Last week, we focused on young tech prodigy who is helping people appreciate the essence and potential of emerging technologies.

As a sequel to last week’s issue, we stay in the technology space but, this time, the attention is on some Ghanaian startups who have applied innovative technology and built businesses to solve problems in some specific areas. Here is a summary of the six personalities you may or may not know.

Mr. Mathias Charles Yabe

Mathias is the co-founder of AkoFresh, a Green Cold Chain Enterprise that offers farmers practical and affordable preservation services to end post-harvest losses.

He founded the agritech startup in 2018 when a volunteer trip exposed him to the issue of post-harvest losses affecting the people of Akumadan in the Offinso North District of the Ashanti Region.

As a young innovator who grew up in a small farming village, this problem inspired him to design a solar-powered cold storage preservation technology that extends the shelf life of perishable crops from five days to 21 days. The off-grid cold store is available to smallholder farmers as a service where they (farmers) pay a meagre daily or weekly subscription fee.

This innovation has earned him recognition including eight awards for participating in several accelerator programmes.

Ms. Constance Elizabeth Swaniker

Constance Swaniker is a renowned Ghanaian sculptor making strides in the arts and craft sector with global recognition. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Sculpture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi in 1999.

After graduating from KNUST, she established Accents and Art Limited. She is the Founder of Design and Technology Institute (DTI). This institution offers students a practical approach to help them hone their talents in a conducive environment surrounded by instructors who are passionate about art and design.

Having spent 18 years in other countries including, The Gambia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe, the diversity in her experience has been the dominant factor in how she approaches the “arts” and business.

While a university student, Constance worked as an apprentice carpenter for five years in a joinery company but specialised in metal work and sculpture, graduating with honours in sculpture.

She is the recipient of several awards, and her works can be found in a wide range of upscale homes, offices, and diplomatic missions both home and abroad. Her works have been showcased in solo and group exhibitions in Ghana, Nigeria, France, and Germany.

Mr. MacCarthy Mac-Gbathy Abdullai

MacCarthy is the founder of HOPin Academy. He established the Academy in 2013 to curb rural-urban migration in Northern Ghana and reduce youth unemployment. The man who wants to reduce poverty rate drastically believes that entrepreneurship is the solution.

HOPin engages in educational innovation to ensure that entrepreneurship becomes part of the core subjects within Basic Schools in Ghana. It acts as an innovation hub to provide goal-oriented, practice-oriented learning for young people coupled with technology.

The organisation’s programmes cover entrepreneurship, digital communication, Information Technology, video production, and business consultancy.

The founder is an Executive Board Member and a Communications Director of the Ghana Hubs Network, with over 50 network members in 10 regions. He is part of several Boards globally and since 2013, he has overseen 54 startups.

Mr. Maxwell Deladem Xonu

Maxwell is championing eco-friendliness in Ghana. He has built EBAPreneur, a climate-action enterprise that focuses on promoting positive impacts on climate and helping local farmers combat post-harvest losses.

Founded in 2019, EBAPreneur produces briquettes from wastes such as corn husk, cassava and potato peels, and sawdust. The startup fabricates solar driers from locally sourced materials to help farmers reduce post-harvest losses.

The solar driers create a suitable temperature for drying harvested farm produce faster, such as cassava, without any atmospheric disturbance.

Mr.Jonathan Kennedy Sowah

Jonathan is the founder of InovTech STEM Centre. He is a passionate, innovative, and creative young leader with a track record of establishing successful students and teachers with industry-relevant skills in the STEAM field.

His institution provides students with high-quality, industry-relevant, and sought-after skills and experiences, especially in underserved communities in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) through Robotics Education.

InovTech leverages Educational Robots, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Embedded Systems for its notable course. The STEAM Centre aims to be a world leader in providing innovative and creative STEAM programmes that inspire, engage and develop citizens for Africa’s social well-being, economic prosperity, and sustainability.

Since its inception, InovTech has impacted over 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers across Ghana.

Mr. Andrew Takyi-Appiah

Andrew is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Zeepay, the fastest-growing fintech company. He is an expert in Banking and Mobile Payments with over 15 years of experience in Banking and Business Development.

He has working experience in more than seven markets, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, Burundi, Zambia, Malawi, and South Africa. He has been part of vital retail deployments across Africa. His company focuses on improving financial inclusion and making the world a better place to live.

Zeepay connects digital assets such as mobile money wallets, cards, ATMs, bank accounts, and digital tokens to International Money Transfer Operators, Subscriptions, International Airtime, among others.

By Spectator Reporter