ADD Wraps 4 : Ghana's Digital Ecosystem In 2024
Ghana's Digital Ecosystem Year In Review : DIGITAL ENTRENEURSHIP
Digital Digest No.#1011010
Date: January - December 2024
Dear Friends,
On the 30th day of Christmas,🎄 here is our true love to you! - a review of
the 2024 Ghanaian digital ecosystem in series.
23rd - DIGITAL GOVERNANCE
24th - DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLATFORMS
27th - DIGITAL FINANCE
30th - DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
31st - DIGITAL TALENTS
Digital Entrepreneurship
News updates
EV Bike Startup Wahu Mobility Secures Investment from Launch Africa Ventures
Wahu Mobility, a Ghanaian EV bike startup, has received an investment from Launch Africa Ventures. The company, known for its signature Wahu eBikes will be added to Launch Africa Ventures portfolio
SAYeTECH Wins The 2024 MEST Africa Challenge, Secures $50,000 Investment.
Ghana-based agritech startup SAYeTECH outshone six other startups from the region to emerge as winner of the 2024 MEST Africa Challenge (MAC), securing a $50,000 equity investment to accelerate its growth and impact. SAYeTECH produces machinery that addresses critical challenges in the agricultural sector including solar-powered multi-crop thresher, coconut dehusker, hybrid grain dryer, etc
Visa Invests in Ghanaian StartUp Oze.
Visa has invested in Oze and 3 other African fintech startups from the first cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator Accelerator program. Oze equips small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with digital tools for record-keeping and embedded finance.
IT sector’s contribution to GDP hits GH¢21bn
The contribution of the information and communication technology (ICT) sector to the country’s economic output has increased gradually from GH¢4.4 billion in 2016 to GH¢21 billion in 2022.
Additionally, the ICT market, including hardware sales, software development and tech services being spearheaded by the Ghanaian private sector, is becoming the country’s fastest-growing industry valued at GH¢1.8 billion in 2022, up from GH¢1.1 billion in 2019.
Govt Is Building A Digital Youth Hub For Young Tech Entrepreneurs
The Minister of Finance Dr Mohammed Amin Adam has announced that the first phase of the Digital Youth Hub being built at University of Ghana is expected to be completed in November 2024. The hub is meant to provide space for young tech entrepreneurs to interact, collaborate and build sustainable technology-based businesses.
Fraudulent Tingo CEO fined $250 million in the US
Last year, multiple red flags were raised about the Tingo group and its operations in Ghana and Nigeria. Following a case filed against the CEO last year December, a US federal court has ordered the Nigerian businessman to pay $250million in fines for inflating the “financial performance metrics of his companies and key operating subsidiaries to defraud investors worldwide”.
Ghana AI Startup Aya Data Raises $900,000 in Seed Round
Launched in 2021, Ghana-based AI startup Aya Data, employs individuals to collect and label data—images, videos, and texts—needed for the development of Large Language Models (LLM) like ChatGPT and Gemini. The company has raised $900,000 in a seed round, a mix of debt and equity and to scale two of its products, AyaGrow and AyaSpeech, and employ new talents.
UNICEF Startup Lab 2024 Demo Day
25 social impact startups graduated from the fourth Cohort of the UNICEF StartUp Lab accelerator program following a showcase of their innovative businesses at the 2024 Demo Day. These 25 startups are leveraging technology to address critical development challenges in diverse sectors, such as education, health, WASH, agriculture and in cross-cutting areas such as financial inclusion, disability, and climate action, with the aim of improving the lives of children, adolescents and families in Ghana and beyond.
5 startups secure €500,000 from develoPPP Ventures programme to scale their innovative solutions.
Five Ghana-based startups Aya Data, The Blue Penguin, Tendo, Wi-flix and Swoove360 have secured €100,000 each as part of the fourth cohort of the develoPPP Ventures funding programme, a growth funding program by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which supports high growth young startups with a matching grant of €100,000.
Naamgwinaa Technologies Led by Samuel Naamgwimaa, an Electrical Engineering student from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), has been named the winner of the 2024 National Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme (NEIP) Presidential Pitch. The startup developed the Smart Switch, an innovative device that optimizes energy management and automation for homes, businesses, and public infrastructure. - capable of controlling everything from room lighting and streetlights to cars and air conditioners.
Press Play! - Here’s a recording of our X (twitter) spaces discussing Ghana’s 2024 Digital Ecosystem. It was fun!
Thank you for spending your year with us!
We’ll see you on 31st🥳!
Please share us with your friends, co-workers, and tech enthusiasts in your network.
Send us an email at info@nodeeight.org if you have any news update, op-eds or events you would want us to feature.
Cheers! 🍻