Afrimakers and OUWA Team up to Train the Next Generation of Ghanaian Makers

Trainees keenly engaged during the Africamakers Uganda session. Source: Afrimakers

Afrimakers project, in partnership with Open University of West Africa (OUWA) and a few others, are making further strides towards nurturing a maker movement in Ghana. Their three step strategy involves:

1. Training facilitators to lead mentoring workshops and the community
2. Mentoring 6 to 17 year olds to acquire the necessary problem-solving skills
3. Showcasing innovations and networking through maker faire type events

Victor Kelechi Ofoegbu, one of the coordinators for the first facilitators workshop coming up at iHub, Accra next Monday, 10th March states:

The project aims to spark interest in young children for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) by exploring a range of hands-on experiments hands. The projects range from building paper-based electronic circuit boards, air quality control sensors, recycling old web cams into microscopes, to programming Raspberry Pi microcomputers.

This is a brilliant opportunity to improve problem-solving through open innovation in Ghana. Everyone should register and be part of it.      

My Maker Faire Story: Pictures of Exhibitions and People

Last time, I wrote about the first Maker Faire Africa event that took place at AITI-KACE. Today, I present photographs of some great people and exhibitions from the programme.

The stand of Liberian "analogue blogger" Alfred Sirleaf announces the programme line-up for the last day, Sunday 14th August. Mr. Sirleaf has received rave reviews from prestigious media organisations, such as the BBC, for the able manner in which he displays crucial information for poor and illiterate everyday folks in Monrovia, Liberia.

Former Ghanaian finance minister, Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, sandwiched by Francis Ayombil and yours truly. It was great meeting and interacting with him at the exhibition. It's heartwarming that some of the continent's thought leaders recognise technology as an important tool for its socio-economic transformation.


The Mozilla team, led by Benjamin Ephson Jnr., busy at their work station. There is an upsurge in the use of open source technologies on the African continent. MFA was an opportune moment for this crew to present the merits of the Mozilla browser to as many people as possible.

Madam Cora Taylor, "Miss Coco", smiles in this pose with her lovely, well-dressed and famous "African ladies". Miss Coco would not have her dolls called "African barbies". She is just one example of the positive things going on in her home country of Liberia right now.

Mr. Tei Huagie, a tailor, artist and sculptor, based in Accra, Ghana has fashioned out an innovative approach to solving Ghana's waste problems. Behind him are vests, shorts and caps made with ice cream sachets. Would you try one of these on?

The fight against plastic waste continues. Here, my friend, Francis, relaxes comfortably in an armchair, whose framework is essentially made up of used plastic water bottles. This masterpiece is the handiwork of Johannes Thomas Arthur.

Asiwome of Kasahorow enthusiatically explains the organisation's on-line African language initiatives to these interested attendees.

Mr. Paul Kakari offers a solution to the electricity shortage problem through his "electric cream". He mixes two different powders, some aluminium chippings and water to generate heat, through an exothermic reaction. This has many applications like heating water for tea, cooking meals and ironing clothes.

The prodigious William Kakwamba offers to provide energy to different parts of Africa by founding an energy company after his education. He's already started by building a windmill from scrap materials to generate electricity in his home in Malawi. William is a student of African Leadership Academy (ALA) and co-author of the book, "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind". It was really inspiring to meet young Africans who are actually doing things to make a difference on the continent.

This team from Accra Polytechnic completely fabricated all the parts used to make their radio station. Their solution is low cost and has potential to make information more widely available in poorer communities.

Simple implements to make the work of farmers in third world countries easier and more productive.

Innovation Galore at Maker Faire Africa(MFA)

It is undisputed that technology forms the bedrock of socio-economic development in any society. This is so because technology provides the means through which raw natural resources are transformed into objects of value that provide monetary benefits to the innovator. Increased economic gains, which are likely consequences of technological breakthroughs, directly promote investment in agriculture, education and health: key sectors of social progress in today's world. This is the reason why technology holds a special place in my heart and is a recurring theme for this blog.

In earlier blog posts, I wrote about open source in Africa, African software entrepreneurs, Barcamp Ghana, PathGhana website and My Ghanaian Name facebook application. Today's post summarises my observations on the first Maker Faire Africa(MFA), dubbed "a celebration of African ingenuity, innovation and invention." The event was hosted by AITI-KACE, which is fast becoming the venue of choice for technology conferences here in Accra, Ghana. Watching the exhibitions sent a few thoughts through my mind that I would like to share with you.

There is Ingenuity in Africa


The numerous exhibitions at the fair portrayed the diversity of innovation that is going on the African continent. The solutions offered by the innovators also varied in complexity: from a simple analogue blogging solution, through a windmill and a metal fabrication device to complicated robotic devices. The list is endless. What is really significant about all these displays is the relevance of the various inventions to various African communities. William Kamkwamba's windmill, made from scrap materials, for example, is solving a real need, in this case, lack of electricity in his home village in rural Malawi.

Initiative Makes a Difference

There is no gainsaying that Africa's future socio-economic decelopment lies in the hands of the people of the continent themselves. Worldwide, countries that have scaled the developmental hurdle are those whose leaders and citizens "took the bull by the horns" and implemented systematic reforms to steer their national progress in the right direction. Immediate post-independence gains chalked by countries like Ghana were spearheaded by leaders who were ready to make a difference. This same make point was reitirated at the Maker Faire as the organisers are Africans (and people with strong African ties) who are determined to see a maker mentality take root on the African continent. Kudos to the organising team (made up of Emeka Okafor, Erik Hersman, Lars Hasselblad Torres, Mark Grimes, Nii Simmonds, Emer Beamer and Henry Barnor), sponsors and all volunteers of the event. Their efforts are very important because Maker Faire has been a practical demonstration of technological accomplishments possible on the continent, though on a small scale.

The Future Lies With The Young



This point has been made time and again. It really hit home again because there were quite a number of exhibitions from young people, brimming with excitement and energy. Also, most of the people I met at the fair were young people who are excited about technology and willing to pick up the necessary skills so as to ultimately bring about positive change to their African communities. The likes of William Kamkwamba (inventor of the electricity-generating windmill), Johannes Thomas Arthur (producer of furniture using plasitic water bottles) and the Accra Polytechnic Fm team are worthy role models for African youth to emulate. Their creative minds give hope to a continent often tagged as dark and backward. This resonates US president Barack Obama's message to African youth when he visited the continent.

Overall, it was interesting watching the Maker Faire exhibitions and speaking with great people like Dr. Kwesi Botchwey (yes, the former finance minister), Erik Hersman (White African and Afrigadget), Oluniyi David Ajao (Web4Africa), Miquel Hudin (Maneno), Wayan Vota(Inveneo), Louisa (Butterfly works) and all the awesome exhibitors. My only regret though is that i couldn't participate in the workshops because of my packed weekend. I have taken many pictures of the exhibitions and people I met there and would be posting them in the days to come.