In a world of uncertainties, diverse career paths to embark on, and various decisions to take, the GhanaThink Foundation has organised BarCamp Accra 2023 under the theme “Finance, Quality, and Innovation,” aimed at creating a vibrant atmosphere that encourages knowledge exchange, financial literacy, innovation, and community building.
Barcamp Accra is part of GhanaThink Foundation’s BarCamp Ghana program and is an annual gathering of innovators, entrepreneurs, tech enthusiasts, and leaders to collaborate on projects and advance the development of Accra and beyond.
Held at the Accra Technical University Auditorium on December 16, 2023, in collaboration with well-rounded mentors, entrepreneurs, and business managers, BarCamp Accra 2023 kicked off with a one-on-one networking opportunity for the about 100 participants to engage in conversations that will nurture ideas, redefine mindsets, embrace differences, and have the potential to achieve a desired deal between individuals.
This activity was complemented by a continuous switch in engagement with different people from diverse backgrounds and organisations. These activities – speed networking, according to the organisers, are aimed at breaking barriers to communication and expanding the horizons of networking among participants.
The next session, which consisted of a one-on-one interaction between mentors and participants, covered mentoring sections on the likes of how to develop problem-solving skills in tech, product development, crafting a career path, arts and cultural entrepreneurship, communication and personal branding, and safe cooking habits, among others.
In an engagement with some of the participants, Bright Aboagye, a graduate in literature in English, recounted that the mentorship section braced him up on how to persevere and brand himself despite the challenging moments in gaining employment. “I was given the idea to apply my knowledge to the teaching field,” he said. He stated that he will act on the advice given by the mentors by looking for publishers for stories he has written so far.
Cornelius Agordome, a climate change activist and member of Accra Konnect, shared that he was nurtured on how to join other teams to leverage his activism agenda. He added, “I spoke with a software developer also because I want to have a career in that field; I was given insights on how to prepare for it.” He mentioned that he would use the guide as a manual for what he wanted to achieve next year.
For her part, Hannah Koomson, a final-year student, believed the exposure to the mentors had answered lingering questions on her mind. “I think this is a good opportunity to be guided on what to do in the future; I was encouraged to read extensively as well.” As an aspiring journalist, she expressed how intrigued she was by how journalists are able to tackle issues and stand in front of cameras to report effortlessly.
Aside from the Speed Mentoring session, this year’s BarCamp had a distinctive feature tagged “Konnect Kouch” which entailed a hot seat interview with some industry greats to share insight on how they made it in life.
This session had the representation of the Co-Founder of WEAR Ghana Ltd., Awura Abena Agyeman, and Broadcast Journalist/Head of Research at Citi FM/TV, Nathan Quao, who both shared insightful stories of their journeys in their respective fields.
According to Ms. Agyeman, the drive behind her establishing the business was to drive the concept of wearing made-in-Ghana attire. Speaking on one of the key themes for the year, viz., “Quality”, Ms. Agyeman said building quality has to do with continuous branding coupled with consistency.
“Though we have been doing WEAR Ghana for 10 years, I can say we are just starting. We ensure quality by adopting the expertise of individuals who are well vested in what we do, and we concentrate on unique attire for every occasion,” she remarked.
On the part of Mr. Quao, he shared that in ensuring quality, Citi FM/TV adopted a solution approach to issues instead of lamenting on them without a solution. He said, “As a media organisation, we decided to make use of our personnel in the discussion of issues in the country instead of the normal routine of inviting politicians to discuss issues happening. Though the start-up initiative was not penetrating in the minds of the people as expected, with time people realised the impact, and other stations started to copy our initiative.”
He added that some of the solutions the media has and is still embarking on are the cultural expo exhibitions they organise for made-in-Ghana products and the ongoing establishment of a community for the victims of the Akosombo Dam Spillage.
In establishing the purpose and reason for Barcamp Accra being held in December over its 15 years of existence, Co-founder of GhanaThink, Ato Ulzen-Appiah, said the reason for fixing BarCamp Accra in December was to establish a rapport with individuals who visit the country from the diaspora for the holidays.
Mr. Ato continued that each year they take a look at three critical theme words to drive initiatives for the success of GhanaThink. Recounting this year’s theme, which is Finance, Quality, and Innovation, he reported that “this year’s theme, which is Finance, Quality, and Innovation, is meant to educate members on how to apply the concepts in their field of work.”
On the way forward for GhanaThink, Mr. Ulzen-Appiah said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it,” adding that his team will embark on a transformational action to inculcate a cultural mindset to achieve positivity and change in the minds of Ghanaians as far as the future is concerned.
