What's Your Story

We talked to Elizabeth Aggrey, a Partner at the law firm Purple & Ashes.

Elizabeth was born in Nigeria and started practicing law after she passed the Nigerian bar. She eventually met and married her future husband who happened to be Ghanaian. She eventually made up her mind to move to Ghana and practice law in the country. She studied and passed the Ghana Bar Exam and eventually set up her Purple and Ashes law firm.

The law firm currently helps clients deal with market entry strategies and regulatory compliance.

Christabel E. Dadzie is the founder of Ahaspora, a group that helps professional Ghanaian returnees with help and support. Before Christabel founded the group, she studied international relations at the College of Wooster in 2004 and then went on to continue her graduate study at Colombia University.

It was when she returned to Ghana in 2010 that she realized that there was a need for a support group for Ghanaian returnees. So with twelve other Ghanaian returnees, they help formed the Ahaspora group in 2011 as a listserv. Currently, the group has 1800 members.

Christabel currently works for the World Bank as a Social Protection Specialist but makes time to help manage the listserv where they schedule happy hour events and other projects to help give back to the local community.

Cecil Senna Nutakor is a renowned social entrepreneur and leading authority on using technology to revolutionize self-paced education in Ghana. Through a combination of self-taught technological innovation skills and professional business development training, Cecil has developed an ICT certificate program used by two universities in Ghana. He is also the founder of eCampus, an online education platform, and the CEO of E I L, a technology application services company based in Ghana.

Cecil's work has earned him multiple awards, including being named Africa’s Most Promising Entrepreneur in 2013 by Venture Capital for Africa (VC4Africa), winning the Education Startup of the Year award at the Ghana Startup Awards in 2016, and winning the Global Impact Challenge West Africa in Lagos in April 2017.

In this episode, we had an amazing conversation with Cecil to understand his journey as a social entrepreneur, his time at NASA, and how he's leveraging technology to democratize access to education in Ghana.

Bernard Kafui Sokpe is the founder of the digital consultancy company "Brandmeister" in Ghana. He's always been interested in the arts and started graphic designing when he was in school.

Bernard got an early start in his career when he worked for Tigo before he transitioned to a Digital Brand Specialist for Vodafone Ghana. He later became the music manager of the musician Mr Eazi and is one of the people behind the popular name of the annual event "Detty Rave".

In 2021, he was headhunted by a recruiter for Twitter when the company decided to open its first offices in Africa. He later became Senior Partner Manager at Twitter responsible for African partnerships, with a focus on news, sports, entertainment & influential creators. Unfortunately, a year later, when Elon Musk purchased the company, he and his team were laid off.

Bernard now runs a new venture called "Jambo Spaces" which is a co-working and event space for young professionals and creatives.

Christabel E. Dadzie is the founder of Ahaspora, a group that helps professional Ghanaian returnees with help and support. Before Christabel founded the group, she studied international relations at the College of Wooster in 2004 and then went on to continue her graduate study at Colombia University.

It was when she returned to Ghana in 2010 that she realized that there was a need for a support group for Ghanaian returnees. So with twelve other Ghanaian returnees, they help formed the Ahaspora group in 2011 as a listserv. Currently, the group has 1800 members.

Christabel currently works for the World Bank as a Social Protection Specialist but makes time to help manage the listserv where they schedule happy hour events and other projects to help give back to the local community.

Dickson Nsofor is an entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to the world of business and technology. He is a Nigerian entrepreneur who obtained a degree in Information Engineering from Covenant University in 2013. He then pursued his Masters in International Business at Nankai University in China, where he started his business career by creating Lixon mobile, a low-cost mobile phone for the Chinese and African Markets in 2014.

Due to his passion for entrepreneurship, he was inspired to co-found Kora Pay with his colleague, Maomao Hu, with the goal of promoting financial inclusion in emerging markets. Dickson Nsofor is a strong advocate for youth empowerment and believes in creating opportunities that enable young people to maximize their potential.

Originally trained as an optometrist in Ghana, Nii Lante Heward Mills, is a phenomenal tech entrepreneur who is passionate about developmental work and reducing health inequalities.

Nii is currently the country director at Viamo, leading the charge in bringing digital solutions to communities in need. With his expertise in public health and ICT4D, he's already made a tremendous impact across Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia, and Rwanda.

But he's not stopping there - fueled by his passion for social entrepreneurship, Nii is determined to continue breaking down barriers and reducing health inequalities through technology.

In this episode we delve into the fascinating story of this visionary leader and learn how he's making a difference, one community at a time.

In this episode, we speak to Maureen Okojie a woman who's breaking barriers and revolutionizing the logistics industry in Africa. She's the co-founder of SEND, a digital freight forwarder and customs broker that's solving some of the biggest supply chain problems on the continent.

With over 15 years of experience in the logistics industry, Maureen's passion for tech and STEM was ignited during her high school days, where she was one of the only two female students in an elective science course.

Her admiration for Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, eventually led her to a role there, before co-founding SEND in 2019.

We delved into Maureen's incredible journey, from her early beginnings to her current role as a visionary leader in logistics, and learn how she's paving the way for a brighter future for Africa's supply chain.

Vanessa Gyan is a Ghanaian media personality, writer, and women's advocate. She is the CEO of The Sincerely, Vee Foundation, a foundation whose main initiative is The Post Pregnancy Boujie Express, a maternal health awareness program aimed at supporting disadvantaged families.

She's a Brooklyn College alumna who earned certifications in TV/radio communications, public relations, and journalism. Her well-rounded education has prepared her to excel in the dynamic and competitive field of media and communications.

Vanessa has worked in the media industry for over a decade and has hosted several popular TV and radio shows in Ghana. She was the EIB network's representative at the 2016 BET awards, where she interviewed a number of high-profile celebrities, including Eric Benet, Angie Martinez, Karrueche, and Busta Rhymes.

In addition to her media work, Vanessa is also a public speaker, event host, and writer. She has used her platform to advocate for women's rights, mental health awareness, and self-care. Vanessa is also the author of the book, "Clarity is a Gift: And Other Lessons I Learned from 2020," which shares her personal experiences and insights from the year 2020.

Cynthia Ofori-Dwumfuo has always been a "go-getter", a trait evidenced by her work ethic which earned her the 2021 Marketing Practitioner of the Year by the prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG).

Known for her creative unconventional style, Cynthia has worked across all MarComms roles with stints in radio and academia.  She is currently the Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Affairs for the insurance group Hollard Ghana. She held leadership roles at top advertising and communications agencies, including Ogilvy, Now Available Africa, and Global Media Alliance. 

Her colourful portfolio covers projects for multinational clients across West and Central Africa, having worked in the USA & UK.

Cynthia has a Master's degree in Professional Communications from Clemson University and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

Dave Emnett is the co-founder of Oze, a startup helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to digitally manage their finances.

But before he was working Oze with his co-founder Megan McCormick, Dave was working in the Peace Corps and was stationed in Benin, helping a food processing business to get organic certification and export to the US and European markets.

Before long, he met Megan who was also working at the Peace Corps and they both saw a problem where small businesses were manually logging their finances on paper even though they had access to smartphones. They soon launched a non-profit called "Dare To Innovate" which eventually spun out to become Oze.

Julian Owusu is the founder of CEO of Zuberi, a startup that helps employees access their earned wages before the end of the month. Julian was an experienced football player at 16 years old and played in leagues in the UK, Ghana, and Amsterdam. 

He decided to not fully pursue a career in football and instead went into business and became a Product Manager after spending time at various digital agencies in London. He also took lead on the development of various products for new startups in the U.K.

Before long, he was back in Ghana co-founding Zuberi to help solve the problem of employees getting early access to their salaries.

Akosua Annobil is the founder and creator of Africa Business 2020 (AB2020) and the Tech In Ghana/UK conference. She was born and raised in London to Ghanaian parents and is a public relations specialist and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the media industry. She worked as an editor at a magazine and was also a radio host.

In 2017, she embarked on a new project and created "Tech in Ghana" to promote the country’s technological sector.

As a result of her commitment to promoting the technology sector in Ghana, Akosua Annobil was ranked in 2018 by the Financial Times as one of the 100 most influential leaders in the UK technology industry.