Here are the four Ghanaians who made Quartz’s Innovators List 2016
These individuals were selected based on the amounts of impact they have had on their societies by thinking outside the box, using technology to solve long-standing problems, and generally improving living and wellbeing.
Below are the four Ghanaians who were mentioned on the list:
Mantse Aryeequaye & Sionne Neely
Mantse and Sionne founded the Chale Wote Festival and are joint-directors of Accra [dot] Alt, and have arguably had the biggest impact on Ghana’s arts industry in recent years with their arts festival.
Chale Wote Arts festival draws over 20,000 arts lovers from all over Accra to showcase the rarest of talents in any art form. It has no boundaries or rigid structuring, and therefore does not inhibit the demonstration of any art form at the street carnival-type festival.
The growth of Chale Wote has simply blown minds away with the huge growth experienced over the years. The festival started in 2011, with 400 people attending. In 2015, however, over 20,000 arts lovers trooped to James Town, the venue of the Chale Wote arts festival. The number is expected to double in 2016.
Patrick Awuah, Ashesi University
Patrick Awuah left a well-paying job at Microsoft in the USA, to set up a computer software company in Ghana, only move into tertiary education instead. He decided to start a University because of the frustration he faced in finding qualified, world-class software engineers who were locally trained.
14 years on, Ashesi has become a reference point for educators on the African continent as to what international tertiary education on the African Continent is supposed to be.
Winnifred Selby Founder, Ghana Bamboo Bikes Ghana
Winnifred Selby founded the Ghana Bamboo Bikes by taking inspiration from the first bamboo bike that was exhibited to the world in the late 1800s.
She was motivated to provide employment and adequate transportation for rural folk, with the material that was readily abundant around them- Bamboo.
Ghana Bamboo Bikes has succeeded over the years in improving the livelihood, education and general socio-economic wellbeing of rural folk in Ghana, just by providing adequate transportation and a thriving local economy in rural communities, all around bamboo.
She sells a bamboo bicycle for $100 on the Ghanaian market, and $250 on the international market.
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