-founder of the Young CEOs Business Forum (which he co-founded with David James Egwu), which has being training young entrepreneurs across various countries around the world, and Rex was ranked by Forbes among leading Young African Entrepreneurs.

The British Awards for African Development is also a noted British honour that has being used to celebrate distinguished people who have excelled in business and development sectors. In an interaction with  Rex Idaminabo, he noted;

” In my Entrepreneurship journey God has been the source of my inspiration, through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. He also thanked team AAA”.

Source: GUBA Awards

Source: GUBA Awards

The Ghana UK Based Achievement (GUBA) Awards also won a prestigious award from the British Award for African Development (BRAAD), for their work in recognising the ‘hugely significant’ contribution that British-Ghanaians make to society. The award ceremony is focused on highlighting the achievements of incredible individuals who have excelled in academia, entrepreneur endeavors, NGO’s and companies who have contributed time, finances or sheer sweat equity to support the development of Africa and the African Diasporas. The British award for Africa Development is a unique opportunity to recognise personalities from various industries and sectors for their outstanding achievement. Whether it is through their work in the African communities in the UK and for involvement in improving the quality of life for disadvantaged communities in Africa, we want to champion these individuals. The award will also encourage the emulation of good practice in business enterprises, charities and NGO’s.

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Bright Simons Named Among Quartz’s 30 African Innovators

September 11, 2015

Bright Simons Named Among Quartz’s 30 African Innovators

Quartz Africa, a subsidiary of Quartz, which was lunched in June 2015 to focus on telling Africa’s stories through a lens of innovation. As part of their covering of stories about Africa, Quartx Africa has initiatied the Quartz African Innovators annual list to celebrate Africans who have developed innovative models to create social impact in the continent and globally.

They’ve been chosen for their groundbreaking work, thought-leading initiatives, creative approaches to local problems and yes, for being African innovators – Quartz Africa

According to Quartz Africa, they selected only 30 innovators for their inaugural list and they were selected from just 15 countries of 54. Among the list is the only Bright Simons, 33 years, the only Ghanaian on the list and founder of mPedigree. mPedigree focuses on solving the problem of identifying fake pharmaceuticals in any country.

It gives the customers who purchase drugs from pharmacy shops to verify the authenticity of drugs with a simple text message code. mPedigree’s innovative system is currently been used in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and India with more pilots in other countries. Read more about him here.

Find the rest of the people on the list here, which includes Didier Drogba, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Akon and Boniface Mwangi.

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July 28, 2015

Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2015 open

Appsafrica Innovation Awards (2)The Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards 2015 celebrate the enormous growth in mobile, technology and entrepreneurship in Africa. Innovation knows no borders and Appsafrica.com welcomes applications from innovations launched in at least one African market, regardless of where in the world the venture actually started.

The awards will take place in Cape Town on Monday 16th November with key industry players from the African mobile ecosystem on the eve of AppsWorld and AfricaCom, Africa’s largest mobile and telecoms event. The awards have Pan-African support from leaders in mobile, tech and innovation including Mobile Monday South Africa, iHub Kenya, CcHub Nigeria, Think Rwanda, MEST Ghana, Kenya and Women In Tech Africa.

10 Categories

Appsafrica.com welcomes applications in 10 categories from ventures who can clearly demonstrate innovation using mobile or technology to meet the needs of any African market(s). These include

1. Best disruptive innovation

2. Best mobile innovation

3. Best non data mobile innovation (using SMS/USSD/ IVR)

4. Best African app

5. Best fintech innovation

6. Best health innovation

7. Best educational innovation

8. Social impact award

9. Best entertainment innovation

10. Women in tech award

Applications will be assessed by a team of expert judges who are selected based on their knowledge, influence and contribution to the improvement of technology and business in Africa. The deadline for entries is September 10th, 2015.

The Appsafrica.com Innovation Awards finalists will be announced in October 2015. Enter now or visit www.appsafrica.com for more details.

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July 28, 2015

Lord Dr Michael Hastings of KPMG International to Speak at Future of Ghana Youth Leadership Forum 2015

The Future of Ghana Leadership Forum is Ghana’s annual youth training programme uniting Ghana’s most forward thinking, talented, pioneering young entrepreneurs and professionals aged 16-30 years.

The Leadership Forum will provide the future leaders with training and key note addresses from some of the worlds most established and renowned and respected thought leaders; some of which are:

 

  • Lord Michael Hastings, Baron Hastings of Scarisbrick, CBE, KPMG Global Head of Citzenship (UK)
  • Caleb Tamfu, Managing Director, Andron Engineering Ltd & Country Director, Africa 2.0 (Cameroon)
  • Sudhir John Horo, Director + Principal Designer IdeaWorks Design & Strategy Pvt. Ltd (India)
  • Romeo Effs, CEO of Aspyre Group Plc & Guest Lecturer at Cass Business School (UK)

The Leadership Forum will be hosted over a 3 day period in the scerne mountains of Accra, Ghana at one of Africa’s leading and most prestigious educational institutions cultivating the next generation of African leaders, Ashesi University. The Future of Ghana Leadership Forum – coined the Davos of Africa – will incubate attendees in a unique environment whilst providing a unique platform to learn, share and grow.

 

More information on how to register, click here 

 

 

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The Africa Business Fellowship 2015 Applications Open

July 24, 2015

The Africa Business Fellowship 2015 Applications Open

The Africa Business Fellowship is a partnership between Econet, African Leadership Network (ALN), and Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). The program will match young American business professionals with paid 6-month placements in African companies. Its purpose is to strengthen relationships between the African and American business communities and provide future American business leaders with the hands-on experience they need to truly understand business in Africa.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

  • Educational and professional experience, including official transcript(s)
  • 3 brief essay questions that help us understand your passions, skills and interests, as well as how the Fellowship ties to your career objectives
  • 2 minute video response which allows our candidates to share more about themselves
  • Written professional reference(s) from employer or other professional who can speak to candidate’s leadership experience and potential

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

  • October 1, 2015: Round 1 (preferred) application deadline
  • November 9, 2015: Round 2 (final) application deadline

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

We are looking for innovative and driven professionals, with strong leadership potential, who have a deep passion for learning about and experiencing first-hand business in Africa and promoting America-Africa business relationships.  The ideal candidate will have:

  • MBA and/or 5+ years of meaningful business experience
  • Track record of academic achievement and early professional success
  • Strong analytic and communication skills
  • Community-level leadership accomplishments
  • Personal traits that reflect their potential: humility, integrity, ability to engage others, and a long-term vision for their place in the world

The Fellowship is open to US citizens and permanent residents. There is no ethnicity requirement. 

KEY DEADLINES

First Day to Submit Application                                                           July 23, 2015
Preferred (Round 1) Application Deadline                                        October 1, 2015
Final (Round 2) Application Deadline                                                November 9, 2015
Interviews                                                                                                  November – December, 2015
Fellowships Offers Made                                                                        February 2016
US Orientation                                                                                         June 2016
Travel to Respective Countries                                                             Immediately after US Orientation (June 2016)
In-Country Orientation & First Day at Work                                    Few Days after Arrival
In-Country Retreat                                                                                 August 2016
ALN Annual Gathering & Return to US                                             November 2016

Apply here – http://www.africabusinessfellowship.com/apply/

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10 Top TedxAccra2015 Talks

April 13, 2015

10 Top TedxAccra2015 Talks

“The Next Chapter” was the theme for the biggest TEDxAccra event ever – #TedxAccra2015. The event brought together about 40 speakers and close to 1000 young and old people interested in creating change in Ghana and the African continent. The content of the talks were on point and centered on the need to focus on solutions than problems. We have put together the best 10 talks from TEDxAccra, this is not in any particular order and also purely based on our personal decisions and how these talks resonated with our goals and passion. This does not mean that, the other talks were irrelevant, in fact, every talk met each participant’s expectations for coming to the event. Great work to Emmanuel Leslie Addae and the team of volunteers for a great and successful event.

 

Farida speaking on stage.

Farida speaking on stage. Photo: TedxAccra

FARIDA NANA EFUA BEDWEI – @Fbedwei

Farida commenced her talk with this question – “Are you comfortable with our lives?” A question which got the audience thinking. We have a lot of problems in Ghana and Africa and we are the only ones (referring to Africans) who will be able to solve our own problems because we understand the challenges we face. She made a profound statement that – “We should stop complaining on social media about the problems and provide solutions to it.” Farida is a software engineer.

 

 

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John speaking on stage. Photo: TedxAccra

JOHN APEA

John’s talk focused on the need to redirect aid investment into media (film making) to provide solutions to behavioural change. “There is a need to re-focus investment in aid to film making for behavioural change” says John. John stated that “I believe that entertainment education is the missing piece in behavioural change”. The summary of his talk focused on the power of mass media to promote social change and development. John is a professional Actor and Entrepreneur.

 

 

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Kafui speaking on stage. Photo: TedxAccra

KAFUI DEY – @KafuiDey

Kafui stretched the minds of the audience to tell them how he uses the ordinary stories of people as the main hot topics for discussion during his work on radio. Kafui used the responses he got from his kids when he asked them “What do they dream of Ghana?” He pointed out that journalists can derive localised content from ordinary people. “The next chapter for me is to ask the right questions” says  Kafui Dey. Kafui is a Radio Presenter, Corporate MC and Author. Watch the video here – https://goo.gl/l1glpW

 

 

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Bernard speaking on stage. Photo: CitiFM.

BERNARD KOKU AVLE – @benkoku

Mr. Avle talked about the essence of impact investing thus the need for media companies or businesses to combine the need for profitability with social conscience. He also stressed the need for media companies to compete collaboratively in order to make impact and also to keep “radio” business in existence even in the age of internet connectivity. “The future of radio must evolve from competition to collaboration. Let’s lay aside all petty rivalry” says Bernard. He stated that “We must find a middle way between profitability and social conscience”. He discussed how his work at CitiFM has changed from asking questions and allowing people to answer to tracking changes of the stories he shares. The summary of his talk focused primarily on how strategic media alliances can change radio in Ghana. Bernard is the Director of News Programming at CitiFM. Watch the video here – https://goo.gl/YJ0UsP

 

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Yawa speaking on stage. Photo: TedxAccra

YAWA HANSEN-QUAO – @yawahq

Yawa’s talk focused on what we call “Women Activism”, however, she gave a different perspective about the need for women inclusion in national development. Yawa emphasised that, women should not focus on competing with men in order to achieve equality, but should focus on improving upon their skills and quality to work with men and contribute to the development of the nation. One of the profound statements I was able to write down during her talk is “Women should not be involved in Sexual Transmitted Leadership – the act of using your sexuality for favours” She pointed out that, “empowerment does not mean competing against men”, but to involve men in supporting women to drive the equality agenda. Yawa is a Women’s Right Activist.

 

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Photo: TedxAccra

RITA KUSI – @Miss_Kusi

Rita’s delivery was more of a motivational speech. She mentioned that there are brighter and better opportunities even in the midst of worse circumstances. She said “choose what you see and what to believe”. She reiterated that you don’t need to adapt to suit others because you don’t need anyone to validate who you are. She therefore encouraged that everyone strive to be the best. Rita is the CEO and founder of Kusi consulting.

 

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Photo: TedxAccra

TERRY OPPONG – @GlobalMogulTO

Terry spoke on how Ghana and Africa can tap into the power of networking to grow the continent to become a rich continent. Terry said, “over $147m remittances are received from the diaspora to families and friends in Africa annually, however, African countries go to borrow same amount from international financial institutions with interest”. He pointed out that the government need to tap into the network of its own people to generate funds to build schools, hospitals and invest in young entrepreneurs. Terry is a Natural Connector as he describes himself. Watch the video here – https://goo.gl/FkQLTb

 

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Photo: TedxAccra

MANSA AYISI-OKYERE

She discussed the issue of Ghana’s youth unemployment rate which is about 33%; thus about 55% of the population are youthful out of which there are about 60% unemployed. She accentuated that entrepreneurship was the solution to this problem. However, she emphasized the need for Ghanaians to extend their perspective of entrepreneurship from micro companies to bigger companies. She entreated that entrepreneurial skills be introduced and taught at both senior high and tertiary levels of education to equip the youth in light of this. Mansa is the Executive Secretary for African Entrepreneurs Hub.

 

Photo: TedxAccra

Photo: TedxAccra

PEACE HYDE – @peacehyde

Ms Hyde discussed the problem many young people face with regards to choosing a career path. She talked about how one could be imprisoned by parents, friends and family to take on careers they are not interested. She classified anything or any activity one does/undertakes without his/her interest as a prison. She emphasized the need for education and also encouraged the youth to break off every imprisonment and set themselves free to do what they love doing. She concluded with a quote by Oscar Wilde “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken. Peace is a media entrepreneur”.

 

KWEKU SEKYI-CANN

Kweku proposed that people differentiate their ideas from others so as to enable them gain competitive advantage. He also said “Know thyself, know thy customer and innovate”. Thus it’s important to understand your core business and your customers so you can come up with products and services that better meet their needs. He concluded that we make BOLD decisions. Kwaku is a Brand and Marketing Expert.

 

Compiled by:

Alice Anima Aboagye (Masters student at the University of Ghana, Legon) and Kofi Yeboah (Blogger).

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10 Under 35 Changemakers in Ghana You Need to Know.

June 26, 2013

10 Under 35 Changemakers in Ghana You Need to Know.

There is a new generation of young Ghanaians who are refusing to follow the status quo in their society. They do not want to grow old before they create the change they want to see in the society. They have taken the challenge to develop and create opportunities for other youth in Ghana.

This is the Ghanaian version of a previous article titled 10 Under 35 Changemakers in Kenya You Need to Know. The focus of this post is to celebrate our young heroes and to let them know that their work and contribution to the development of the nation is seen and well appreciated. Africans need to celebrate their heroes no matter how small their efforts may be.

Meet the awesome 10 young Ghanaians who are creating change and contributing to the development of Ghana.These people are mentors to several young Ghanaians. These young people were selected from sectors like technology industry, sport industry, social enterprise, film industry and the field of agriculture. This selection is in no particular order of ranks.

Rasheeda Mandeeya Yehuza

Rasheeda Mandeeya Yehuza

Rasheeda Mandeeya Yehuza, 23 years, founder of Nasara Tech Company Limited, an IT company aimed at improving technology in Ghana and making technology readily available to those in rural communities. Nasarah aims at building efficient, robust, simple but life changing products that solve problems. Prior to Founding Nasara Tech, she co-founded Click Trade Ghana in 2012, a platform for buyers and sellers in Ghana to connect, and she built a couple of games and desktop applications under the snapso brand while still figuring out which path she wanted to take in IT. Rasheeda is also the co-founder and mentor of Tech Needs Girls Ghana, an interactive workshop organized annually for girls in the Senior Secondary Schools, which involves hands on sessions where girls learn to develop mobile and web applications and interact with software that teach them more about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math ).

 

Nehemiah Attigah

Nehemiah Attigah

Nehemiah Kwesi TT Senyo Yelu Attigah, 33 years, CEO of Hatua Solutions Ltd. an Accra based company, a brainchild of highly professional people with a far reaching vision and excellence. With the aim of reaching every corner of the globe, catering for the needs of this fast changing inter-connected world with every idea, technology, process and expertise. He is an experienced software engineer, project manager, business analyst, Microsoft Dynamics specialist ,a blogger, and entrepreneur . He is also passionate about God, Data, Photography, sports, music, social projects and mentoring the younger generation. He is a member of the Ghana Think (BarCamp Ghana) and BloggingGhana’s BlogCamp Teams.

Anne Amuzu

Anne Amuzu

Ms. Anne Amuzu is the CEO and the Technical Lead of Nandimobile Limited, a young and vibrant technology startup in Ghana. Nandimobile’s objective is to leverage the high mobile penetration rates in Africa to create mobile customer service technology that enable businesses easily connect with their customers on the mobile platform. In the last two years, the company has launched three products and attracted a clientele of over 80 companies. In April 2013, she was selected among 27 emerging women leaders from around the world by the Annual Fortune/U.S. State Department Global Women’s Mentoring Partnership Programme.

Maccarthy

Maccarthy

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.

Akosua Adoma Owusu

Akosua Adoma Owusu

Akosua Adoma Owusu, 29, Artist/Filmmaker, is an AMAA award-winning American avant-garde filmmaker of Ghanaian parentage. Producers of Owusu’s first feature film Black Sunshine won France’s ARTE International Prize Award at the 2013 Durban FilmMart.  One of ArtForum‘s Top Ten Artists, she has exhibited worldwide including at MoMA, Rotterdam, Viennale, San Francisco, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, The Smithsonian Institute, and London Film Festival. She has directed award-winning short films, including Kwaku Ananse, Drexciya and her thesis film, Me Broni Ba (My White Baby). Her first fiction short, Kwaku Ananse is being nominated for the Golden Bear Prize at the Berlinale in 2013. Owusu has served on the jury and screening committees for Festival 3 Continents and AFI Silverdocs. She was a featured artist at the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar in 2010. A former adjunct professor in film in Virginia, She is also a recipient of the Art Matters Grant and the Africa First award sponsored by Focus Features.

Alloysius Attah

Alloysius Attah

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

Nina Oduro

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

Fiifi Baidoo

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

Valerie Labi

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

Gary Al-SmithGary Al- Smith – The Controversial

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.

Special Feature:
Raphael Kofi Afaedor

Raphael Kofi Afaedor

The team would like to commend the work of Raphael Afaedor, Co-founder of Jumia, Nigeria’s number one online shopping destination where you can shop the widest selection of electronics, fashion, home appliances, kid’s items and more in Nigeria and have them shipped directly to your home or office at your convenience!  With affordable prices and great products, Jumia lets you enjoy an awesome shopping experience with your order sent directly to your doorstep. From a 10 employees in a year ago, Jumia has grown to 450 employees and operate internationally in five other countries; Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Côte-d’Ivoire.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making up this list. Send me your comments or suggestions to this post through my email: emeritus2011@gmail.com.

 

NB: This is a blogpost from my old blog – emeritusky.wordpress.com

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