The African digital economy is booming. According to a report by the IMF and Google (e-Conomy Africa 2020), the African internet economy h...
The African digital economy is booming. According to a report by the IMF and Google (e-Conomy Africa 2020), the African internet economy has the “potential to add up to $180 billion to Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025.” This means that the internet economy has the huge potential of creating more jobs as well as addressing some of the socio-economic challenges facing the continent.
The internet has come to democratizeopportunities for everyone around the world. With access to the internet, either on a mobile platform or a computer, a girl in Nima in Accra can equally do what a girl in Silicon Valley can do. In other words, the internet infrastructure is very crucial to the development of any internet or digital economy.
ZongoVation Hub is a tech innovation and entrepreneurship hub located at Kawokudi in Accra, Ghana. Established in 2018, the organization’s mission is to transform the Zongo communities in Ghana into Africa’s number one digitally connected and most advanced communities by 2030. In this regard, ZongoVation Hub in partnership with other key stakeholders, is training and developing young people from Zongo communities to become Software Developers and Tech Entrepreneurs. Since its establishment, the organization has trained more than 300 developers in web and mobile and mobile app development.
During the peak of the COVID19 pandemic, small businesses and small business owners across the globe experienced serious setbacks due to the lockdown. The global lockdown affected businesses, especially small businesses because most of these businesses did not have the digital infrastructure to withstand the sustained lockdown. In communities such as the Zongos, the effect was catastrophic. Most businesses across the Zongo communities are small businesses. And most of these businesses do not have any online or digital presence. Many of these businesses went under, and many reduced the size of their workforce. It is, therefore, in this light that the ZongoVation Hub has launched its Digital Zongo Project.
The Digital Zongo Project is an initiative to develop and promote the digital infrastructure and ecosystem of the Zongo communities across Ghana. The project will work with small businesses and small business owners to help build, develop and promote their businesses online. Through its website (www.digitalzongo.com) and social media platforms (Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/@digitalzongo), the project will vigorously promote Zongo businesses to the world. Under this project, the young software developers trained at the ZongoVation Hub will be deployed to help these small businesses to develop e-commerce websites to take advantage of the booming internet economy across the continent. The project will also support small businesses to access patient and cheap capital to expand their businesses. In December 2021, ZongoVation Hub will organize the maiden edition of the Zongo Small Business Festival which bring together various stakeholders to discuss and support small businesses across the Zongo communities.
At the ZongoVation Hub, we are committed to supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs in the Zongo communities to become successful. Small businesses are the tools we need for sustainable job creation across the Zongo communities.
Mahmoud Jajah
CEO, ZongoVation Hub
m.jajah@zongovationhub.org
www.digitalzongo.com
www.zongovationhub.org
