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The names behind some Ghanaian innovative tech startups
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
Massive celebrations were recorded countrywide as the Black Stars opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-0 victory over Panama in Toronto on Wednesday.
Midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the match late in the game as he shot in a decent cross from substitute Brandon Asante.
The win gave Ghana a positive start in the competition, placing them in second position behind England, also with three points but with a superior goal aggregate.
After the final whistle, the streets and other viewing centres were turned into partying grounds as fans, mostly clad in the team’s paraphernalia, danced to several World Cup-themed music.
Others blew the vuvuzelas in joyous mood with others putting up a spirited ‘jama’ session.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for the Adentan Constituency, Akosua Manu, has urged party members to move away from what she describes as an “entitlement mentality” and focus on unity, sacrifice and hard work as the party prepares for the 2028 general election.
In a statement titled “Is Loyalty a Queue?”, and posted on facebook, Ms. Manu argued that loyalty to the NPP should not be judged by how long a person has been in the party but by their contributions and commitment to its growth.
According to her, the NPP’s history shows that many of its leaders faced significant opposition from within the party before eventually leading it to electoral success.
She cited former President John Agyekum Kufuor as an example, saying he had to overcome resistance from influential figures within the party before winning power for the NPP in 2000.
Ms. Manu noted that after the party lost power in 2008, former President Kufuor faced criticism and accusations from some party members.
However, she said supporters eventually put their differences aside and worked together to rebuild the party.
She pointed to the experience of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who, according to her, faced opposition from some factions within the NPP despite his long service to the party.
“His trials were ten times what Kufuor endured,” she stated, adding that Akufo-Addo eventually overcame the challenges and became President of Ghana.
Turning to the NPP’s current flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Ms. Manu said he also faced resistance from different groups within the party while seeking leadership.
She praised Dr. Bawumia for contributing to policy-based political discussions in Ghana and for remaining composed following the NPP’s defeat in the 2024 elections.
According to her, party members must now rally behind him in the same way they supported former Presidents Kufuor and Akufo-Addo.
Ms. Manu, however, warned that internal divisions and a sense of entitlement remain major threats to the party’s future.
She argued that some party members place too much emphasis on how long individuals have belonged to the NPP rather than on their contributions and capabilities.
“This entitlement does not question impact. It does not ask what you sacrificed or what you built. It asks only how long have you been here,” she said.
The former parliamentary candidate cautioned that such attitudes could discourage committed members and prevent the party from selecting the best people for leadership positions.
She further called on the party’s incoming national executives to strengthen the NPP’s core values of sacrifice, honesty, integrity and dedication to national development.
Ms. Manu addressed the concerns of young party supporters, many of whom she said became discouraged following the NPP’s electoral defeat in 2024.
According to her, many young people remain eager to see the party return to power but are unwilling to support internal conflicts driven by personal ambitions.
She urged party elders to place the interests of the NPP above their individual goals and to demonstrate leadership that attracts rather than alienates members.
“The NPP is bigger than any one of us. It always has been. Our collective responsibility is to act like it,” she stated.
By: Jacob Aggrey
