“The fourth industrial revolution would bring a lot of changes where everything would become faster and smarter therefore we need to prepare the younger generation for a future which is yet to be created.”

These are the words of Joshua Opoku Agyemang, a young Ghanaian ‘Techpreneur’ who, together with his team, is helping nurture a new generation of young people to acquire the necessary skills to enable them make valuable contributions in the technology space and beyond.

Joshua is the Co-Founder and President of Internet of Things (IoT) Network Hub Africa, a non-governmental organisation with over 20,000 members and chapters in 20 African countries. It comprises innovators, scientists, technologists, engineers, educators, entrepreneurs, college professors, who are helping solve Africa’s “nagging problems” through technology innovations.

The 29-year-old in an interview with The Spectator says the organization, among other things, is focused on making Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education “practical and accessible” to every student across the country while helping them tap into opportunities in the fast-expanding sector of emerging technologies.

Emerging technologies relates to subjects such as Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Cryptocurrency, among others. The organisation has for the past six years been developing courses along these areas and continues to impact a number of the youth positively.

Background/Interest

Talking about his personal interest in technology, Joshua, described as a “Tech Progidy or IoT Evangelist,” said he was exposed to computers at a tender age while growing up at Kasapin in the Bono Region.

Born to well-educated parents, he started playing video games and doing other interesting activities with computers before entering Senior High School to study General Science.

“My first experience with computers felt magical so I developed an obsession for computers at the age of seven. My curiosity keep developing and I started doing a lot of things with computers.

“I took this same obsession to Mim Senior High School and in my final year, I took a computer to the boarding house and that is how it all started,” he recalled.

He admitted that his passion for computer technology affected his performance in the final examination as he had stopped attending class and rather spent more time with his PC in the dormitory. For this reason, he was unable to make the required grades to enter the university.

Training

In 2012, he relocated to Accra to pursue Diploma in Business Computing (Computer Programming) at the Ghana-Indian Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (AITI-KACE) after which he decided to start his own company, Pesonet, to provide solutions and services in software development, computer networking, among others.

Joshua said he was fascinated by the wonderful depiction of science and technology in the movies he watched and wondered if black people could do same. But as time went on, he realised all of that was possible in here in Africa also.

This awareness and the desire to explore the many possibilities of science and technology, he explained, gave birth to the ‘IoT Hub’ so people with similar interests could join.

“After investing in a lot in research and development, we realised IoT was just a tip of the iceberg and we have to delve into how new techonogies that were shaping the world,” he added.

Support

The organisation, since its inception, whips up the interest of the youth in STEM education and continues to gain recognition for its work. In spite of challenges, the Founder said IoT Hub Africa was thriving on a number of partnerships and the voluntary support of members.

“For the past six years, we had to find ways to survive and keep things running. Our human resource has been our greatest asset. One of our biggest partner is STEM AID and Implementers (Ghana) that are helping push STEM education across the country,” he said.

He noted IoT Hub Africa was partnering these organisations which are building sixteen ICT Labs in all regions of the country in addition to training and providing educational content on ICT devices.

“IoT Hub Africa is also in partnership with the Ministry of Communication under the Kofi Annan ICT Centre where we are provided a space to organize our monthly programmes.

“This year we got final support from the Government of Ghana under the U-Start programme to train more young people and create more opportunities for the youth in the technology space,” he added.

Nonetheless, he said the organisation needed more support and resources to deliver on its quest to empower the next generation of tech-savvy young people and help them acquire employable skills.

Achievement

Among other accomplishments, Joshua was named among top 30 entrepreneurs in 2018 at the African Entrepreneurship Award. In 2019 he won the Ghana Open Data Initiative Hackathon.

In 2020, he and his team invented a smart veronica bucket, a 3D printed reusable face mask, an automated ventilator for supplying oxygen to COVID-19 patients.

These works got featured in 50 Innovations from Africa combating COVID-19 by United Nation Development Programme UNPD and in the ‘100 Inventions and ideas’ for COVID-19 in Africa by Forbes Africa in 2021.

Joshua is also the president of the Ghana STEM Network where he is mandated to ensure every student in the country have access to practical ICT education.

Family support

The smart and eloquent fellow said his parents, who had wanted him to become a teacher, now appreciate and understand what he does despite their initial reservations.

He maintains that “the only way to prepare young people for the future is to empower them with 21^st century skills so they will be able to survive in any other world,” stressing that “the future is unknown and we need to be ready and prepared for the unknown future.”

By Ernest Nutsugah