YAFO Institute wins prestigious 2024 Think Tank Shark Tank Competition in Tanzania

The YAFO Institute has won the Prestigious Think Tank Shark Tank Competition at the 2024 Africa Liberty Forum in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, organised by Atlas Network, USA.

The Think Tank Shark Tank Competition gave the opportunity to three contestants to pitch their organisation’s mission and goals within five minutes and another five minutes to respond to questions before the panel of judges—the sharks.

From among Africa’s many illustrious think tank CEOs, academics, policy experts, and thought leaders, three outstanding contestants were shortlisted as finalists to compete through an innovative project pitch for one ultimate winner.

The three contestants for this year’s Africa Think Tank Shark Tank Competition were Henri Kouam of the Cameroon Economic Policy Institute with his project “Allies for Women Property Rights.” Mugenzi Edgard of Resolution Connect in Burundi with his project “MVURA (Heal Me) Campaign: Empowering the Healthcare Ecosystem in Burundi,” and Nathaniel Dwamena of the YAFO Institute in Ghana with his project “Decentralised Business Empowerment.”

Out of these three contestants, the YAFO Institute, represented by the President, Nathaniel Dwamena, emerged as the 2024 Think Tank Shark Tank Competition winner. 

According to Nathaniel Dwamena, the award recognises innovative decentralisation solutions for Ghanaian small business owners, empowering them to avoid double taxation, reduce operational costs, and achieve profitability.

“We are thankful to God and the panel of judges—the sharks—for believing in our innovative approaches to solving critical challenges through decentralisation, and with this award, we will be empowering small business owners to utilise decentralised technology to avoid double taxation, reduce operational costs, and be profitable within our local economy in Ghana.”

He further stated that the win is a clarion call to reshape the business regulatory environment in Ghana to promote free market enterprise, freedom, and prosperity in Ghana.

On July 11 and 12, 2024, Atlas Network, USA, and Liberty Sparks, Tanzania, co-hosted the Think Tank Shark Tank competition during the biennial Africa Liberty Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.