How Do Ghanaians Do It?

With my last post in mind, I decided to do a survey of my own. With the help of a high school friend of mine based in Atlanta, we got as many of our friends in Ghana as we could in a few days to take a survey I created and tell us how they use facebook. We just wanted to know what keeps them coming and also what happened to Hi5, a social networking site that was very popular amongst Africans before facebook was born (yes, I still have mine even though I barely go there). What made everyone switch? Is it just a social thing or is it more than that? Here’s what we found out:

As you'll see from above, the numbers prove true about mobile phone use and the amount of time spent online. Mobile phone usage widely dominates the access with MTN being the largest mobile service provider. It was also shown that most of the users have been in use for three years or less. When asked, many prefer to use facebook to communicate with friends than even phone calls or email because its cheaper on their phones. A journalist uses it to spread information about his website and get readers for his articles. Many use it as the avenue to contact people outside the country instead of making international calls. Some gave stories of how they met friends that hadn't seen in over 10 years, some got jobs and contracts through facebook. One person even stated that they met their fiance on facebook.

Most said that they had been a member of Hi5, a social networking website that preceded facebook but they now are inactive even though they still have their accounts. Some dont even remember their passwords. They attributed facebook's takeover to it being user-friendly and the ability to chat. Other social networks used by participants include Twitter, Tagg, Myspace, LinkedIn and Badoo.

The Stats on Facebook in Africa

As we focused on social networking this spring break, I decided to dive a little deeper into social networking in Africa and see how different it was from America (per Dr. Yaros’ advice). I did a little googling and the numbers show that the craze is just as bad, if not worse, in Africa. One thing that has also stood out is the fact that most Africans access the facebook site and chat through their cell phones, not the internet. There are so many places that have not had internet land lines reach their villages but their cell phones work. This is how they stay alive in the facebook world.
A report on Appfrica.net mentions countries like South Africa with 1.1 million users, Egypt with 900.000 users and Nigeria with 220,000 users. Ismail Dhorat on his StartupAfrica site gives better figures on the penetration of facebook compared to the penetration of the internet.

Only 3.4% of the 220,000 facebook users in Nigeria actually use a computer. This is the big difference I believe. This is the very reason why Facebook is looking to make collaborations with mobile phone companies in Africa, reports Businessweek. They are using this strategy to increase the numbers even more. It also reports that facebook mobile users access the site more than traditional internet users.

Africa Fights Fake Drugs with Cell Phones

Sproxil is a company that was co-started by Ghanaian Ashifi Gogo (fellow BarCamper) that uses the ever popular mobile technology in Africa to verify the authenticity of pharmaceuticals. Check out the amazing story!!!

Press Freedom? We’re at the TOP

Ghana has been ranked the country with the highest press freedom in Africa and 27th in the whole world. Go Ghana!!!

Technology is the Key!!!

This is the message of the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology. She believes that the only way for the country to achieve middle class status by 2020 is to invest all they can in science and technology. Indeed, that is what divides the developing from the developed. With this in mind a new policy towards science and technology has been enacted that will do just this including a new scholarship scheme for students in the STEM areas. A committee has also been formed to coordinate affairs. I believe that this is the most critical aspect of development and hope that the correct checks and balances are in place to make sure that this unit is not only efficient and competent but that the money is not pushed down the pockets of those in charge. I hope to hear of a progress report soon.

Ghana’s Energy Plan Saves 124 MegaWatts of Electricity

A few days ago at a news conference the Chairman of the Board of the Energy Commission, Professor Abeiku Brew-Hammond, announced that introduction and mass adoption of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) has saved 124 megawatts of electricity in 2008, “translating into an annual cash savings of US $ 33 million to the economy as well as carbon savings of 105,000 tons per annum.” Among the other accomplishments of the Energy Commission announced were the improvement in the supply and distribution of natural gas, the drafting of a Strategic National Energy Plan to cover years 2006 – 2020 and the launching of the Ghana Renewable Energy Fund (GREEN fund). This fund has began a pilot project on Solar and Wind Grid-connected systems expecting completion next month. This is very exciting news considering that many tend to exclude Africa when thinking of countries making policy change to promote renewable energy. The Ghana News Agency reports that solar panels are indeed on the increase and that many in the urban areas are adapting them to supplement grid power especially in times of power outage.

If the Ghana Energy Commission is the body that advices the Ghanaian government on Energy policy and legislature then they are getting some great advice indeed. I’m excited!

Its about time Africa got connected with the rest of the world!!!

Those of you that know me a little better know that I have been a big advocate of professional academic research on the African continent. At the BarCamp Diaspora 2009, this was a whole session topic that filled a large conference room. What we all wondered was what was shielding African institutions from producing standard research that paralleled with the rest of the academic world. Why weren’t they exposed to the volumes of research that had already been done here in the West and why was a particular professor’s research rejected every year by a scientific journal because it failed to comply with the standards in the field of study? Well, maybe the answer has to do with Africa’s connections with everyone else. AllAfrica.com has reported a high-speed fibre optic network that JUST connected national laboratories and institutes across Canada, China, Korea, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States to Egypt. Just Egypt though, not really all of Africa.
The Global Ring Network for Advanced Applications Development (GLORIAD) that enables international scientific collaborations started as MIRnet, a network between the United States and Russia, in 1998. And Egypt, India, Singapore and Vietnam just got added this year. Hmm, I’m not sure what caused the delay but Egyptian universities have already begun planning projects to start utilizing the network and it sounds like the next plan of action is the continue spreading this network to include the entire continent and the Middle East. Of course the NSF-funded expansion will have to start fund-raising efforts first before that happens so who knows how long that will take. We will keep an eye on this effort and hope the twelve-year wait Egypt, India, Singapore and Vietnam endured will be cut a bit shorter.

MTN is getting bigger and better

MTN, the leading telecommunications network in Africa, has introduced yet another upgrade to their customer service package. They launched what they call the “E-self Care” which is basically an online service that allows you to pay your bill, manage your cell phone accounts and also add or remove services. This is another plus for Ghanaians that are becoming more and more tech savvy everyday. This convenience will attract even more customers to MTN. Kudos!

More oil preparations: Course for Oil and Petroleum Studies

What better way to get ready for the upcoming oil in-flow than to create a university course preparing students for just that? All Nations University, a private university based in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana is constructing a new complex to suite the increasing technological needs of the countries growing economy.

“The building, which has an elevator to aid physically challenged students who would be enrolled, and transporting equipment among others to other floors, when completed would boast of 156 lecture halls, 12 workshop rooms, offices, laboratories, 60-capacity theatre hall, and 404-seater auditoriums.”

This is again another step in the right direction. More of this and Ghana will be fulfilling its complete potential sooner than later

Ghana’s rocket man

Ave Kludze is a man that grew up in Ghana wanting to be a pilot. He was a curious kid that was always taking things apart to the point that his parents worried about it. He was known for his domestic experiments and believes that the only way for Africa to move forward is for it to make the most of its natural resources.

At the moment, he works as an astronautical engineer and strategist for NASA. He graduated from the distinguished Adisadel College (in Ghana) and went on to get his Bachelor’s from Rutgers. He also holds a masters and doctorate in Engineering. He is indeed making Ghana and Africa proud and showing what we can do. I hope that one day after his space exploration he returns to his homeland to develop all the technologies he has been harboring for so long.

Cell Phones in the US... then and now

A study was conducted 5 years ago 0n the social effects of cell phones. Here are some questions posed by my professor and my answers to them.

1. Are the behaviors discussed in the study still valid today (5 years later)?

2. What do you think about the sociological terms defined by the study? Are they accurate or is there more to add, based on your experiences/observations?

3. In the context of your own educational setting on campus (or any other setting you prefer to consider, such as a mall), what effects are you seeing from students NOT covered in this study. For example, have you ever directly witnessed cell phones being used to cheat on an exam? Etc. etc


1. I think that the feelings that are discussed by the individuals are a bit outdated as well as the behavioral responses. I believe that cell phones have become much more a part of our lives than they used to be five years ago. Now almost everyone has a cellphone so its not so much seen as rude or impolite to answer a phone in the presence of another person. I also think that the choices of response to feeling ‘single’ when someone you are with answers their phone have broadened. With the increased functionality of phones, one could do so much more (even your homework) in order not to feel alone
2. I think that the sociological terms have changed in many ways. Cell phones are used to do much more than they used to. There are email capabilities and plus many apps that can actually include the other person at the table. Also, it has become an accepted norm that everyone has a cell phone and everyone needs to ‘attend to it’ at certain times. Some people (usually younger) tend to be more accommodating to cell phone interruptions that the older generations because they grew up with the technology and not so much adaptation had to be made to include it in their lives. I think that in this study, the cell phone was being viewed as a ‘necessary evil’ as opposed to a part of everyday normal life.
3. I have seen cellphones used for a lot of things. Since I own a blackberry, I sometimes have to use my phone as a modem to get wireless access where it might not be available. Also, cell phones (with all their various applications) can be used as huge learning tools (calculations, internet information research and taking notes of observations on cell phones instead of on paper). I use my phone to record important events such as singing practices (for a music class) and also important lectures that I might want to re-listen to.