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iValley Ghana, a business development and innovation hub based in Damongo, in the Savannah region, held a successful Savannah startup program for young people on Saturday, 15th January, 2022 in Damongo.
This came after a six (6) week training for 13 participants in mobile app development in partnership with Ghana Tech Lab, under their Pathways to Sustainable Employment Program (PaSE). These 13 young persons were put into four groups.
Speaking to padfm.com.gh on the sidelines of the program, the Founder and Executive Director of iValley, Prince Nabil Mahama explained that
iValley’s Savannah Startup training program which was held in partnership with Ghana Tach Lab for the 13 young vibrant youth in the Savannah region, received six (6) weeks of intensive training in Mobile application development.
After the training in the mobile app development, the youth were tasked to identify problems across their communities and come up with solutions for those problems, and the four groups proffered very good solutions.
These groups were then taken through a Hackathon that supported them to module their business ideas and pitched to iValley.
The groups include Smart Farms, Jeeda.com, Savannah Tours and Delivery Hub.
The groups were tasked to do startup pitches and present. The program saw a three (3) member panel of judges assessing their pitches and presentations.
Dr. Abdul Fatahi Abdulai Kambala (Lecturer & Business Dev. Consultant), Miss Stella Gunguni (Co-founder, ivalley) and Mr. Bright Bentum (Agric Engineer) were the judges who assessed the startup pitches and presentations.
After the presentations, Savannah Tours top the the chart with 101 points (33.7%), Delivery Hub got 98 points (32.7%), Jeeda.com, 86 points (28.7%) and Savannah Farms, 73 points (24.3%).
Nabil Mahama disclosed that iValley will support each of the groups to officially register their business and start providing services with immediate effect.
Nabil Mahama said the pace setting program has a goal to promote and celebrate the startup culture within the local ecosystem and also encourage entrepreneurship among the youth.
The startup will also assist in building a lot of sustainable businesses and reduce business failure across the region and the country at large. iValley will support them with capacity building trainings to make sure they get the needed knowledge to run sustainable businesses.
The Savannah startup program is also contributing greatly to help eradicate youth unemployment in the region, getting technology to the grassroot, equipping the youth with innovative ideas, and make sure they remain in competitive business.
The startup program sums up technology, innovation and sustainability.
The major challenge faced by infant businesses in the region is funding.
Prince Nabil Mahama assured that iValley will support the groups to register, provide them with the necessary training to compete in the competitive market, open them up to sources of funding to allow them remain in the business environment and provide the needed services.
Nabil Mahama appealed to the youth of Savannah region to take life serious and make sure they grab every good opportunity that come their way for a better future.
Dr. Abdul Fatahi Abdulai Kambala, a Lecturer & Business Dev. Consultant, expressed gratitude to iValley and partners for that great opportunity to young persons and said this will support efforts aimed at reducing unemployment.
Dr. Kambala urged the youth to take up risks to make progress in life and achieve their ambitions.
The Headmistress of Damongo Senior High School, Mercy Ewuntomah Aluba, who chaired the program commended iValley, partners and the trainees for a job well done. She encouraged the beneficiaries to grab the opportunity offered them with all the seriousness in life. She thanked iValley for the recognition by presenting citation to her and encouraged the young to do things that will impact the community positively.
The Savannah Regional Human Resource Officer for Ghana Education Service, Mr Rashid appealed to iValley and partners to extend their innovat ideas to the basic schools to help shape the thoughts of school children. This will assist the school determine what they want to become in future.
Rev. Pastor Samuel Mahama Dinkeri, Speaker of Damongo Youth Parliament and leader of Amazing Grace ministry, thanked iValley for the bold initiative and called on the youth of the region to rise up to the occasion and grab the available opportunities to help reduce youth unemployment and increase incomes.
He pledged the support of Damongo Youth Parliament to iValley and partners for the hub to succeed in the area.
Speakers after speakers commended iValley and partners for bold initiative and called on the youth of Savannah region to take advantage of the programs at iValley to improve conditions of life.
Community service awards were given to Mercy Ewuntomah Aluba and Dr. Abdul Fatahi Abdulai Kambala.
The program was attended by ivalley staff, staff from GES, youth groups, Wipe Away Foundation, GHS, Agriculture experts, technology consultants among others.
About the four (4) groups
Team Smart Farms pitched on how their intervention which is a development of a mobile app, will assist to provide solution to farms faced with the challenge of ready market, variable seeds, chemicals and adequate tools within the ecosystem.
Jeeda.com, offering a solution to a street free life and offering of a ready market for the sale and access to Ghanaian made products.
Bringing nature and it’s beauty at your door steps, Savannah Tours is offering solution to all the challenges one is likely to face on tour to tourists sites and others within the northern part of Ghana through their mobil application.
Savannah Tours is a web application that provides tourists and people in the diaspora access to information about tourist sites in northern Ghana, especially historical places like the Salaga Slave Market.
The say your life just got better with their services, Delivery Hub pitched on how their mobile app will bring solutions to accessing equality food at your step.
Delivery Hub is an integrated mobile App for restaurants/food vendor and delivery agents to serve customers their preferred food at their convenience and at an affordable price. With Delivery Hub, the customers get the opportunity to see the food menu of the various restaurants, make an order and have it delivered to them at their convenience.
ABOUT IVALLEY
We bring people and technology together, to build viable solutions that will change Africa.
We are an innovation and technology hub in the Savannah Region of Ghana. We provide business advisory, disruptive skills trainings and technical support in technology and entrepreneurship, and incubation for Startups and MSMEs.
We are nurturing a generation of problem solvers, critical thinkers and business leaders with distruptive innovations to become financially viable and self-supporting.
Source: padfm.com.gh / zulqanoah16@gmail.com / 0242381890
