The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

For 15+ years, GhanaThink through Barcamp Ghana has consistently delivered on its promise to empower Ghanaian youth, help drive their personal development, and foster innovation across Ghana . Operating as a social enterprise, GhanaThink Foundation ensures that the program is not only impactful but also strategically managed for long-term sustainability. The extensive reach, high participant engagement, powerful online testimonials via #BarcampGhanaImpact, and the tangible successes of its alumni, including the many named individuals, clearly demonstrate Barcamp Ghana's profound and enduring contribution to Ghana's human capital development. Barcamps in Ghana are free networking forums . The resource personnels for these have been REAL. REAL stands for Resourceful, Experienced and Accomplished with a proven record of great Leadership skills and impact. Some of the recent mentors at Barcamps - post covid-19 - have included Awura Abena Agyeman, Nathan Quao, Isaac Sesi, Ese...

I asked my friends to name their  top 5 songs  ever, from  South Africa . My South African alter-ego,  Siyabonga Andile Mthimkhulu , also contributed, thanks to all he has learnt around  Museke . I also asked  Google  Gemini (yes, not Meta AI, Chat GPT, Grok, Deepseek, or POE - because, I asked it through Google Sheets). You know it is my friend these days right? I also contributed my top 5, while reminiscing this  list from 2009 . My first time in  South Africa  was in 2011. But prior to that, I had been hearing a lot of South African music (not like circa 2011 though) on Ghanaian TV. I did not meet that many South Africans at  MIT . I got to know much more about South African music when me,  Phelele Fakudze,  and others started  Museke  in 2006. It was great to see some of my friends suggest songs that we were jamming to back in the day. I wanted to do a list of top 5, but there are too many song...

I asked my Nigerian  friends to name their  top 5 songs  ever, from  Nigeria . My Nigerian alter-ego,  Ayooluwaato Eze , also contributed, thanks to all he has learnt around  Museke . I also asked  Google  Gemini (yes, not Meta AI, Chat GPT, Grok, Deepseek, or POE - because, I asked it through Google Sheets). You know it is my friend these days right? I also contributed my top 5, while reminiscing this  list from 2009 . My first time in  Nigeria  was in 2011. But prior to that, I had been hearing a lot of Nigerian music (not like circa 2011 though) on Ghanaian TV. I did not even have to learn too much from my  Nigerian friends  at  MIT . I got to know much more about Nigerian music when me,  Edward Mabonga  and others started  Museke  in 2006. It was great to see some of my friends suggest songs that we were jamming to back in the day. I wanted to do a list of top 5, but there are too many son...

Me and my people we eat waakye every Wednesday. Why? Because Y has a long tail. No, we did not mean that . But we really mean to eat waakye - on Wednesday - above every other meal. We have been waging a #WaakyeWednesday campaign since since. We ushered it in. Others joined. It is a thing. I mean, we would go through wrinkles to get this done. Search for the hashtag . Corporate companies, hospitality services have all joined in. Waakye is the best selling food in the whole wide web. Okay, the whole wide world. What? It is not true. Have you seen the waakye queues anywhere? Have you seen how it gets finished a few hours after the #waakyewherehouse starts selling it? Okay, make your points as comments. But you cannot disagree that we must eat well abi ? Here's a story that captures the essence of the brand. Published on a #WaakyeWednesday of course, after a #233moments post . This story is from many moons ago.  I went to drop off a friend at Legon just before #WaakyeWednes...

I always say: I am from Elmina , I grew up in Kumasi , I live in Accra , I care a lot about Ghana and I love Africa . But for a decade, I was living in the USA. Even then, I always say, I had one foot in Ghana all throughout. What took me there? What brought me back? What grazing in colder pastures? Where is your American accent? Let’s dig in, thanks to a conversation I had with Frank Bentum , on Ghanaian students choosing Western higher education and how this impacts human capital development in Ghana, with findings informing policy recommendations.  Motivations for Studying Abroad (Push Factors) My decision to study at MIT was primarily influenced by a role model , Arthur Musah. Arthur finished Presec in 1998, just before I entered the green grounds of Presec-Legon . He had emerged as the second best (WA)SSCE candidate in this year and he was being duly celebrated. I learnt that he had also played a major part of the Presec Drama Club. I looked up to him. In 2000, when I was...