Joseph Wiredu

Ghanaian entrepreneur, Joseph Owiredu has qualified to the final of the 2024 edition of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge.

The 6th in the series, the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit is scheduled for May 28-31, 2024 in Windhoek, Namibia.

Joseph Owiredu is the CEO of Fihankra ComTech Limited, a limited liability technology start-up that specialises in developing personal safety and security innovations, products and services to serve the growing African tourism industry, journalists and institutions.

The organisers of the summit, the Africa Tourism Partners announced the top five finalists for the 6th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge 2024 this week. The other four finalists Devin Itaagie from Uganda, Kedumetse Liphi from Botswana, Ajena Jafar from Uganda and Gerald Muema from Kenya have all qualified to proceed to the next level of adjudication.

The Challenge opened on the 1st of November 2023 for the youth to submit their projects and closed on March 1, 2024. It attracted over 154 entries from young entrepreneurs and innovators across Africa.

The countries that participated in the Innovation Challenge include Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

As part of the process, the projects were submitted to the judges for adjudication to determine the qualifying projects. The five shortlisted innovators will present their demo/ Minimum Viable Product at the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit in Windhoek, Namibia.

The Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge is an exclusive platform for innovative African youth in travel and tourism looking for funding, partnership and mentorship opportunities to present their projects to the global marketplace in order to find the required support for their programmes.

Speakers for this year’s Summit include Teofilus Nghitila – Executive Director of Tourism, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Namibia, Samiya Abdulkadir Godu – President, Ethiopian Youth Entrepreneurs Association, Evah Mosetlhane – Tourism & SMME Development Consultant, Botswana, Mbali Mngomezulu – Manager Of Business Development at Mastercard | Grading Assessor Accreditation CATHSETA, South Africa and more.

Young Namibian innovators were also recognised and given the opportunity to compete amongst themselves. Sarome Natalia Nalooliwa Hamata, Sarah Anghuwo and Rosalia Laudika are the top 3 finalists for the 2024 and 6th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation challenge.

Hosted by the Government of Namibia through the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners, UN Tourism, BDO and other partners, the 2024 Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit is scheduled for May 28-31, 2024.

This is the third time and final year Namibia will host the Summit and it has used the opportunity to market and promote its tourism attractions.

One of the greatest attractions that Namibia Boasts about is the Sossusvlei desert. Sossusvlei is all salt, clay, and sand, with remarkable red dunes arching and curling seemingly forever. The popular tourist attraction is in the southern part of the Namib Desert and is part of the Namib Sand Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Meanwhile, registrations for both physical and virtual participants to the 6th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge and Summit are ongoing
Dumsor: No ECG transformer was overloaded after our checks – PURC

A Commissioner of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ishmael Edjekumhene, has dismissed claims by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) regarding some 360 overloaded transformers.

His statement comes after a hefty fine was imposed by the PURC on former ECG board members for failing to notify consumers before power interruptions, as mandated by Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413.

Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show, Mr Edjekumhene who is also the Executive Director of the Kumasi Institute of Technology and Environment (KITE), expressed his surprise at the Managing Director of ECG’s announcement that 630 transformers were overloaded leading to intermittent power cuts.

“So, we were just following up on information that ECG itself has put into the public domain which the regulator wasn’t aware. So, when we wrote to the ECG, if that wasn’t the case they should probably have said that that wasn’t the case. But they gave us all the information,” he said.

He further stated that “We have gone out to all the transformers, at least a majority of the transformers and it is turning out to be that those transformers were not overloaded. That is why GRIDCO said they gave instruction and ECG is not complying with those directives in a timely manner.”

Source: Citinewsroom.com