Northern Innovation Lab: SHS Girls run the Walewale startup pitch summit
Story: Rahamatu-Lahi Zakaria || Sanatu Zambang Newsroom
It was an all-girls affair at the maiden edition of Walewale Start up pitch summit in Walewale on Saturday, 12th September, 2020 as We build won on the day to represent Walewale in Accra at the national start up pitch summit.
We build made up of two Senior High School girls took the idea from their surroundings. They observe the labour of women in their community, how they are always marginalised in terms of market when it comes to shea butter. They toil and at the end of they day, they are robbed of their sweet because of the middlemen in the system.
The tech idea is supposed to link them directly to buyers both locally and internationally where they control the market and not the middle men. As part of their reward, they were given four hundred Ghana Cedi and go through to the incubation stage. which automatically sends them to Accra for the Nationals.
The first runner up was also made of girls, Umbran. Umbran is to design a website where parent can monitor the activities of their ward at their own comfort to reduce absenteeism and increase school performance of the children in their community which they identify as a problem. Umbran was also given three Ghana Cedi and also eligible to go through the incubation stage as well as Accra for the nationals.
And simple web was adjourned the second runner with their innovation also focusing on improving education in the Region using technology. They also had two hundred Ghana Cedi but will not go into the incubation stage or Accra.
But all start-ups who pitched their ideas on that day are going to be sent to institutions in the region to do an internship to help impact the knowledge they have learn in tech in the organisations that they will be posted to.
The amazing thing about these whole start-ups pitch summit is that, most of these start-ups who won on the day, had no previous ICT knowledge. With six weeks of training, the start-ups were taking through basic ICT knowledge and helped on how to develop their ideas using technology.
Barely a year after setting up Northern innovation Lab in the Region, the team went around the communities to talk to and encourage them to sign up for the program. The target was for unemployed graduates but due to the covid-19 and the subsequent lock down, the category of people who took advantage of this opportunity were Senior High School, tertiary students, and a few graduates.
The dignitaries at the event included Hajia Halima Sagito Saeed the executive director for Swida Ghana, A representative from the Municipal Assembly, the North East and North West YEA directors, the principal for Walewale Technical and Vocational Training Schools parents and others. Northern Innovation lab to host start up pitch summit.
The start-up pitch summit which was organised by Northern Innovation Lab on the theme: Web technology and its potential in Walewale, entrepreneurial ecosystem to accelerate the creation of job. The Start-up pitch summit in is partnership with Ghana Tech Lab under the pathways for sustainable employment program.
Speaking with Dr Sarah Dorgbadzi, wife of Dr Agyeman Ossei and other guests at the opening of Akutia: Blindfolding the sun and the poetics of peace. (A retrospective of Agyeman Ossei ‘dota’). Listen via #sanatuzambangPodcast http://www.sanatuzambang.info/2020/09/07/speaking-with-sarah-dorgbadzi-wife-of-agyeman-ossei-and-other-guests/
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