So, few weeks ago, Ghana turned 60 as an independent Nation and almost every industry had a celebration or two to mark this milestone of a Country’s sojourn, but somehow, the tech community is always left out. I also scoured the internet looking for any article remotely close to what i had in mind writing this, but as usual, came up short.
This really got me thinking – What role is the tech community playing in mobilizing Ghana for the future? Is this community making enough strides to ensure Ghana’s place in the larger ecosystem out there?
I feel there isn’t enough information available to be able to authoritatively define what’s wrong with the tech community in Ghana. The Word here though is community although i understand a community is made up of the people in it, hence the need to highlight some of the players that make up this community.
From afar, the developer community in Ghana seems to be a “cool kids club” where only the “popular” developers are regarded. Popular for whatever reason, i am not really sure of. To give the tech community any relevance, we need to move from this damaging ideology and open up the space to anyone who wants to learn how to code and eventually become a developer. Ventures like Ispace Ghana, Impact Hub & Workshed Africa are leading the pack in ensuring there’s a vibrant developer community in Ghana.
There’s also the very despaired blogger community in Ghana. There’s an obvious lack of communism amongst bloggers in Ghana and these are the same folks supposed to document the Ghanaian digital story and sell it to the world. Their role in shaping Ghana’s perception is key. There’s an urgent need for collaboration, especially amongst bloggers. Kudos to platforms like Blogging Ghana who are taking baby steps in bringing this vastly separated community together.
Amongst the emerging players in the community, Ispace Ghana particularly interests me. ISpace is a Tech Hub located in a very fine area of Osu, Accra. It is a space for developers, innovators, entrepreneurs and technology lovers to work together, receive funding opportunities and guidance towards establishing their own businesses or products. A team of young Ghanaian tech enthusiasts secured support in 2013 from the Indigo Trust, Google and ATTI to establish the hub in Accra which has accelerated a couple of startups to full functionality.
Blogging Ghana is also worthy of note. I came across the platform via Twitter and digging a little deeper, i found a community growing a good number of bloggers doing epic stuff in Ghana and shaping perception. They also surprisingly put together the annual bloggers & social media awards in Ghana. Thanks to their good work, there’s an emerging community of bloggers and aspiring bloggers. They’ve seen the potential and are eager to key in.
There are a few other initiatives grabbing the bull by the horn and doing their own little part in growing this community and amplifying the amazing stuff happening in Ghana but frankly speaking, the experts need to rally together and make it easier for wanderers to be a part of the community at large. It’s no strange news that there’s a lot of ego in the creative industry where people want to prove themselves to stand out which is not an entirely bad thing but maybe with less ego, they can do greater things together.
I have been part of many small tech communities in the past and i honestly believe the “star” or the “best developer” status has greatly poisoned and stifled the growth of these communities. This is what’s wrong with the tech community in Ghana.
The players in the tech community need to be more open and willing to share ideas and new implementations they have found to the community. This will encourage more research and lead to the personal development of aspiring players.
Tech communities in Europe and America have thrived because of the open source communities and not because of individual effort. Many communities have been built on an open source model and continue to build on it.
In addition, the Ghanaian government needs to have a more open, non policy-driven approach to nurturing the tech community to encourage those currently giving their all to growing this community.
Indeed the Tech community has a big role to play in shaping Ghana’s future, and the earlier they realise this, the better for all of Ghana..
I agree with you. The tech community in Ghana is doing a lot, but the Government needs to be more open. 60 years on, we have not “used enough” of the capabilities of the tech community.