Indulge in the emergence of an entreprising Kasoa

The first time I was in Kasoa, I had actually gone to Buduburam to visit some family members. From what I know about Kasoa today, it might be the real melting pot in Ghana. It is home to many cultures, people from many countries, many businesses and many hopes and aspirations. My buddy Elorm claims that "almost every tribe in Ghana can be found in Kasoa". Given the tertiary institutions and the presence of Buduburam, it might be home to many more West African tribes too. If some pronouncements are to be believed, Kasoa is seeing more than 40 families move in every week. It is one of the fastest growing towns (if not cities) in West Africa. Given some of the news around it, it is also going to become very relevant in the sub-region very soon.

By the end of 2011, the Barcamp Ghana movement had seen events in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi, Cape Coast, and Ho. While at Blogcamp Ghana (a Barcamp type event with a focus on blogging and social media), two separate people approached me about organizing a Barcamp at Kasoa. A third group approached me about organizing a Barcamp at their school - Methodist University College. Because we need to synergise energies, we came up with this not-so-brilliant idea of organizing a Barcamp Kasoa at MUC. That didn't work out so well. Kasoa is actually in the Central Region while MUC is in Dansoman, in Accra. Thankfully, though it's been more than 8 months in the making, Barcamp Kasoa will happen this month. In Kasoa. In the town also known as Oduponkpehe (which I learnt from Krystabel).

What else do we know about Kasoa? Traffic. Kasoa is famous in Ghana for traffic jams and go-slows. Travelers who ply the western route of Accra always dread passing through Kasoa traffic. Kasoa is seeing a lot of migration into it as it is attractive for new home owners. The Kasoa toll booth is not very attractive to these people but the money raised for its fees are important to maintain the transport infrastructure there. That hasn't stopped the occurrence of accidents though. It also begs the question, "how much money is raised for the Kasoa toll booths each day?" My buddy Edmund will like to go to Kasoa as much as possible, but the traffic can deter that.

According to my friend Emelia, Kasoa is also known to have many block factories. My friend Ali joked that because of the block factory presence, that's why RLG is moving to build Hope City near Kasoa, in the hope of getting cheap building material. :-) I am yet to find out why a technology city that will house 50,000 people with the presence of 6 skyscrapers is being built near Kasoa. As far as I know Roland Agambire doesn't live or hail from there. That's not all, the West Hills Mall project, which would douse the hype the Accra Mall enjoys, is also being built close to Kasoa. These, among other building projects, will make Kasoa a destination and even more importantly, a self-supporting city. Kasoa is growing so fast and seeing so many changes that it has undergone many administrative changes, something my buddy Mawuli will know a lot about.

Kasoa is also a Hausa word that means "market". It is bustling with activity. The presence of the market so close to the main road is a major culprit for the Kasoa traffic. The culture of too many small businesses in Ghana needs to change, as we need to scale what we do and get bigger and more efficient institutions and bigger profitable businesses. In essence, Kasoa is an emerging market with many entreprising people and it is expanding in an environment that needs proper maintenance and guidance. Hence the Barcamp Kasoa theme being "Making an entreprising environment for an emerging market".

There's more to learn about Kasoa. So join us at Barcamp Kasoa to learn this and more. Come and see how you can leverage Kasoa's growth and profile to make things happen for you. The event is happening at a church - an ICGC branch. Yeap, this will be the first time a Barcamp in Ghana will happen at a church. Kasoa is home to many Moslems too and from what I hear and what we've seen in Ghana, Christians and Moslems get along very well. Barcamp Kasoa is on April 27 at the ICGC Transformation Temple on the Bawjiase road in Kasoa. Come one, come all. It will be a very fulfilling experience. You would be anxious for the next one after attending this one so don't miss this one. If you have a friend or family member in Kasoa, don't allow them to miss this event. Did I say it's free? :-) Register here!