Author: Shepherd Yaw Morttey

Dubbed, the “Sanitation Hackathon,” the competition brought together programme developers, Information Technology specialists and sanitation advocates, to come up with digital solutions on how to effectively and efficiently manage the country’s waste management problems.

Held on the theme: “Managing waste through hacking,” the event was put together by the ministry with support from the World Bank.

The contest received 300 applications, out of which 35 teams were selected for the final stage, which was organised from November 17 to 19, 2018 at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

The participants, judges and some officials from the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources

The various teams made presentations on their developed mobile Apps and defended why their Apps could help address the sanitation challenges in the country.

At the end of the competition, the first placed team, which developed an App called “Nsuo” received US$5,000, tablets, and a six-month data package from Surfline.

The second and third-placed teams, Beamers and Sani-GH received US$3,000 and US$2,000 respectively in addition to tablets and six months data packages from Surfline.

Also, teams that displayed commitment and creativity in their works were honoured with special awards. They were Team Kijani, Smart Team and Sani-GH Team.

While Team Kijani was awarded the Most Innovative Solution, Smart Team and Sani-GH were awarded the Promising Solution and Good Teamwork respectively.

In a speech read on her behalf, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah stressed the need for an increased awareness on safe disposal of human excreta through the use of improved household toilets.

She said as part of efforts to improve the sanitation situation in the country, the ministry through the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project, has constructed 13,500 household toilets, adding that the project “is expected to construct an additional 7,000 toilets by the middle of 2019.”

Mrs Dapaah further indicated that the GAMA project would construct 406 institutional toilets in 246 schools across the Greater Accra Region to ensure that open defecation is eradicated in the beneficiary schools.

Touching on the competition, she said, the ministry “in collaboration with the World Bank and Information Technology Partners is organizing the Sanitation Hackathon to leverage on technology to solve some of the sanitation challenges” in the country.

“Technology is playing a significant role in addressing some of the developmental challenges in the country,” Mrs Dapaah said, noting that “Integrating Information Technology in sanitation is, therefore, a step in the right direction.”

She, however, called on the media to galvanize support for the ministry to reach the majority of Ghanaians with the needed messages that “will bring about change in the attitudes, behaviour and practices which are the bane of the sanitation challenges we are currently facing as a country.”

The Chief Director of the Ministry of Sanitation, Mr Anthony Mensah commended the contestants for their dedication and innovativeness in coming out with digital solutions to the country’s sanitation challenges, particularly on how to manage solid waste.

He said the ministry would critically examine all the best ideas that were offered by the participating teams as part of the goal of making the country the cleanest city in Africa.

The participants, judges and some officials from the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources

The Chief Executive Officer of the Soronko Academy, Regina Honu, who chaired the judges for the competition, said all the ideas presented by the various teams were good and therefore urged the participants not to relent on their efforts in helping the country to solve its sanitation problems.

OML Africa, organizers of the maiden Ghana eCommerce Awards, recognizes entrepreneurs are exceptional people and they build a better working world for all of us. They dare to dream that life could be different. They have the courage and passion to make their dreams a reality – to build something of lasting value that benefits us all.

The “Best Male eCommerce Entrepreneur of the Year” recognizes the most exceptional among a unique group of people who have made and continue to make strides in doing business online in Ghana. The nominee must be a resident in Ghana who is an owner-manager of a private or public company, who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company and has been an active member of senior management for at least a year.

Judging Criteria

Criteria used by the judges to select the Entrepreneur Of The Year winners are:

• Entrepreneurial Spirit
• Value Creation
• Strategic Direction
• National and Global Impact
• Innovation
• Personal Integrity/Purpose-driven Leadership

Nominees for Best Male eCommerce Entrepreneur

Albert Biga, Founder, Zoobashop

Albert Biga is a successful serial entrepreneur in the technology business eco-system. His passion for creating relevant technology applications is admired by many in the arena. As CEO, he played a pioneering role in the e-commerce industry in 2013, founding Zoobashop.com, Ghana’s Premier Online Retail Store.

To vote for Albert, text GEA GMEE ALBERT to 1903 on all mobile networks

Massimiliano Spalazzi, Co-CEO Jumia E-commerce, JUMIA

Massimiliano is responsible for the Ghanian, Tunisian, Algerian, Cameroonian, Senegalese, Ugandan and Tanzanian markets.

Massimiliano joined Jumia in Nigeria in 2012 and is among the first 10 employees of the company. From 2012 to 2015, he covered various managerial roles at Jumia Nigeria in marketing, operations, logistics and business development to then leading the Pan-African expansion of the group across 18 countries making Jumia the #1 online shopping destination in Africa.

To vote for Massimiliano, text GEA GMEE MASSIMILIANO to 1903 on all mobile networks

Zubair Riaz, Managing Director, Tonaton

Zubair has extensive experience in classifieds, startups, operations, strategy and policy formulation. He was head of Saltside’s group operations before taking on this new challenge in Ghana.

He has experience of working in Middle East, Asia and Africa. Recently he also performed duties of Managing Director for Efritin.com; a sister classified site in Nigeria. Before joining Saltside, Zubair has worked with large-scale operations of multinationals like Telenor and Samsung.

To vote for Zubair, text GEA GMEE ZUBAIR to 1903 on all mobile networks

Alex Bram, CEO, Hubtel

SMSGH now Hubtel, the young Ghanaian IT company, named among the 2012 edition of Forbes Africa Magazine’s Top 20 Technology Start Up Companies in Africa, has grown to become one of the leading mobile and internet value added service (VAS) providers in Africa.

Led by fresh KNUST Chemistry Graduate, Alex Adjei Bram, SMSGH made the Forbes list because it was barely seven years old and completely owned by young Ghanaians; had an active online presence, and provided on-the-job training for several fresh IT Engineering and Programming graduates, while it provided 23 of them full-time jobs.

To vote for Alex, text GEA GMEE BRAM to 1903 on all mobile networks

Nana Opoku Agyeman-Prempeh, Founder of Asoriba

Nana is the son of a pastor who noticed the administrative difficulties his father faced while managing the church. He set up a web-based church management application for church worshipers and leaders. He has signed over 395 churches in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and the US and registered 30,000 church members to his platform.

He was named among Africa’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs: Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30 For 2016.

To vote for Nana, text GEA GMEE PREMPEH to 1903 on all mobile networks

Abraham Nii Omane Quaye, Founder, Farmart

Abraham Nii Omani Quaye, an agro-business enthusiast, is on a mission in what his company believes will help build a system that should end poverty and hunger, especially in Africa. Their online farmers’ market, Farmart, is practically creating the necessary market for farmers to reduce significantly post harvest losses and as final consumers, we get access to fresh foodstuff at the click of a button.

He believes a zero hunger world is within reach and can be achieved through zero food losses. He made it to the 2018 Forbes 30 under 30 list.

To vote for Abraham, text GEA GMEE QUAYE to 1903 on all mobile networks

Kofi Genfi and Nii Osae Dade, Co-Founders, CYST

Kofi Genfi is a Ghanaian entrepreneur who co-founds CYST, a fast-growing AI and payments software company. Inclined to his deep affection for innovative business strategies, he is responsible for the overall business strategy at the firm.

Nii Osae Osae Dade is an Artificial Intelligence Researcher and Software Engineer. He has a degree in Computer Science from the University of Ghana. He also cofoundsCYST and doubles as a Software Engineer and the main IT brain in the team.

Kofi and Nii were jointly named in Forbes 30 under 30 list recently.

To vote for Kofi and Nii, text GEA GMEE DADE to 1903 on all mobile networks

Event Details

Ghana eCommerce Awards

Date: 30 Nov 2018

Venue: Alisa Hotel, Ridge-Accra

Your Ticket Includes:

• Pre Dinner Reception
• 3-Course Dinner
• Drinks Served all Night
• Awards Entertainment
• Awards Ceremony

Single Ticket: GHC550 (Group Discounts Available)

For more enquiries, call 0206367515 or 0302 973370 or email: [email protected]