Last month, Google Ghana hosted "Google Week" - or #gdaysghana - at the World Bank office in Accra. More than 150 young professionals and students gathered to discuss youth entrepreneurship and receive training in practical ways to capitalize on the digital space to enhance their small businesses.
Google’s mandate is to see that all people across the globe - particularly in developing countries - have access to the internet; it's a mandate that I fully applaud and that we should all stand by. To achieve this goal in Ghana, the Google Ghana team targets different sectors of the community addressing one reoccurring question: how can we use the internet to benefit development albeit in agriculture, energy, and finance, etc.?
And, young entrepreneurs in each sector are answering that call:
In agriculture, Alloysius Attah is co-founder of Farmline, a mobile venture offering improved information access and communication pathways for smallholder farmers.
In energy, Golda Addo is a published writer and CEO of Energy Solutions foundation, an NGO championing renewable energy resource solutions and sustainable development.
In finance, Alex Adjei Bram is a co-founder and general manager at SMSGH, an sms and online payment solution provider.
Interested in gender equality? Regina Agyare is a software engineer who helps train young girls in technology through her company Soronko Solutions and her non-profit " Tech Needs Girls."
There is a lot happening in Ghana's technology scene as well as throughout Africa. Google's Africa Connected project has identified 10 young Africans who are using the web to transform lives and communities: www.africaconnected.com
It's a wake-up call to development agencies and governments alike that for every development challenge, there is a young, bright entrepreneur with a solution. The solution may not always be found in a lengthy report; it may just come in a mobile app. And, that's OK.
For a recording of the event, visit: http://bit.ly/1bkRR1O
For a recap of the Twitter conversation, see @MaigaGH’s Storify: http://sfy.co/tPOE
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