Facebook official visits start-ups in Accra
Ghanaian entrepreneurs have been urged to take their ventures to new heights by developing innovative technologies that will address the needs of local businesses and services.
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The Chief Product Officer of Facebook, Mr Chris Cox, made the call when he visited the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) in Accra yesterday.
The visit was to afford him the opportunity to meet with Ghanaian entrepreneurs and see how they were working to build sustainable technology businesses.
The visit is part of a week-long trip to Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal where he is keen to understand how developers and entrepreneurs are using mobile technology to create services, content and businesses that addressed local needs.
Facebook then aims to provide support and the platform for those start-ups to have a further reach and register more impact for both developers and end-users.
Facebook impressed by Ghanaian apps
Impressed by what he witnessed in some applications that had been developed by Ghanaians, Mr Cox remarked: "Africa is at the forefront of mobile technology and ranks among the fastest growing regions in the world. The level of energy I have seen in Ghana is amazing and inspiring. I'm excited to learn from innovators here who are creating culture using technology in new ways."
The MEST Training Programme and the MEST Incubator programme provide training, investment and mentoring for aspiring technology entrepreneurs with the goal of creating globally successful businesses that create wealth and jobs in Africa.
Each year, top graduates from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are selected to receive comprehensive training across a spectrum of skills required to build successful tech businesses, including computer programming, software development and product management.
The Ghanaian start-ups
Some start-ups that were showcased to Mr Cox were Asoriba — a web and mobile app that helps church leaders to communicate with their congregations; Kudobuzz — a service which helps small businesses to collect their web reviews from around the internet and Devless— which is a platform that makes it easier for developers to build web and mobile back-end software for their apps.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MEST, Mr Jorn Lyseggen, was excited about hosting Facebook and sharing how they could work together to drive innovation in Africa.
He said it was with pride that MEST had been able to show the Facebook Team how young companies and entrepreneurs on the institutes programme were making a difference.
