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Workshed Africa: Co-working space changing the face of Ghana’s startup ecosystem
Co-working space remains a new concept on the African continent.
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The average monthly office rent in Accra sits around $1.63 per square foot, a price comparable to office rents in Atlanta and Dallas.
These expensive rents make securing a space by start-up seem impossible.
As part of efforts aimed at providing opportunities for startups to acquire office accommodation at a cheaper cost, Workshed Africa Limited launched a new co-working space off of Spintex Road, one of the capital’s major highways.
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Co-working space is simply a shared working area for different companies to operate. It is a popular type of work environment in Asia, Europe and America. However, it remains a new concept on the African continent.
The facility comes with desk space, meeting rooms, happy hours, and other amenities.
Co-founders of Workshed Africa, Andrew Bimpong and Richard Bempong tell Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa that they came up with the concept in the process of looking for an office space themselves.
"As we looked for spaces to kick off our business, we stumbled across , a coworking space in San Francisco. The concept was new to us, but appealing so we put work on our fashion startup on hold to research what it would take to set up our own co-working space”.
Access to capital for the co-founders of Workshed was a challenge but they managed to secure some funds to invest in their project. With Workshed, they strive to create an enabling environment for Ghana’s nascent start-ups by building a community that emphasizes collaboration and dialogue.
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When you visit Workshed environment you are most likely to meet young entrepreneurs working busily at their various desks. The shed is open for all people and all businesses who need a space to do their work. The facility comes with dedicated wifi, mailing and telephone services, a printer, scanner, conference room, and a cafeteria. It is indeed a total work environment for more than just a single company.
With over six companies using its facilities, Workshed is poised to grow.
If you are wondering how beneficial a co-working space is for your start-up, Richard shared with Business Insider Sub Saharan Africa just two reasons. has two reasons for you:
Economical
Nobody wants to spend all their income on huge rents and that is why a co-working space is a definite option for businesses especially for start-ups who are yet to make some real money.
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Networking
Co-working spaces house several companies with diverse skills and services. A co-working space houses companies from different industries. This helps them build relationships and gain favours easily.
“We have seen a lot of partnerships grow in our shed. Workshed in itself has benefitted from these partnerships. There was a time we needed help with photography and we got CN Concepts on the job because they were right here. Imagine the struggle these companies would have gone through if they were in different locations".
The growth of Ghana’s startup community and expansion of resources signals that the Black Stars are on the rise.
Despite the slow growth of the economy, Ghana’s reputation for political stability is likely to draw further support for local entrepreneurs.
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Although the amount of money available to these startups may be small relative to American or European standards, the expanding of resources for Ghanaian entrepreneurs from new spaces like Workshed will create a lot of potential for the Ghanaian startup ecosystem.
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