#CitiTrends

Two amazing conversation for the price of one!

What could be better than that.

Press play to listen to Makafui Kwami, Founder of Mak Apps speak about his new app that is putting live music production on its head. It's called, LIVE CHOPZ.

Then turn up the volume to listen to CEO and Co-Founder of Ghana's first indigenous company and startup to be granted a manufacturing license for the manufacturing of electric vehicles in Ghana, SolarTaxi, Jorge Appiah.

Packed show, but worth every minute spent listening.

What an enthralling episode this week's show is! Speaking with Paul Ninson about Tech, visual education and business. Three ingredients for creatives ANYHWERE.

Paul shares his story, his journey and his vision for creatives on the continent; and in Ghana.

Enjoy the show.

FACTS are always sacred. Data helps to deduce facts.

Two items missing for a long time in the analysis of the tech ecosystem in Ghana.

Innovation Spark is helping to bridge that with the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem Report.

Massive body of work. Enjoy as we break it down.

To pivot or not to pivot... That is the question.

It's actually much deeper than that and my guests on the show who joined my via zoom will give you better clarity on that.

Enjoy the show. 

Valentine's Day edition of the show and we just couldn't help but dive into the global digital report put together by We Are Social and Meltwater. Lots of insights from Alice Mensah who is the Marketing Manager at Fido. 

Enjoy 

Content creation is big business today. It is changing lives and spawning new revenue streams folks didn't even know existed. It is a very open field now but question always remains, how do you cit through the noise? My guests, Two Video Content Creators who have really pushed the bounds of content creation in the past year share their hacks and frank opinions about what works and what does not based on their experiences. 

Emmanuel Obuobi Fianko (delppy1_) and Desmond Appiah (@dessy_ocean) join me on the show this week. 

It feels good to return for another year of Citi Trends and this year i decided to kick things off with one of the most hard working in the tech space in Ghana today. He is the founder of TechNovaGH and a well of wisdom. Hope his lessons and thoughts inspire you and keep you pushing in the new year. 

Platform Economies have often been touted to be the saviours of the new world of work. Offering flexibility, ease of payment and so much more. 

The reality however, is a bit different from that. 

Researcher. Dr Budu and digital driver, Elizabeth, join me to discuss these issues and more. 

Three guests from diverse backgrounds joined me to discuss value chains and how paying attention to them could propel your business to the next level. 

According to my guests, a lot of technology entrepreneurs do not pay attention to value chains as integral parts of their business. They see it as a function of procurement. 

Take a listen and let me know what you think.  

E-sports is a multi-million dollar industry globally. Over 300 million stream content around E-sports. But, why is it such a big deal? Why should Ghanaians pay attention to it. 

I sat with the leadership of the E-Sports Association of Ghana to talk through this. 

Enjoy. 

Automation of processes is so commonplace in our daily life that often, we tend to ignore it. 

In workplaces, a lot of people sometimes do not even know which part of their processes are automated. 

But is that all there is to it?

Just a swanky-new-digital-age-must-have?

Check out this week's show for more. 

Online platforms play an increasingly important role in today’s digital economy. One example of the growing relevance of the platform economy are online labour markets. These two-sided platform marketplaces allow buyers and sellers of online mediated work to connect around the globe and transact tasks in various occupations, such as graphic design, translation work, or software development.

Platform labour markets deliver value to customers and provide economic opportunities for suppliers. These digital markets also generate substantial economic benefits for the platforms themselves and they introduce novel and often precarious forms of work and economic interaction.

Two broad conversations were had in this episode:

1. How can marketable and sustainable skills be identified and tracked that allow online platform workers in local environments to participate and excel in the global online labour market?

2. How can online labour platforms be regulated and managed to improve worker protection and platform infrastructure to enable sustainable and decent work opportunities?

In the first of this series, we speak to founder of eCampus, a web and mobile based online teaching and learning (EdTech) platform, Cecil Nutakor as he opens shop in Dakar, Senegal. 

He shares lessons on what he learnt on the journey of expanding his business into new territories and some harsh realities he has had to deal with. 

Enjoy.

The global creator economy is said to be worth over $100 billion, and Africans are mostly shut out of it. 

How do we gain a foothold in that space?

Brian shares some thoughts on that in this week's episode of the show. 

Enjoy

Joe is such an unassuming guy. However, he knows his stuff and that is what we enjoyed when he joined the show this week. 

Such great insight from both a personal and professional level on what Marketing Technology as a field of study and work actually means.

Very practical knowledge shared and very open about the details of what a job role in MarkTech actually means. 

Enjoy. 

Elon Musk buy Twitter and the world will not be the same. 

What does the purchase mean for the app, how does the personality of Elon change the prospects of the app and what lines could potentially be crossed. 

A star studded team brings their perspective to bear on the conversation. 

SnooCode has become the official property addressing system for the Liberia. What does that mean though? 

Thinkers and innovators like Saron Paz are always a delight to hold conversations with about the meaning of tech and what the future of it all looks like. 

On this episode we speak about everything from teaching innovation, the meta verse, technology and its limits and so much more. 

Enjoy

What happens when jobs are available but the people are not skilled enough to take them?

What happens when the people demand for particular jobs but things like the pandemic do not make it possible for them to be hired?

How do you even know when a job in a particular sector is available. 

We discuss all this and more on this week's show with Hilda Nimo-Tieku, CEO of Jobberman. 

Enjoy.

The Citi FM/Citi TV Heritage Caravan gives all patrons a unique insight into the tourism potential, or otherwise of Ghana. Patrons get to travel across the country to experience different parts of it in a road trip-type of experience. 

This year, Mr and Mrs Adranyi were on the caravan and they had their tech lenses on right from day one. 

They share their experiences and insight on the show this week. 

Enjoy. 

International Women's Month on Citi Trends and what a topic to kick off with! 

Emily Sheldon, CEO of African Health Innovation Centre, shares some much needed insight on innovations both globally and locally that seek to bridge gaps. 

Enjoy. 

Building any team is tough. Building a strong team as a tech startup, however, is on a whole new level. 

Emily Fiagbedzi, Director of training programmes at MEST Africa joins me on the show to share some much needed insight on the topic. 

It is no secret that the world get excited when conversations about new mobile devices are made. 

The type of device, the new features, the price and everything else in-between. 

However, there are some burning issues with the increasing number of mobile device releases and its associated disruptions. 

On the show this week we speak to Benjamin Afrifa, Product Manager (Visual Display) at Samsung Electronics West Africa, shares his thoughts on the topic and explores some of the newly released product. 

Enjoy  

Digital is leading the marketing space. That is really all you need to know. 

However, the space is cluttered with so many different voices, so much content and so much noice. How do you make your voice heard (and seen) in all of that. 

My guest on the show this week is Kofi Ayeh Akrofi, the Creative Director at Social Ghana - a creative agency in Ghana. 

In 2021, the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization, gave a directive that all Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards should be reregistered over a six-month period spanning October 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022 using the Ghana Card.

The process has however, be fraught with a series of challenges including long queues at registration centres, delays during the registration process due to device challenges and many more. Questions have also been raised by various civil society groups on the data protection components of the exercise plus the need of the exercise in the first place. 

Selorm Branttie, Vice President of Imani Centre for Policy and Education joins me on the show to discuss the technology side of the situation. 

Enjoy the show. 

The Electronic Transaction Levy is a raging issue in Ghana. Opinions are divided on the matter.

The government of Ghana in its 2022 budget proposal announced the introduction of an Electronic Transaction Levy which will be a 1.75 percent charge on all electronic transactions, including Mobile Money (Momo). The levy will be waived for transactions that amount to GH¢100 or less in a day or approximately GH¢3,000 per month.

What are the good points, the bad and also what other options could have been considered? 

My guests for the conversation were Nana Adwoa Amponsah-Mensah, a Tech Attorney at 8 Geeks at Law and Derek B. Laryea, Digital Financial Services Expert and a Director, ADEF.

Enjoy the show. 

After Zuckerberg unveiled Meta, we got a sense into what his vision was for the company. 

The reality of the meta verse is both frightening and exciting, all in one. 

However, what are the prospects of the project for Ghanaians and others in the subregion. 

We discuss this and more with Maximus Amertogo and and Eyram Tawiah

Every couple of months, a new phone is released. 

Folks go out and buy mobile phones for all manner of reasons. 

But, why should you buy a phone for GHS100 or another for GHc 9650?

We discuss all these and more on this episode of the show with Divine Puplampu and Leslie Mills. 

Enjoy. 

This episode was all about breaking it down to the barest basics. 

What personal computers are, how they impact our lives, what you should bear in mind when purchasing one, what goes into the spec sheet... and ultimately why price should be the last factor to worry about. 

Divine Puplampu (Tech lead at Stimuluz) and Edward Opoku (Head of IT & New Media at Citi FM) joined me for this one. 

What a show it was! 

Everyone has their own idea of what it means to scale. At the base of it, it is often about growth. Kweku of MESTAfrica shares his unique perspective on the topic and why it might be important for startups and businesses to reconsider their understanding of the concept. 

We speak to folks from GIZ about the thorny topic of building an inclusive digital economy and society, its building blocks, policy and its role and the role of the individual as well. 

Enjoy.

A packed week deserved nothing less than a packed show. The team from Ghana Meteorological Agency talk to us about their new app which could help dozens and save countless lives. Eric Asuman who is the Deputy Director General at Ghana Meteorological Agency and Maureen Abla Ahiataku who is a meteorologist joined me for the conversation. 

Andrews Akoto Addo, Daniel Owusu and Jorge Appiah all of the Ghana Tech Lab joined me on the show to discuss the state of the Ghana Startup ecosystem. Powerful thoughts and insights. Take a listen.  

Building a tech business is not for the faint hearted and my guest on the show this week, knows a thing or two about that. 

Derrydean Dadzie shares his insights from his journey in this tech space and helping to shape the fintech space in Ghana. 

What it means to go against the grain, always pushing the envelope and charting new paths; all this and more covered in this episode. 

Enjoy.

One of the most passionate humans you will meet anywhere who also happens to be the main holding high the flag of Ghana in the world and gaming, GLOBALLY. 

My guest this week is award winning technology entrepreneur, writer and singer, Eyram Tawia. 

We speak about gaming in Ghana and Africa, what it takes to succeed in the ecosystem, principles that all technology entrepreneurs should hold on to and his love for Fintech. 

Enjoy the show. 

Straight talking and frank. That is Cecil. 

He looks back at his life in the tech space and shares lessons from there. 

So much to learn and pick ups. 

Enjoy.

We continue our series of conversations with Ghana's leading tech talent and innovators and this week, Curtis Vanderpuije (CEO of expresspay) joins us. 

He speaks about the fintech space, dealing with policy makers, trends within his space, cryptocurrency and so much more. 

Enjoy the show. 

Alloysius Attah, Co-founder of Farmerline and one of the most honest talking tech leaders you will find in Ghana. 

He shares his story of building one of the most recognisable AgriTech brands in Africa and the key lessons he has picked up along the way. 

He also speaks on policy, pivoting and returning to basics within the agritech space. 

Enjoy.

Nigeria in the last couple of days:

- Federal Government bans Twitter.

- Federal Government issues an order asking all media outlets to suspend the use of their Twitter handles.

- Federal Government set to prosecute ALL Nigerians found tweeting.

- Nigeria estimated to be losing over $10M in e-commerce revenue.

On the show this week, we try to understand the why, who, what and when of this decision by the Nigerian government. 

My guests are: 

Abubakar Idris - Africa Reporter at Rest of World
Maximus Ametorgoh - Digital Lead at Popout
Kingsley Abrokwah - Chief Enabler at Kudigo
Joseph-Albert Kuuire - UX Designer at Jetstream Africa/Editor at Tech Nova GH

A woman who achieves. 

That is what i have known the founder of Soronko Solutions to be. She has a compelling story about how she got into tech and what has kept her in it. 

On the show, she shares these stories and her lessons she has picked up on the way as she charts an incredible path for women in Tech globally. 

She speaks on the power of partnerships, focus and understanding the market for your tech products. 

Enjoy. 

A truly dynamic individual with a big focus on using technology to develop others around him and project Ghana to the world. 

Director of the GhanaThink Foundation and a young man who has dabbled in everything from music, to Google to advocacy to training to everything else in between. 

Press Play and enjoy the conversation. 

He describes himself as an entrepreneurial leader with rich experience building products, teams and international partnerships to deliver innovative technology solutions. He says about himself, "I enjoy tackling complex problems of scale that involve learning and deep analysis towards strategic and significant impact."

Kofi Dadzie shares suggest of wisdom about building tech businesses, handling transitions, leadership in a tech environment, handling government agencies and more in this new series on Citi Trends.

Enjoy 

What a show we have this week. 

Twitter has established its HQ for Africa in Ghana and the country is buzzing. We establish the details of the move and provide some clarity on the show with Foster Akugri, founder of Hacklab.

We continue our series on Tech Pandemic Stories by looking at how education is evolving in Ghana and what needs to be done to propel the sector to the next level using technology. 

Enjoy the show. 

Eno Quagraine, Founder of Talkative Mom, has built her solution from a blog three years ago with readers all over the world into Ghana's First Mom App and motherhood-specific search engine. With a passion for women’s health, she built her audience through her candid, sincere storytelling on motherhood-related issues that wasn’t addressed at the time. It has a host of features including a marketplace with almost 130 businesses and thousands of products, a blog with contributions from certified professionals and experts and lists of essential service providers to help parents and care-givers.  

She shares her experiences of building a tech solution on the show. 

Enjoy.

In this new series on the show, we speak to technology entrepreneurs about how they are surviving and have managed to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This week, i speak to two female solution providers; one into automotive and the other into fintech. 

We talk about growing your business and finding ways to survive during a pandemic.

Enjoy. 

Online music streaming has become the most preferred way for accessing music and audio content today. With several players in the game, Spotify appears to be a market leader of sorts, contentious as it may be. In a recent online event, the company announced an expansion to over 80 new locations around the world, across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America in its broadest expansion yet. These include Papua New Guinea, Palau, Samoa, Zambia, Cameroon, Ghana, Haiti, Jamaica, Bahamas and more.

I spoke to Phiona Okumu, Head of Music (Sub Saharan Africa) at Spotify to shed more light on the developments.

Enjoy the show. 

Content, they say, is KING. 

The question though, remains, who is serving the king? How are they surviving? How are they surviving? How are they producing quality content within a space that is in its nascent stages. 

Kwadwo Sheldon and Rick Aqua, share their insight on the show this week. 

Enjoy.