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A selection of @Abocco tweets May 2009

December 8, 2013, 3:40 am
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What happened in my diary in May 2009? We have an idea thanks to Twitter archive :-)
This was the third Stanford African Business Forum (SABF). I wasn't going to miss it as I was there. I do remember that I would have almost missed the start of it though if I had spent some more time with my ex. In hindsight, I probably should have. Yeah, you wanted to hear about the forum itself. I made a small mention here. Hope you clicked the first link before this one.
We should be tired of playing catch up. Let's do something new. Like taking something personal and making it our own.
I hadn't gotten used to live-tweeting yet, so as many others at SABF. So we didn't have many tweets to show. I did tweet my feedback about the event. See Africa Differently. +Henry Barnor
I remember that goal! It was going to be a The Red Devils against the Blaugrana & Messi against C. Ronaldo final though. d
For your benefit. Paul Kagame. Patrick Awuah. Later, I also wrote about Leti Games, building computer games in Africa.
Haha! Learning about Follow Friday for the first time.
Here are those blog posts. Inye, Isibini, Isithathu.
Re-tweeted.
It still hasn't happened.
One of those things we did when Twitter was still relatively new.
I love writing about sports. I'm going to re-read this one soon. +Mac-Jordan Degadjor +Olasupo Johnson +Tayo Oguntebi +Nana Menya Ayensu
Prayers were answered.
#MightyAfrican things.
http://www.africagoodnews.com/. Check it out today.
It's really sad that I can't even see what I was replying to and why I would post a tweet mentioning a fine lady and simply say :-). :-D
Google Maps has continued to grow. +Jeremiah Kamau +Evans Arabu should take a good amount of credit.
And then I posted "I am gonna make 12 meals out of $20. now that is what I call economics. Beat that!"
"We face neither West nor East, we face forward".
+Yvonne Darkwa-Poku :-)
This was the day I started supporting Barcelona in addition to other teams.
Oh, so we actually had July 18th as the date for #bcdiaspora once? It happens. +Jemila Abdulai
There is ECOWAS day! I'm celebrating it more seriously in 2014.
I cooked all this myself. Bossu kena.
Those spelling bee kids are something else. Kennyi repped Ghana hard. +Kennyi Aouad.
Haha! Sorry, I had to laugh. The only thing that would beat my best food is free food. ;-)
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A selection of @Abocco tweets from June 2009

December 8, 2013, 4:00 am
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What happened in my diary in June 2009? We have an idea thanks to Twitter archive :-)
A selection of @Abocco tweets from June 2009
I remember this. We wanted the Ghana Embassy to support the impending Barcamp Diaspora and some info on Ghanaian organizations, etc. We didn't get it or even folks from the embassy to attend.
One of my Museke teammates lived in China. The Chinese really support their own. You can look at that in other ways.
Obviously, I was quite excited to write a tweet in Twi. Wouldn't you? +Henry Addo +Jojoo Imbeah +Paa Kwesi +kasahorow
Must have been that time when I was getting free food consistently. I think that at one time, I went almost 2.33 weeks without spending any money on food. +Tayo Oguntebi +Olasupo Johnson +Anderson Nnewihe
This wasn't just any goal. This was for a semi-professional team. Palo Alto FC. Yea, I am a great defender. In the US. +Yaw Anku (Chief)
Her? Yeah, my girlfriend. Nigerian. The one after +Phelele Fakudze.
I have lost count of how many times I've watched Tsotsi. Here's my favorite blog post about it.
Looking for these kind of people in the US and realising that too many of them simply live in Ghana was a major factor in me moving back to Ghana.
Nice to know I have been saying +Watchudoin for a long time now :-). cc +Ory Okolloh
This is interesting. +Barcamp Ghana did live. Thanks to everyone who has helped +Barcamp Ghana.
Yaa Pono had so much promise. His freestyling videos didn't translate into too much commercial success.
Pretty cool eh? My Swahili was pretty good around this time too. Thanks to folks like +Eric Mibuari +Matilda Mutanguha +Edward Mabonga and co.
Mr. Chocolate Shoulders and his team couldn't pull off the requisite magic. Kobe won his first NBA Finals MVP.
Bill Simmons!
First +GhanaThink Foundation Barcamp in the USA. Our theme. Things were just falling in place. They continue to.
I absolutely used to love this gospel song. These days, I live on a serving of African gospel music. Listening to Ezali Mawa by DR Congo's Makoma now.
Oh, didn't even know I was going to tweet it later then.
I never did. Maybe I can start now.
I called him. Maybe with one those international calling cards. Not sure I was using Google Voice then.
We're just the best.
+Nii Simmonds +Henry Barnor +Emeka Okafor were also getting the +Maker Faire Africa train going.
The start of movie premieres in Ghana. +Mac-Jordan Degadjor. I tweeted about the Perfect Picture before.
This was to be a July tweet. Ghana is ahead of the US.
$20? What were we smoking then? Don't worry, the event was free. Check out http://old.barcampghana.org/barcampdiaspora09/register. Ory Okolloh, one of the most amazing Africans, gave us a shout out. To get her support is priceless.
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A selection of @Abocco tweets from July 2009

December 8, 2013, 4:07 am
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What happened in my diary in July 2009? We have an idea thanks to Twitter archive :-)
I wasn't impressed with the humongous English approach these Accra movies were taking. I was excited about Ghanaian movies in general then. Not so much now. My bro +Kofi Ulzen-Appiah is a huge fan though, especially of the Kumasi movies.
Americans get together on their Independence days. Do Ghanaians get together on their Republic days? +Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng
This was really great. My love for Google was growing. +Henry Barnor +Justin Dakorah +Nana Kwabena Owusu
Ha! Just like the other one. No one should go tell K. D that I have forgotten her real name.
What a day in sports this was? Roger Federer officially became my fave tennis player ever.
Yeah, I tried this. I tweeted "Chema chajiuza, kibaya chajitembeza".
Haha. The word 'tiabs' is just so cool. Biking was fun. Kept me in great shape.
I can't even remember who this woman is. I have done some things in my life. :-o
Obama-mania had taken over Ghana. The vocab Obamable had been introduced. Africa's future is up to Africans. I had an idea for +Joy 99.7FM's Kojo Oppong Nkrumah. I was in Vegas during this time o! I did a round-up of blog posts by Ghanaian bloggers around this time. Mover & Shaker.
When I finally got one, I was like why the heck hadn't I gotten one earlier. See how I didn't mention Android here. When the time came, I got an Android phone. I was a Google lover then, and now.
Yeah, what I just said. I half-wished to work at Google. It's a bit unbelievable now that I worked there.
I went with my brother and a number of Stanford friends. Stanford rocks right? How many universities would play host to world-class soccer teams?
Kaish! We do SMS registrations long time. Big ups +Henry Barnor!
+Kofi Ulzen-Appiah, misumobo!
I'm speaking at the +BloggingGhana meetup today. It's awesome to see how far it's come. +Elorm Billy-Awittor +Kajsa Hallberg Adu +Mac-Jordan Degadjor +Edward Amartey-Tagoe
We need another Barcamp Diaspora or DiasporaCamp. +yorm ackuaku +Thelma Boamah +Kirstie Kwarteng +Esi Quayson.
We created a hashtag for Raymond's birthday.
The day finally arrived. It was a resounding success! +Christine Yieleh-Chireh +Nii Simmonds +Misonu Amu
Blood is thicker than water. Family is thicker than friend.
It used to be the possy cool grub in Presec. It was the wicked combo grub in Stanford. Today, it's the 'it's late in the night I don't want to spend time in the kitchen let's eat Indomie' grub. cc +Esi Cleland-Yankson +Seyram Freddy Ahiabor
Hehe. Things I say.
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A selection of @Abocco tweets from August 2009

December 8, 2013, 4:21 am
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What happened in my diary in August 2009? We have an idea thanks to Twitter archive :-)
Msiniseme kama napenda kula. Don't tell anyone that I love food. Especially you +Nududu Delight.
What the heck? I have absolutely no idea why I tweeted this.
This is amongst kind of fun I like having. Not your average Saturday - Picking up and pick-up lines
Twitter is not fair. They did good with local trending topics though.
We've seen many acquisitions since. Paramount of which is Instagram. Not sure why I am still not on there.
Ghana didn't trend on Twitter when Obama visited July 10-11, 2009. Ghana trended on Twitter when we beat Zambia 4-1 though on August 12, 2009. Proof that soccer is more important to the world than America. +Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng
Memories. +Aida Manu +Jemila Abdulai +kc odonkor +Kofi-Buaku Atsina +Christine Yieleh-Chireh +Deborah Ahenkorah +Kobina Aidoo
9924. Valentine Day born, born to sing about love. Nana Tuffuor everybody. Twi tweet, everyone.
This problem has not gone away.
We do. How's Obamacare doing nowadays?
Still haven't been to any of these places. Shyous.
Forget Venezuela. Angola is where it's at. Roberto, where you at?
WednesdayThursdayFriday!!! +Curtis Vanderpuije, where you dey?
There used to be canned waakye. Or has that idea been canned? +Nii Simmonds +Naa Oyoo Quartey +Seyram Freddy Ahiabor +Ali Bukari Maiga
I was broke consistently at some point in my life. I didn't expect you to be surprised.
This has been the case for a long time now. But music from around the continent has caught up. +Museke
Bukom Banku never really made it onto Twitter.
Terry Pheto? I just need to watch this movie again. Ayobaness! 
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Watching a success story grow - Setriakor Kobla Nyomi

December 9, 2013, 4:19 am
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The first time I heard of +kobla nyomi was when he'd gone to participate in the Google Internship program in Zurich in 2010. For an Ashesi student, it's a regular occurrence for one to do an internship with a top-class company or institution for the summer, but this is Google we are talking about here. Kobla was one to watch. I'm not sure I met him in person until I was at Rancard. So now I've been watching him. Late last month, he won the MTN Apps Challenge in Ghana, picking up a cool GHC 10,000 and a trip to San Francisco. Are you going to have a watch on him now? :-)

Sometime this year, when I was thinking through cool Ghanaian apps and technologies, I remembered that Kobla Nyomi had built an Oware computer game. It was a 3D app and on Android too. I googled for info on it and found very little, apart from this Ashesi.edu post and another. So I asked him, "What happened to the app?" He said something like "Oh, I haven't really touched it that much recently". "Please work on it, I want it to be out there, so people can experience Oware in a great way and the app would be popular", I had a response like that. A couple of weeks passed by, and the app wasn't really ready so I took another decision. "Give me the app as it is so I play with it and play the game some. I'd take screenshots while I do so". Kobla obliged. The screenshots ended up here on the +GhanaThink Foundation Facebook page and I saw the kind of feedback I was expecting.

Months passed and the app was still not on Google Play. Setriakor is a full-time software engineer at Rancard and he's tres busy solving problems of scale. He kept us thinking, "maybe if we rendezvous appropriately, he'd be convinced to finally make it available for the Android market". When Barcamp Cape Coast came around, the +Barcamp Cape Coast team was looking for people to speed mentor as usual. Kobla heard of the event and wanted to attend. Bingo! We'd have him mentor some people and he'd do a short presentation about Oware 3D. He'd prove to the attendees that you could take something local and bring it alive with technology. It would be a great example of solving unemployment by creating work as well. Kobla attended the event, introduced many people to game development and many left impressed with his work. He helped get some Coastal TV coverage for National Volunteer Dayactivities in Cape Coast too. I had discovered earlier on that his father run the local (private) television station.

Later in the year, I attended my first Mobile Monday (on a Friday) meeting in a long time at AITI-KACE in Accra. Kobla was there to present about his Oware 3D game, as well as (yeah guess who) Eyram Tawia who I've bloggedaboutbefore. Kobla actually was mentored by Eyram in game development too. I facilitated a discussion about game development in Ghana and brought some of my knowledge of this in the African space to bear. With the help of my first #VimTechListpost, we talked about +Matatu Game, Rainbow Racer, Ha! Buggy amongst others. Ha! If you want 4 million people to download a game you've built, you can listen to Abiola Olaniran too.

Kobla was building for and participating in the MTN Apps Challenge then. I was impressed with how seriously MTN Ghana took this challenge and engaging with the developer community. They had prizes that would also interest some of the best developers in Ghana unlike the last time. MTN organized info sessions in Accra, Kumasi and Tamale and involved groups like +GDG Ghana as well. The developer community discussed the competition as well with this and that. It would interest you to know that the top Google result for MTN Apps Challenge Ghana is the Terms & Conditions page for the Challenge. Lol. After seeing how MTN has supported  +Afrinolly, I could see how they'd support the 5 winners of this Challenge as well. Our main character in this story emerged the overall winner. Ashesi alum-Rancarder Setriakor Kobla Nyomi won the MTN Apps Challenge with his Oware 3D app. He took home GH¢10,000.00, Galaxy X4 and a paid trip to the Mobile Apps World Conference in San Francisco.

Setriakor Kobla Nyomi went to Mary Queen of Peace Catholic School and is an Mfantsipim alum. Yes, I don't only talk about Presec alumni, but many of you know that already. Aside being a Botwe boy, he grew up in Cape Coast. He does have an Ewe name but he can speak Fante as well as Kwame Dzokoto of Edziban a, dzi dzi fame. He likes waakye too. No, today is not #WaakyeWednesday, it's #MorevimMonday. A day for more vim as you've gotten out of a long weekend and are looking for more motivation to accomplish more this week and finish the year hard. Kobla's is a winning story. I have every reason to believe it's going to continue as such. I'd have a good seat to watch it as I work with him at Rancard. It shouldn't be difficult for you to follow it. 
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#KenyaAt50 trends on Twitter: Kenya, pamoja twasonga mbele

December 12, 2013, 9:41 am
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Today is the 50th anniversary of Kenya's independence. #KenyaAt50 has been trending on Twitter today. Kenyans on Twitter can get it. #KOT! I've changed my name on Twitter to David Ochieng Mwangi, my Kenyan alter-ego in honour of Kenya's big day.I wish Happy Jamhuri Day to all Kenyans! #Twende!

Here is a selection of great tweets which capture the day!













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Recounting my Kenyan half-life on #KenyaAt50

December 12, 2013, 10:34 am
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I really got to know a lot more about Kenya when I first went to MIT. Two of my best friends during my time there were Kenyan, +Eric Mibuari & +Edward Mabonga. We used to do homework together. We were not concerned about competing, we were concerned about succeeding. We'd help each other, together with other African students, with our homework. The Kenyan students were together a lot too, they'd have their Kenyan shindigs with their Harvard friends and they had their own mailing list. Many of the Kenyan students were studying computer science and electrical engineering while the Ghanaian students were studying different majors. Today, Kenya's ICT industry is ahead of Ghana's and is seeming to stay so.

The very first concert I ever went to in my life was by Kenyan musicians. +Samuel Gikandi, +Chilongo Mulanda and co were going to a Nameless-Wahu-Mr.Lenny concert in Worcester and I tagged along. By the end of the night, I was saying wha-who! and singing many nameless lyrics, words I didn't understand. My interest in Kenyan music helped me learn more and more about Kenya. I knew who their musicians were, and that aided me in building +Museke. It also really helped me learn Swahili. I started learning Kiswahili from some of the people I've mentioned above, and from folks like +Bilha Ndirangu & +Flora Amwayi. I met Kenyans in Wellesley, Harvard, and Yale as well. Swahili was all over. Wellesley had a Harambee house and Harvard had a choir called Kuumba.

When I moved to Stanford, I took extra interest in Swahili and took some classes in it. I enjoyed Kenyan barbecues, but I never quite made to Rugy Sevens. No, I am not Nelson Mandela like that :-) I spent time with +Wilson Irungu and co. While in Stanford, Museke really took off. That enabled me to get to know Kenyan music more intimately and know Kenyan musicians even more. I attended more Kenyan concerts and met 2 different Kenyan women named Nyokabi. I saw the success of Makmende and studied the brilliance of Kuweni Serious. I knew the soundtrack that would be played as I 'safiried' to Kenya for the first time, it would be singing "I'm coming home! Home where I belong! Narudi Nyumbani!"

The first time I visited Kenya was in September 2011 as part of organizing G-Kenya 2011. Being in Nairobi felt like home. I didn't feel like a visitor. I spoke Swahili at every opportunity and it helped me grasp more. I had lunch with with folks like +Arthur Buliva who I knew via +kasahorow but had never met. I hanged out with +Corine Onyango who I knew via the "From A Whisper" movie and Facebook. +Buddha Blaze who I'd met through Museke helped me meet many artistic and cool Kenyans, primarily +Wanuri Kahiu, the award-winning filmmaker. I learnt a lot from my Kenyan Googlers and I had the chance to go on a safari with the Googlers who had assembled in Kenya that week. I met +Ory Okolloh (one of my biggest role models) there as well. I met many Kenyan friends I knew in the US in Nairobi - +Ciku Kimeria, +Kanyi Maina, +Jisas Lema, etc. One of them told me, "As for we Kenyans, we move back". Many Kenyans who traveled abroad are back home and are building the country. Mrembo. By the time I left Kenya, I was getting a Kenyan alter-ego. You know him as David Ochieng Mwangi.

Ochieng is a Luo name, Mwangi is a Kikuyu name. You'd know those 2 tribes from the violence that marred the Kenyan election from before. I chose these two names because I wanted a United Kenyan. I want a united Kenya too. On this day of Kenya's Golden Jubilee, I wish more unity, collaboration and togetherness in Kenya. I want the tech community working together more. I want to see Luos and Kikuyus mixing like we do in Ghana. I want to see bigger companies and institutions coming from Kenya as well. Kenyans already support their own very well. It's part of the reason Safaricom has been very successful. Kenyans are very hardworking and driven as well and many are ingenious and inventive. This must continue in every sphere of Kenyan life.

I've been to Kenya 3 times. Each time, I've felt safe and a part of it. I've visited the malls and ridden a matatu. I've visited the iHub and partied in Westlands. I've shown that I am a carnivore and had nyama choma. I've seen Bobo Simo play and been on radio, twice. I've had MightyAfrican observations. I can't wait to visit again. It feels just like home. I watch movies like Nairobi Half-Life and try to see what I can recognize. "Pamoja, twasonga mbele". This is the motto of today. It's the motor of the future. For Kenya to grow better, further and stronger, Kenya has to work together. I've told many of many Kenyan friends this already and this is for you reading this - "Happy Jamhuri Day!"
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Indomie is dominating in Ghana: getting new fans for it

December 13, 2013, 2:47 am
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I've become a fan of Indomie this year. I needed to have supper one night, and it was late. I wanted something affordable. Open Sesame. Welcome Indomie. I mean the one that's been prepared and sells in multiple corners of Ghana. I bought some Indomie for about 3GHC. I enjoyed that meal totally. It reminded me of when we used to eat 'spag' in Presec - spaghetti with sardines, corned beef and shito. Only this time, it was richer. It had sauce, eggs, corned beef, veggies, and noodles. The one they advertise for kids in the mornings but adults buy more personally in the evenings. I would have Indomie when it was late, I was lazy to get something out of my kitchen, and I didn't have other dinner plans.

Unlike waakye, you have to wait for your Indomie to be prepared. 10-15 minutes. Initially, I'd place an order, find somewhere to go and something to do for 15 minutes, and come back for my Indomie. Eventually, I figured I couldn't really do the waiting. I mostly bought Indomie from a lady in East Legon. One day, I just took her phone number. I asked her name. "Mepa wokyɛw, mede Rose". I saved her number as Rose Indomie. 15 minutes till the time I'd get to her spot with the #vimride, I'd call Obaa Rose and order Indomie. I'd arrive to collect it, go home and do justice to it. It was just awesome.

A couple of times, I called Obaa Rose and she wouldn't pick the phone. That wasn't fun at all. Obaa Rose must really get a hotline, open from 8pm to 11:33pm. These couple of times, I ended up buying Indomie at another nearby spot, another time, I bought some near American House. One night, I bought some for 5GhC, Rose had closed for work. I told the lady that 5GHC was too much. "ɛdeɛben a na ɛwɔ wo Indomie no mu?" She bore. She was going to not sell it to me. I had to calm her down. The Indomie was not any better than Obaa Rose's. I promised never to buy hers again. I haven't.

Earlier, +Esi Cleland-Yankson heard me talking about Indomie and expressed interest in having some. So we set an Indomie date. For yesterday. I met her up at the +Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology Incubator. We asked for nearby recommendations from +Rinkart Asibey. He talked about how spots which are popular normally don't have great Indomie. Because of their long lines, they hurry the preparing and the different meals take hits for that. Great point. So he showed us one particular lady to go to. Our choice was made.
We found the chosen one. She was selling Indomie for 3 or 4 GHC. The higher priced one had more value - more Indomie, more eggs, more corned beef, gizzards sef, so we got one of each. She offered us seats. Esi and I conversed about Afrochic as we waited. When she finished, Esi wanted to give her tip, so I added one too and she got 10GhC. She gave us the change back and I said in Twi (translated to English) "This is Esi's first time having Indomie and she's...." forgot what exactly I added but you get the point right? I asked her for her name. "Christiana". I didn't take her number though.


The Indomie was not really warm when we started having it. That reduced the enjoyment. Esi had been looking forward to this waa and ultimately there was a bit of disappointment. It didn't have enough veggies and it would have been good if it included fried eggs. She couldn't finish it. But Esi is willing to try again. Probably not Christiana's. She has new recommendations now. We'd likely have her try Obaa Rose's Indomie next. I can vouch for Rose. After I saw Esi off, I went to ask for the price of unprepared Indomie. The 120kg pack costs 1GHC while the 70kg pack costs 60 pesewas. Yeah, the Indomie sellers are making good profit.

PS: I copied this blog into Microsoft Word and searched for how many times I'd mentioned Indomie in this blog post. 23 times! Truth. Well, I just mentioned it again so I am going to remove one so I remain at 23. If you think I am loving the number 23 because this food is as cool as Michael Jordan, you're a bit lost. This food, though from elsewhere, has become very Ghanaian. It's popular in the +233 country code. #233moments. So yeah, 23 mentions of this word is quite befitting of this blog post. What a long post-script! My script is done.
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To move to go to Togo is a goto move

December 13, 2013, 3:58 am
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Yesterday as I was leaving the Meltwater Incubator, I saw a gentleman I knew jogging (running) like he was going somewhere far he wouldn't get to quickly if he walked. I knew who he was. I drove the #vimride past him, stopped, reversed till I got to him and offered him a ride. He was going to Papa's Pizza. I also knew he was Francophone. "Where are you from?" I really should have said this in French but hey, I am sure I could say that easily after this weekend. Togo. "Oh, I want to go to Togo. In fact, I am going there this weekend". No, didn't tell him so because he's from Togo, I had already decided to go to Togo. For more than 2.28 weeks now. #Team228, ou es tu?

Earlier this year, I set a goal. I was going to visit Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire or Togo before the end of the year. I almost went to Burkina Faso twice. No, not to go and congratulate them after beating us in the African Cup of Nations. Once, to attend FESPACO and another time, to go visit a very dear friend. I blogged about a Burkinabe day though. I almost went to Cote d'Ivoire once. A lady I know from Facebook who lives in Canada that I've never met was in Abidjan. Figured this was a good opportunity to visit. I'd have visited either of these countries to attend a Barcamp, but none have happened. So December was hitting, and the goal was setting. Togo to go! It was 3 hours away and I could go and come back in a weekend. Lome it was.

I explained this to Selorm. Oui, there are many Ewes in Togo. I asked him what I should do while there. "Go to the beach". I'm not a beach person but Selorm was advising, so I will be going to beach in Lome. I told him I knew people in Lome. I know the folks who've organized Barcamp Lome, I've met them at least twice. I know the guys who run +GDG Lomé, am yet to meet them. I know one of the Global Shapers, met her on a flight to South Africa from Ghana. I know a couple of musicians too, thanks to +Museke. I know Togolese folks from my time in the US, unfortunately none of them is in Togo at the moment. So I'd be visiting alright, but I would be living more than I will be touring. I can't wait to release my Togolese alter-ego.

I asked a couple of Togolese friends who are living in other Francophone countries about what to do while there. Here's what they told me -
Great to hear from you. Perhaps during the day, you can hangout with the GDG crowd and at night, check La Villa (mainly Lebanese, expat community), or Le Privilege, or Le Monte Cristo for bit a francophone Africa jams!
You can go to Hotel le lac on sunday just to relax. It's really a calm place and you can have fresh air out of the town . Also you can go to the beach, I heard there's a new beach called "PURE PLAGE" https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pure-Plage/303433796463272?fref=ts (I've never been there but I think it's a nice place) You can give it a try. Now there's a togolese restaurant called Nopegalli in the city center, not far from festival de glaces, you can have wonderful togolese food there. I'd recommend fufu, or Akoumé (its Banku made of corn powder) and Adémè, or even ablo depends on what you want. A lot of Burkinabe when they come to Togo say they love Nopegalli food . There's also a restaurant called Marox, my family likes to go there. You have to try our famous roasted porc "Hanvi Dokpomé" I'm sure you'd love It. For fun in the night, mainly, people go to La Villa (it's a lounge bar) or Privilege Night Club. And if you want to wash your clothes, take it to the best laudry and dry cleaning "LAVASEC DE PARIS" in Gbadago

So yeah, tomorrow I shall be there. Here's some info to use. I've been listening to Toofan's music all week. I even listened to Edem's Nyornuviade for good measure as well. I can't wait to learn how to dance  Cool Catché more seriously. But yea, I'd be meeting many young awesome people and that's most exciting to me. My friends have organized meetings for me and I am looking forward to sharing, learning and networking. And then collaborating after that. I just haven't practised any Français. I am looking forward to having a good time. On y va!
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In with the High, Chilly Mashed Kenkey, out with the Low

December 13, 2013, 1:12 pm
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Yesterday, after getting Indomie with +Esi Cleland-Yankson, she asked that we go get something to drink as well. So we walked to the nearby Kuuks Market at American House to buy some drinks. Not alcohol o! My first instinct when buying any drink in Ghana is to go for a local option. Like palm wine. Bissap. Sobolo. You know? They didn't have any. I was going to settle on Vita Milk, which I love. But then I wandered about more, and saw another interesting drink - "Chilly Mashed Kenkey". Lovely, just lovely. Someone has packaged "Mashke". I was definitely buying. It's local and fits the bill of the moment. Indomie and Mashke. Esi got a Snapple. I love Snapple too but I already explained my rationale.

Does it have a Standards Board sign? Esi asked. If it was approved by the Ghana Standards Board, then it was a good product. I have no idea what Standards Board approval looks like. It's some Adinkra symbol like that. I couldn't find anything to indicate that the Ghana Standards Board was allowing Chilly Mashed Kenkey to sell in the market and in our supermarket fridges. On the packaging, it did have a website though. And an email address. That must mean this is for real right? Right. Never mind that they misspelt packaging as packageing, but hey, we do that in Ghana all the time. It is made from Ghana's indigenous fante kenkey. Proudly Made in Ghana, the inscription added.

We got to the Meltwater Incubator and opened the bottle cap. I had to carefully remove some plastic from the top, I guessed it's there for preservation purposes? I held up the bottle, agaped my buccal cavity and was crado to have tear-rubber mashke go sinking my oesophagus. However, the mashke wouldn't pour! It was thick and frozen or something. So I checked the website - chillymashedkenkey.com. Cool website. I realized I knew the folks who built the website for them - Kubator Labs. I proceeded to send them an email and bcced the Kubator Labs folks. I wrote

Hello,
I saw your chilled mashed kenkey drink at Kuuks Market (the one with the Sarkodie painting) at American House.
I was excited to get it even though it didn't have Standards Board symbol on it.
Because you had an email address and a website, I took it seriously and thought this must be a good product.

I started having it and when I tried to pour the thing, it wouldn't come.

So now, I have a 3/4 drink left with no motivation to continue. I am not sure refrigerating it would help because it will be hard to pour.

Here's some feedback for you. Please do what about it. Maybe I will buy next time.

More vim though,
Ato.

Yeah, I sent the email. I've not gotten a response. When I get it. I shall continue this blog post. But for now, you can read this. When you see this in a market somewhere, you can choose to buy it or not or just remember this blog post. Or go make some nicer mashed kenkey :-)
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Bienvenue à Lome - Premiere post à Togo

December 15, 2013, 6:24 am
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I walked into Togo yesterday. It was kinda surreal crossing the border to go to Togo. This was the first time I was in a Francophone African country. Finally. I thought about being in a country whose languages I couldn't speak. Anyway, here is the first part of my experiences in Lome so far. Blogging this from the cheap hotel I am at that has great free-wifi too.
I had to post my first tweet in Togo en Français. Oui.
I told the taxi driver this but of course, he had no idea who Sister +Deborah Vanessa was. +Edward Amartey-Tagoe says +Nana Kofi Acquah took a picture of it once. I should search for it since I am not sure I would have time to go check it out properly.
I was warned about the fees I'd have to pay to get in Togo but I didn't see these ones coming. See how I even tweeted Naira lol! I must have done so cos some Nigerian ahead of me was not enjoying the fees he had to pay at all. Meant to say 4000 CFA. I gave them a discounted amount in cedis. 
I love Ghanaian things. But "C'est Togo!" It took a while for me to recognize a song from the driver's phone playlist. Appropriately, it was Africa Hoye by Toofan. There are mentions of Emmanuel Adebayor and Asamoah Gyan in there.
Bougy in Lome, if you may. Met 3 of the Lome Global Shapers there. I told them I wanted to know where some of the best pizza in Lome is, but I was not going to eat pizza in Lome. I wanted 'hanvi dokpome', etc. +Wilfried Toussiné of +Barcamp Lomé fame came to join us.
Yes, I just wrote the p-word. I heard it way too many times in a Ghanaian song at a Togolese Trade Fair filled with many teenagers. It happens. These same people love Jehovah Most High God and deal with the song personally. Mafikizolo's Khona is a popular in Lome too.
I spent 5000 CFA on this. In hindsight, it's a lot of money. Maybe it was that Moov lady who moved me to do so. But I felt like getting a Togo phone number. I've been able to roam on my Airtel Ghana chip anyway. And +Amen AMOUZOU of +GDG Lomé was lending me a phone. C'est bon!
I asked Wilfried particularly about this. Thought you might want to know.
I asked Wilfried particularly about this. You would have googled it? D'accord.

I know how to say "I'm hungry" in French. "J'ai faim!" For dinner yesterday, I had akpan, fried plantain, tilapia, and mayonnaise was used as sauce, in addition to pepper with Wilfried & Amen. The chop-bar didn't have bissap and I don't exactly drink beer I don't know about. So I drank some wine. Lome has huge coke bottles! And not much traffic. Next time, I go bring the #vimride. I met Wilfried's friend Rachel who'd stayed in Ghana for 2 years and could speak better English and even some Twi. I practiced my French with them. Je parle Français un peu. I'm getting better. With Google Translate and all :-)
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Lome by night - partying in Togo

December 15, 2013, 11:15 pm
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Life is short. My time in this African country is shorter. This is a mantra I developed with my Google colleague +Ayite Gaba and one I live by when visiting African countries. Thanks to +Wilfried Toussiné, I was able to discover Lome by night yesterday. Here is my then real-time account :-)
These two clubs were the places I'd been told to visit. Wilfried ensured those were the stops for tonight. Was looking forward to going to Privilege, which is the name for another club in Accra. I found out later that the two have no proper relation.
La Villa had as many expats as advertised. Lebanese, Chinese, French people, etc. A mix of hip-hop and pop music was played. Spent the time waiting for the real danceable music by having a cocktail. I had one called Afrodisiak. Oui, the most African sounding cocktail is always my choice.
I learnt about cool catché more this year. In preparation for Lome partying, I had listened to a lot of Toofan music. I never really studied the cool catché dance though. However, when I was actually in Togo, there was news for me. There was a new dance in town called Gweta. I checked out the dance on YouTube a bit earlier in the hotel before going out. Not enough time to get the hang of it though.
Eventually, African music found its way to the La Villa deejay's playlist. Was happy to hear Guru's Lapaz Toyota play. Quite an old song in the grand scheme of things but good to hear some Azonto from Ghana in the mix.
Thinking about Sokode playing right after cast my mind back to being in Lagos last month. Both Lapaz Toyota& Sokode were played at that Bheerhugz Cafe that night. Do African deejays share playlists of old music now? Songs that are popular in the home African country get popular
#228moments was reborn in a Lome club. Remember that. :-) I also learnt to use the word 'gos'. +Gilles Ajavon +Amah Abaglo +Tiyab Konlambigue
There was fly and pretty women sitting next to us in the club. A song about the Gweta dance got them to stand up and dance. Nice.
Besides Privilege closes at 6am so no rush. :-)
God bless David Gaillard. :-)
I had thought that maybe some clubs in Lome wouldn't allow me to enter with a jersey like some Accra do. No problems with the ManUtd jersey even as most Togolese support Arsenal and Chelsea.
Privilege has to be the biggest club I've seen in Africa so far. It's humongous. It was also free to enter, even the VIP area. A lot of the people I saw in La Villa came to Privilege too.
That was the last tweet for the night. I was busy having a jolly good time. I highly recommend La Villa and Privilege night club for you when you are in Lome.
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What I managed to mange in Togo

December 16, 2013, 5:06 pm
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Ne dis à personne que j'adore manger! Don't tell anyone that I love to eat! Msiniseme kama anapenda kula! I was keen on trying different Togolese dishes while in Lome last weekend. The first place I went after arriving was a Pizzeria to go meet some Global Shapers. I told them, "I want to know the best places for pizza in Lome but I definitely didn't come to eat pizza here". And from what happened while in Lome, I didn't come to Togo to go eat rice either. Now, that's pretty awesome :-)

My first real meal in Lome was at a spot (I still don't know the name). I was there with +Wilfried Toussiné & +Amen AMOUZOU. We had akpan which is made of corn dough, together with some peppery sauce & mayonaise. We ordered two big tilapias and a lot of fried plantain. The food was tatalalicious to say the least. No wonder Wilfried's friend Rachel was oohing and aahing about Togolese food being better than Ghanaian food. Even the tilapia. The spot didn't have any Bissap which was disappointing. Amen got a coke - they have huge bottles of coca cola. Wilfried got a Youki drink. I followed the drinks seller to his fridge to see all he had to offer. I ended up picking a canned drink that is actually wine. Yeah, canned wine. Only in Togo :-)
The next day, Wilfried called me saying that her mother was going to make fufu. I didn't know Togolese had their own fufu. Even the Ewes in Ghana don't really have fufu. No, Wilfried's mum was not changing her Sunday cooking menu to suit me. They were just going to have fufu. I headed over to Wilfried's maison and we had fufu with guinea fowl soup. The soup was unlike anything I'd seen or had, it had garden eggs in it. I liked, favorited, plussed and retweeted. We had 2 Youkis - pom pom and mixed fruits.
My pal +GABRIELLA KODJO came to pick me up and we headed to Pure Plage. +Christopher Balliet joined us there. Pure Plage is really nice! It's a relatively new beach in Lome, folks were surprised how I even knew about it. But why should you be? Je suis le Mighty African. We had all cocktails but like I normally do, I got the cocktail with the most sounding African name. Bora Bora. It had a lot of tropical fruits in the mix too. I left Pure Plage for Restaurant Belle-Vue to see +Coco Van Mensvoort (of Sugacane fame) who I know via +Museke. It's interesting to note that Belle-Vue has a Pizzeria and then a restaurant. I actually met a guy called Ato having dinner with Coco and her friend. Yeah, what are the chances of seeing 2 Ato's together in Togo droit!? They were finishing off dinner so I headed off to mine.
A friend had suggested I eat akoumé while in Lome. Word got to Wilfried's mum that I wanted some and in the evening, she hooked me up big time for dinner. She added ademe as a sauce with lots of fish. Youki might be more popular than Coca Cola if what I saw in Lome is anything to go by. Wilfried loves Alvaro and wants to see it in Lome. I want to see more bottles of Bissap, that's whatsup!
On my way back to Accra, Wilfried took me to a really nice pastry called Saveurs du Monde. I got a sandwich that reminded me of Subway in the US. Yeah, it's not really local but you know Togo is a country heavily influenced by France. I had a ham sandwich, The rest of the detail is in the tweet above. I took the prospectus of the pâtisserie as a souvenir. Hehe.
We bought Tampico as the liquid accompaniment for the solid. I walked into Accra and finally boarded a car to Accra. And then I head some woman shouting "Tsofi! Chofi!" Guilty pleasure. It's my pleasure. I bought some of the banned substance because I love it and I can't find it in many places. It's rather interesting to have found it right near Togo. Do banned substances in Ghana go towards our borders? Maybe. If it's food, give me more. J'aime manger. When I had dinner tonight - rice and stew - I realised I had just done a weekend without rice. Cuisine Togolaise est bon. I wanted to have hanvi dokpome but couldn't find some readily. Next time. More Togolese Cuisine :-)
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Money matters in visiting Togo

December 17, 2013, 2:21 pm
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When I told some of my family members that I was going to Lome one evening, one of my cousins warned me about getting the appropriate documentation for when I was going to cross the border. I had heard similar stories. I could spend an amount of time at the Aflao border that would really be a bother to me. I have been to Lagos 4 times this year. Actually, West Africans shouldn't need visas to enter other West African countries. That's what we have ECOWAS for, no? As a Ghanaian, I didn't have to get a visa or pay any fees to enter Nigeria. Unless, Arik Air takes those fees as part of the airfare. I believed that the no-visa, no-fee paying rules would apply for a Ghanaian entering Togo. But no, it was not to be.

I got down from the private car that transported us from the Tema roundabout to Aflao on Saturday. I walked towards the border, it was a short walk. I had my passport stamped by the Ghanaian authorities to indicate that I was leaving Ghana. They took like 5 GHC from me. I have no idea why. I was directed to another place where I had to show my yellow vaccination card. I didn't have all of it. The card has suffered through travel and time and I had only one irrelevant page to show. I had to pay 3 GHC for my troubles. Surely, this must be the end of that. I left the rooms and entered fresh air. I had seen Canaan but guarding the gates of Canaan were a couple of people who directed me to turn right. I had to have my bag searched. There were other people going straight into Canaan with no questions asked. I guess I looked like someone who was entering to go to Togo for the first time or someone who might have some disposable income. Oui, I had to dispose off 4 GHC again, only after I had pleaded with the authorities to take that as it was all I had. I would have given 5 GHC as searching my luggage fee. And these are rules o! Or are they not?

My Nexus phone was dead as usual and I needed to make some phone calls to friends I'd be meeting. I couldn't convince anyone to allow me to use their phone for free. Maybe some more fluency in French would have helped. +Enock Seth Nyamador should have told me. A man approached me asking to exchange GHC for CFA. These folks can spot a Johnny-come-lately from many metres away. I told him I wanted to make a call and he offered me a phone. It looked like he run a communication business too. I made a number of calls and he charged me almost 2000 CFA. He exchanged 20 GHC for 4000 CFA. Later on, I'd realise that he actually cheated me. It's my fault for not checking the exchange rate before hand. At the time, he also told me that phone calls in Togo are more expensive than in Accra. I believed him. Ignorance was amiss, not bliss.

I managed to charge my phone a bit. Thankfully, the gentleman whose shop I used didn't charge me as he understood I didn't use his services for that long. This all-purpose-welcome-to-Lome-business-crook got me a chartered taxi to whisk me away to my first destination. While getting the destination from my friend +GABRIELLA KODJO, I asked her "how much I should pay". "1000 CFA". I asked the taxi driver, "combien le prix?""3000 CFA". Another dude trying to take advantage of me. I bargained down to 2000 CFA. He used the old-age excuse, "it's far and there is traffic". I wouldn't budge on any more.If you are in Lome, and some driver uses the traffic excuse, don't mind them. There is no traffic biaa.

When I was returning to Accra via the border on Monday, I knew better. I knew the exchange rate now and +Wilfried Toussiné had given me a good idea of acceptable 'fees' to pay. So my damage going back into Accra was just 1000 CFA, which is about 4 GHC. Wilfried told me not to pay any monies to anyone else who asked. One man in mofti took some of my information down and asked for his widow's mite. I told him I had no pound of flesh to give him. Onwards I went. That's how I was able to save some more money to buy chofi and pay for a more expensive ride into Accra than the one I paid for into Lome.
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The event to attend and follow on December 23 - Barcamp Accra 2013

December 17, 2013, 3:46 pm
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+Barcamp Accra is here again. This would be the 28th Barcamp the +GhanaThink Foundation has organized as part of its +Barcamp Ghana program. More than 240 tickets are gone, and there are just over 60 left now. Don't miss out. Register now to book your place. Read the press release below.

BarCamp Accra 2013 is a free networking event to bring people together for a day of discussion, demos and dialogue about Accra, Ghana and beyond. The event shall be held at the World Bank Office, Accra on December 23. The theme is “Exercising Ethics to Engineer Excellence”. This Barcamp hopes to assemble stakeholders to network, build a supportive enterprising community and partner to build together.
This Barcamp event will be the 28th organized by the GhanaThink Foundation, as it builds a network of young change makers, doers and entrepreneurs in Ghana.
BarCamp Accra 2013 will focus on corruption and ethics. It would highlight ethical leaders and ethics in every sphere of Ghanaian life. Corruption has been a big theme in Ghana this year, and a lot of us have read and listened to media reports in anger and disappointment. After the initial reactions fade away, we realize that attitudes of corruption and dishonesty are deeply entrenched in our society and we wonder what we can do about it as ordinary Ghanaians.

At Barcamp Accra, we intend to discuss, in interactive panel sessions, issues of ethics, corruption and most importantly, how we can achieve excellence without being unethical. There will also be the popular speed mentoring sessions with many inspirational people. We'll cap off the day with breakout sessions. Some of our confirmed resource personnel areShamima Muslim, +Nhyira Addo, +Benkoku Avle ( +Citi97.3FM& +CitiFM Fanpage), +Kwame Gyan ( +Airtel Ghana), +Kinna Likimani ( +Ghana Decides), Gloria Buckman (Plan It Ghana), Joseph Hudson (Tigo), Kimathi Kuenyehia (Top Lawyer), +Nana Amoah ( +Google Africa), +Hannah Acquah ( +Acumen FundComms), Valerie Labi ( +Clean Team Ghana), +Eugene Akoto-Bamfo (Osramba), +Eric Osiakwan (AngelAfrica), etc.

Register athttp://barcampaccra13.eventbrite.com/. You can also register by sending “Barcamp Accra, Your Name, Your Email Address” to 1945 on all mobile networks. See you there! BarCamp Accra 2013 is sponsored by +GhanaThink Foundation, +World Bank Ghana, Google Ghana, DKT International, Gold Coast Clothing and Nandimobile. Our media partners are SpyGhana, Ghana News Agency & Citi FM.

Get additional info at http://barcampghana.org/contact or email, barcamp atghanathink.org


Check out Barcamp Accra onTwitter&Facebook&Google+ and the hashtag #bcaccra.
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Ride with me, don't be scared, I'm a good guy

December 18, 2013, 3:22 pm
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Today, I gave a few people free rides like I've done manytimes this year. There was nothing really special about today that made me do so. It wasn't because today is a Waakye Wednesday or that I bought waakye for someone. It wasn't exactly because we had a great Mobile Monday (led by +Nana Fosu) end of year get-together which oozed a lot of positive spirit talking about and celebrating major developments in the Ghanaian tech scene this year. Maybe the actual reason was because I had given +yorm ackuaku a ride to the Republic Bar in Osu as I wanted to swing by La Villa Boutique Hotel for the Ghana Professionals Network event after +Donald Ward had reminded me about it. I saw +Samuel Ekem & +Elvina Quaison there. I was driving back from this venue and the passenger seat was empty. Yorm had filled it the last two times I drove and I felt I needed to have someone in it. So yeah, I think it's the reason why I decided to pick up folks.

That's not the reason I wrote this blog post though but I will get to that at some point. Bear with me. Bare your chest with me. If you're in private. I could backspace the last 2 sentences but who are you to take an issue with those 2 sentences? (space bar... continue typing) Anyway, I passed by the trotro stop facing the Police Hospital and packed as I saw 2 ladies. "Anyone need a ride to 37?" The first lady said no, the second lady obliged. During the ride, as I listened to Lira'smusic, the lady offered some of her Alvaro drink to me. It was a colourless polythene bag and she was drinking from a straw. "Thanks, but no thanks". We struck a convo. She works at a snack bar at Burma Camp but had gone to Osu to give an account of sales to her madam. I dropped her off at 37 and headed to the next trotro stop to pick more folks.

I packed at the trotro stop right after MaxMart and said "Anyone want a ride to East Legon?" 2 ladies approached the car, one saying "Bawaleshie". Another guy joined them. I drove off. As we passed the GOIL and were getting to the Silver Star Tower, the lady in the back seat asked me to stop. I was a bit surprised. I drove the #vimride past the traffic light and parked at the trotro stop right by the Silver Star Tower. I didn't have to ask why she wanted me to stop. She just said "I'm scared". Scared of what? Scared that I might go do something to her I suppose. So I looked back at her and said, "My name is Ato, what's yours?""Nana Akua". I asked the guy beside him. "TT". The lady beside me. "Evelyn". Blog post idea was born. The lady was scared of me o! This is surely a first.

I asked Nana Akua where she was coming from. "Church in North Kaneshie- Qodesh". Lighthouse Chapel things. Evelyn and TT were coming from work. So the church girl is scared and the others are just enjoying the ride home and thanking the heavens for the few Ghanaian cedis they are saving. Nana Akua continued to explain that she was scared because a cousin of hers was picked by a gentleman who then picked another guy along the way. The two guys raped her cousin. She thought that "hey, this guy and this other guy who joined the car have enough strength to rape me and this lady so I better get out of this situation". She didn't just think this, she told us. I told her I understood her fear but she needn't worry. Evelyn was a bit surprised, so was TT. Interestingly, Evelyn knew TT from picking the same trotro with him multiple times.

When I took the Shiashie road instead of Lagos Avenue, Nana Akua got scared again. "Oh, the back routes are faster". As we approached Bawaleshie, I told Nana Akua who was the only way headed there that she could alight at the Abedi Pele junction and walk. "That route is scary". Yes, it is. It's a short cut through a neighbourhood which is dark. So I went through Banku junction so I could drop her off at the La Bawaleshie school. The one +Ela Asare led to paint on National Volunteer Day with the participation of folks like +Seyram Freddy Ahiabor +Edmund Laryea +Cecil Dadzie and co. As we were arriving, Nana Akua asked for my number. I gave it to her and she flashed right then. She alighted. "God bless you". I told her "God bless you" right back. She also took TT's number. TT wasn't able to ally her fears earlier before she asked me to stop shortly after we'd left.

I dropped off Evelyn and TT at American House and they both took my number and flashed me. Not like 'flash' the things under their tops o! Like called me so I could get their numbers. I could have gone to Adjiringanor to drop them off but that's a bit too far. I told them I had passed my house long ago when Evelyn asked. I had already told them I do this to help fellow people out and make Ghana better. #IMGBT. I Made Ghana Better Today.
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Major developments in the Ghanaian Tech Scene in 2013 - Part 1

December 18, 2013, 5:02 pm
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Today at the #MomoAccra end-of-year party at +233 Jazz Bar & Grill, +Nana Fosu directed me, the host, to talk through some major developments that happened on the tech scene in Ghana. Lovely idea. A chance to celebrate accolades chalked, accomplishments met and good news lived. I haven't been as present on the tech scene in Ghana due to work commitments at +Rancard but I've followed many of what has happened. I led the discussion to bring out many things that happened in Ghana's tech industry this year. There's more to come, with an eye on the over-subscribed +Barcamp Accra happening on December 23rd at the World Bank office, but let's recap some of what has happened in this year.

The Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Ghana (WASPAG) was formed to unify the voices of players in the tech (especially mobile) industry and help shape policy and regulate the industry. It's also to support local tech innovation. Companies that are part of WASPAG include +Rancard, SMS GH, +DreamOval Limited, Mobile Content, TXT Ghana, etc. The Rancard-built Intel Explore & Learn Education App was launched in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria. Rancard (where I work now - news flash) also received some funding from Intel Capital, Peninsula Capital and Adlevo Capital. Fast Cashier, another banking/finance app, in Ghana, made some strides as it receives $500K worth of funding.

The MTN Apps Challenge in Ghana was bigger this year, given the requisite support by the nation's biggest mobile network operator. I love that they had info sessions in Kumasi and Tamale in addition to Accra. The prize money attracted some great developers and as you may know from my blog, +kobla nyomi, won the grand prize for his Oware 3D game. Talking about awards, SMS GH won the app company of the year at the Top Apps Awards with its mPowerPayments product winning app of the year. +maximus ametorgoh who organized the awards was on hand to talk about it. SMS GH also organized the first Ghana e-commerce hackathon at the +iSpace Foundation. +Alex Adjei Bram - [SMSGH] spoke more about it at the meetup, mPowerPayments has become the most popular payment gateway in Ghana taking MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, Visa & Mastercard payments.

The +Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology played host to various tech events including Startup Weekend Accra. ClaimSync became the first Meltwater Incubator company to exit, as it was acquired by Genkey.  +Dropifi, another MInc company and winner of Startup Weekend Accra 2011, was accepted into the 500 Startups accelerator program in the Silicon Valley. The very first MInc company, +Leti Games now +Leti Arts, launched its Leti Center Android app which introduced the +The True Ananse to the world, to be followed by multiple African-themed mobile games and comics. Leti Games run by +Eyram Tawia was honored as one of the Innovation Heroes in Ghana, alongside +Ghana Decides (#GhanaDecides run by +Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng, +Kinna Likimani and co), +FashionistaGH (#FashionistaGH run by +Ob Abenser), Roots by Naa (run by +Naa Oyoo Quartey) and DreamOval (run by +Derrydean Dadzie). The Innovation Heroes program was made possible by Google and the Ministry of Trade & Industry.

Another of the MInc startups, Nandimobile, won the World Summit Awards Business category for their Infoline service. It also won SMS company of the year at the Top Apps Awards. 2 of Nandimobile's current employees +P.K. Opoku & +Achere Buxton won the Africa Android Challenge for Ghana with their Vuvuzela app and also placed at the MTN Apps Challenge. Its CEO +Anne Amuzu was selected the US State Department's Global Women Mentoring Programme. Its Business Development lead, +Edward Amartey-Tagoe also won the Ghana-UK Based Awards (GUBA) Development Award. 2 of the people Edward beat out to that award are tech community members who won other awards. +regina agyare became an Aspen New Voice Fellow and won the Tigo Social Impact award with $75K in funding for 3 years. +Raindolf Owusu of Oasis WebSoft and +GDG Methodist University College Ghana fame won the IDEAS award by Legacy & Legacy.

Zished, another startup in Ghana - running a platform for gifting, was funded by the Savannah Fund and spent 3 months in its Nairobi accelerator. Its main tech guy was +Truston Ailende, a Nigerian friend who spent 18 months in Ghana. BoxBuzz, an SMS alert app built by Maximus' PopOut, was one of the top 40 startups invited to Demo Africa. We need to have a +Demo Africa or +Pivot East type event in Ghana in 2014. We've seen many pitch type events but we need a more grand startup competition that will get even more mileage.

This is only part 1 of what happened in the Tech scene in Ghana. I mostly covered what we covered at the Mobile Monday meetup earlier. Stay tuned for Part 2. "It is happening in Accra!"
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Major developments in the Ghanaian Tech Scene in 2013 - Part 2

December 18, 2013, 6:05 pm
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I was invited to host the #MomoAccra (Mobile Monday) end-of-year party at +233 Jazz Bar & Grill together with Dorothy Gordon, the Director-General at the KACE-AITI. The main organizer, +Nana Fosu directed me, to talk through some major developments that happened on the tech scene in Ghana. I loved the positive energy during the event and the positive news people left the venue with. A celebration of our achievements and accomplishments. Proof that we are succeeding and making things happen. Music to my ears. I led the discussion to bring out many things that happened in Ghana's tech industry this year. There's more to come, with an eye on the over-subscribed +Barcamp Accra happening on December 23rd at the World Bank office, but let's recap some of what has happened in this year.

Ghana had been crying for iHub type spaces and then after +mFriday's Tech Hub was launched last year, 2013 saw the launch and opening of 2 community tech spaces - iSpace and Hub Accra.  iSpace was founded by +Fiifi Baidoo & +Josiah Eyison, and funded by +Google Africa & Indigo Trust. It is a space for entrepreneurs and developers to work out of, meet and find resources. It hosted multiple +BloggingGhana meetups, hackathons, the +Mpwr networking soiree and the recent +Tech Needs Girls Gh Hour of Code event. The +The Vim Series was inactive this year but the Google Developers Group organized a meetup around the +Google Cloud Developer Challenge event, led by +Kobe Subramaniam. It hosts +regina agyare's Soronko Solutions and +Emmanuel Okyere's Hutspace, amongst others.

Hub Accra is a similar space run by the Open University of West Africa and SliceBiz. It hosted multiple pitch events for the Ghana Startup Cup and the Next Wave Africa pitches for female entrepreneurs. It's also hosted a monthly Hacker space too. And also a couple of The Savvy Madam events too. As well as Unreasonable At Sea event in Accra too. Wanna learn more? Ask +Victor Ofoegbu, +John Roberts, +William Senyo or +Heather Cochran. On the other hand, Hub Accra partner - Slice Biz, winner of Startup Weekend Accra 2012, went on to win at the Apps for Africa Challenge as well. It hosts +Wayne Miranda's Growth Mosaic, and +Edison Gbenga's AgriPro, amongst others.

The Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence for ICT organized various Mobile Monday events in Accra around many discussions and insights on different parts of the tech industry in Ghana. KACE-AITI hosted +BloggingGhana's #BlogCamp13, which promoted more use of social media and blogs. Alongside this was the organization of Ghana's first Social Media Awards. KACE-AITI also run a successful innovation week as well. i-week 2013 featured many promising startups in Ghana. #233moments started by yours truly had a mention there as a great Ghanaian campaign on social media. Supported heavily by Google, many YouTube videos were made for startups like +kasahorow (which launched the kasahorow keyboard which I use on my Android phone), +CLAK Impressions, amongst others. +Lenny Wosornu talked about how CLAK Impressions got a lot of mileage from its YouTube video and was able to train many people around Ghana in over 10 universities on online marketing, some of which placed highly in the 2013 Google Online Marketing Challenge.


The +Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) hosted the Startup Weekend Accra event this year as well. Chillax emerged the winners. They also hosted the ONE.org team led by Bono as well as various interactions with the tech community when the Boston College crew visited. They also hosted various venture capitalists who visited Ghana recently. MEST48, a weekend startup idea to venture event, was also organized there. A couple of MEST students organized the first +Dev Congress which brought together local developers, organized at iSpace. +GDG Ghana, the umbrella Google Developers Group, also organized a DevFest at the Coconut Grove Hotel where developers came together and learnt more about Google Developer tools.

I asked about what had happened around the country since most of the discussions centered on happenings in Accra. "Barcamps!" I heard +setriakor nyomi mention it. He'd presented his Oware 3D app at +Barcamp Cape Coast this year. I talked through the various +Barcamp Ghana events that had happened this year: +Barcamp Kasoa, +Barcamp Tema, +Barcamp Tamale, Barcamp Cape Coast, +Barcamp Kumasi, +Barcamp Ho, +Barcamp Sunyani, and +Barcamp Koforidua. #BcAccra happens on December 23rd. The Tech Hub at KNUST in Kumasi hosted many tech events as well. There was an Hour of Code event as well as various workshops and seminars run in conjunction with +mFriday. They hosted a TEDx KNUST as well. 
   
This is only part 2 of what happened in the Tech scene in Ghana. I mostly covered what we covered at the Mobile Monday meetup earlier. Check Part 1. Stay tuned for Part 2. "It is happening in Accra!"
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GhanaThink & Ahaspora combine to mentor SHS students in Ghana

December 19, 2013, 10:04 am
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It's been really great see the +Junior Camp Ghana program take off this year almost from nowhere. +Nathaniel Alpha +nathaniel ALPHA & +Nutakor Eldad came to +Barcamp Ho 2012 with another Ketasco student. They loved the event so much that they came to +Barcamp Tema 2012 with 31 students. After that, they just asked that we come to their school. So on January 30, this year, Junior Camp was born with Junior Camp Ketasco. Since then, we've had Junior Camp Kalpohin and Junior Camp Augusco. So when +Lolan Sagoe-Moses told me about the +Ahaspora Ghana mentoring event for senior high school students, I knew what to do with the +GhanaThink Foundation collaboration.

So Nathaniel and +Pedel Oppong joined me for a meeting with +Christabel Dadzie and +Freda Obeng-Ampofo to discuss the collaboration. And now the organizing for the mentoring event is happening in earnest.  +francis kumadoh has gone to speak to St. Augustine's College students, and +Kofi Kafui Kornu is contacting various teachers. There is also support from Ahasporans +Amma Aboagye & +Emmanuel A. Gamor from the +Mpwr show. And +Rancard is involved as well, providing goodies, just like when they sponsored the Ghana Robotics Inspired Science Education competition this year. +Seyram Freddy Ahiabor is driving that as usual. I'm looking forward to an impactful event especially with the awesome Ahasaporans. There's an Ahaspora event tonight as well - happy hour and mixer. Below is the info you need for the upcoming event.

Our Junior Camp Ghana program and Ahaspora Young Professionals, Ghana is closing 2013 with a career mentoring and life coaching event dubbed "Changing Mindset, Channeling our future!" About 40 mentors will give career advice and tips to about 100 senior high school students.
Date:  30 December 2013
Time: 10am to 3pm
Venue: World Bank Office, Accra
Rate: Free
  • You can be a mentor for the event. Go to this link to sign up. Do so soon.
  • We would love for you to get your nephew, niece or friend who is in SHS to register and attend. You can point this SHS student to register here or you can do so for them with their consent.
Find attached a Flyer of the event.

More vim!

Please consider being a mentor at this event - look at the form and see if you qualify :-) More importantly, if you know an SHS student in your family or neighbourhood in Accra, encourage them to register for this event. Let them spend one day in the Christmas vacation period in a very useful way. See the event flyer.
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Previewing and reviewing '1 Night In Vegas'

December 19, 2013, 5:10 pm
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Earlier this year, +Oral Ofori got in touch with me about the '1 Night in Vegas' movie. I hadn't heard about it yet. It was a +Koby Maxwell production. I'd seen Koby's first movie, Paparazzi - Eye in the Dark, when it premiered in the Bay Area. I interviewed him about it here and publicized it here. I was getting the chance to review a movie and preview it before it was available to the public. Always exciting. Upon some research, I realized that it featured John Dumelo and Yvonne Nelson, two of Ghana's most popular movie stars. Van Vicker returned from the cast of Paparazzi - Eye in the Dark, joined by Jimmy Jean-Louis, the Haitian movie star who also starred in Leila Djansi'sSinking Sands. Another Haitian actress was part of the cast - Sarodj Bertin. In proper social media parlance, the movie has a hashtag. #OneNightInVegas.

"We had a great time. Made love in Vegas. It's just weird that you're still here". #OneNightInVegas is a story about the intricacies of marriage and relationships. It's a drama directed by John Uche, and its characters always seem to be in the dark about many issues facing the people they are in relationships are. It showcases the lack of trust as a major ingredient in breaking down relationships. "You're such a hypocrite". The movie title describes the fleeting nature of things that happen but sometimes what happens in Vegas remains with people. We don't see much of Vegas in the real sense but we are given a good preview with a number of flashing scenes. I want to go back.

"So James, you think we can solve our problems with random outings and reggae music? That's not what Im saying, but maybe the rum will". The storyline was quite intriguing. James and Genie's marriage is on the rocks as he's protected by his bodyguard Nick after receiving death threats. James' bright idea to spice up his marriage is to spend a night together in Sin City as he attends a work conference in Las Vegas. There, Tony, a bad influence in the eyes of Genie, awaits. James joins Tony and his friends for a drink, and it starts to go down hill. And then he meets Ashlee, and then voila. That's the moment where you thought the movie might go one way and then it goes another way.

The movie cast is widely popular and known. Yvonne, Van, John and Jimmy had done the rounds, including Jimmy who's taken a liking to do at least one African movie each year. I doubt +Sarodj Bertin is launching a movie career out of this though she acquitted herself creditably. Genie's mother's character (Princess Manka) shined as the African mother based in the US guarding the growth of an African daughter. Michael Blackson, the modasocka, played a role where he was at his comedic best, more seriously.  The angry black woman stereotype was played upon as well and we learnt about a realistic Las Vegas profession in case you didn't know people lived and worked in Vegas. Koby Maxwellplayed a role as Tony's friend who kept another secret with his cancer-stricken wife Mildred, played by Sahndra Fon Dufe.

Just like Paparazzi - Eye in the Dark, the audio visuals and production quality was top notch in #OneNightInVegas. Black Magic Tim waved his wands again on this one. The lighting was used effectively to present scenes and atmosphere was set and scored quite effectively. Understandably, Koby Maxwell's fingerprints were all over the movie's soundtrack. The theme song was appropriate and quite enjoyable when used in the film just like one would enjoy Vegas. character introduces many viewers to the term 'Hooty-hoo' (sang by Betty G) and this was used in the theme song to great effect. The tracks were picked carefully and really provided good sound for the moods of many scenes.

"Who are you? Batman?" There are many moments of triumph in the movie until the mistrust gives way to challenges and secrets. The movie itself is another triumph for African movies shot in the US. There is a great Washington Post story that encapsulates the stories surrounding this movie. The story captures a great behind the scenes line that might get popular in a hurry. "I cannot shoot right now, I am not a robot". It juxtaposes Hollywood type quality with captivating Nollywood type stories. In fact, what happens in Vegas doesn't just stay in Vegas, it lasts forever.

#OneNightInVegas premieres in Accra, Ghana today at the Silverbird Cinemas. I'd there to watch and support. Koby's second movie is better and will surely outdo the first. It's following the growth that Ghanaian and African movies are seeing, whether they be shot on the continent or in the Diaspora. "Hold on to those who got your back". Catch the movie somewhere near you soon. Stay tuned to the Facebook page for what happens next.

Here's a 5 minute sneak peak. Watch the trailer below
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