Thursday, December 25, 2008

BarCamp Ghana'08 - The Unconference

For over a year, I have been asking for community for IT and Entrepreneurs, a place to network and share ideas, to get the needed publicity about your products and solutions and a place to feel comfortable knowing there are others just like you or even better ready to help.

BarCamp Ghana '08 was the answer, with over a hundred brains present in one room, it felt like a room full of clusters (klustrs) of a Super Computer Network. We started off a bit late but by the time we were done everyone felt satisfied.

Can't help but share the entire experience with you guys out there. I will walk you through the journey in the next posts.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Back After A 59 week Academic Calenda: Africa

For those of you who might be following our blog and probably stopped after a while, well I'll be back soon, with all I've thought about and researched but have no time to put it up.

Well soon my first professional exam as they call it will be over and I'll free again to assume my entrepreneurial and ICT live. To set the ball rolling there was a heated argument as to the reasons African are poor and the need or otherwise of forming an economic partnership amongst African States with an interesting Kofi Opuni Asiama.

These are my thoughts..........

The Origin.

I belief in as much as a lot can be attributed to poor management of our resources and numerous military rulers, that has very little to do with the state of most countries and states in Africa in the next 10-20 years.

Yes our resources were not channeled properly but the current state of most African states and the citizens being poor has more to do with applying state resources and loans to projects aimed at what they think the people need and what the voters want. This might please voters and in some cases target some problems but in the long run might be obsolete in terms of current economic dynamics and the global village.

I'm thinking an example will best explain this. Let’s look at Ghana. As we are now, we cannot, to a huge extent, blame past governments (not even NDC for our economic state). We have the chance to move ahead soundly with the right policies. A few years ago we were OK, cruising, nearing single digit inflation, oil find, HIPC, things were just cool, so what did we do, we gave the people and Ghana something back, stadiums, more roads, over heads, dual carriageways, presidential palace and jets.

Immediately and still during some of these advancements, as if to say Hey! Watch it, the rains fail to drop, Akosombo falls, energy woes, oil rises, food prices rise, Ghana Telecom is dying. Then Ghanaians remember that we are not alone. Now let me ask the Question were the NPP mismanaging funds, did we need a stadium or a farm in the North or perhaps a School, University and maybe a better Teaching Hospital to serve the North? A quick guess...YES YES. But be careful this is the main point everybody in Africa uses to point out bad governance and failing to realise as one economic power we could have better adjusted to these shocks, we could have done an expensive feasibility analysis and research into rainfall patterns and changes and maybe invested in a Nuclear Plant earlier without Ghanaians crying foul. But hey there are schools to build, a lil stadium here and there, some beautiful roads, just to stay in power and make the people smile. So if Ghana Telecom or the economy as a whole is bad today or tomorrow please do not blame, NPP or NDC or Rawlings or even Nkrumah and think Nduom or Mahama will do otherwise. Look at the bigger picture. There's more to do with global changes than we know or even think. With the find of oil and had the economic problems been nonexistent I'm sure we would have built a start of the arts Museum in Kumasi to showcase the rich history and culture of Ghana our motherland.

Relax and think, look at the broad picture. Now not yesterday matters, and tomorrow maybe oil will drop and we'll forget all this.

Upcoming Post.............(Themes)

Global Influences

Resources and So What

The African Business Mind

Where Do We Fit in

Africa, An Economic Superpower!!!

Ghanaians or Africans

India and China, one size can never fit all.