We had the delightful opportunity of witnessing the "sod-cutting" ceremony for the Hope City project launched by RLG Communications, earlier today. The deliveries by the various speakers, including two state Governors from my country of origin -- Nigeria; the CEO of RLG and the president of Ghana, were most heartfelt and (very) inspiring indeed. Listening to these speeches, I couldn't stop trying to envisage the future of Africa. Information technology has certainly grown in leaps and bounds on the continent, and there is simply no end to the height to which it can continue to grow. Hope City seeks to empower youth in Ghana and Africa by providing an avenue through which they can develop and utilize technology-related skills that can actually be of value today and in the future. Very visionary indeed. A key takeaway for me was a reinforcement of my strongly-held believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with "dreaming", as typified by the story of Roland Agambire, the CEO of RLG Communications -- a man with (very) humble beginnings, who "dreamt" his way to success and continues to do so. It actually feels like centuries since I abandoned my Civil Engineering program to pursue a career in Information Technology (one that existed solely in my mind). Growing from a young, self-taught freelance IT consultant, I went on to establish what has now become Darrel Technologies. There were many who thought me "insane" at the time, and one really couldn't blame them, considering that I was already in my third year at the University when I took this sudden decision. Regardless, back then, as now, I had a dream! Now, there was nothing exactly "pioneering" about this dream at the time, but this was a dream that seemed to "know" the future, and saw exactly where this continent was heading. This dream sought to leverage existing and future technology to offer a platform through which individuals could create, nurture and grow ideas, and transform them into a reality; with a particular focus on web-related technology. There is simply no denying the fact that Information Technology has, is, and will continue forming the future for all countries on this continent. The "Web", for me, is arguably the most influential of all, as nothing has effected the way we view the world today more than the Web. One speech in particular that had a really profound effect on me today was that delivered by senior vice president at Microsoft, Ali Famamwy. An African himself, by origin, he likened technology in Africa to Football on the continent. In his speech, he observes how African footballers (and I am paraphrasing here) typically develop their skills on the continent, only to export these skills abroad, and hoped that the same fate would not befall technology on the continent. Famamwy's call on African youth to develop skills in technology (even if developed outside the continent) and put those skills to effect on the African continent really struck home with me. I can totally relate with this; a few years after working in technology, I decided to return to school and obtain a degree in Information Systems, with a focus on security, but this time in the US. However, the plan was (and remained) to apply the skills and experience acquired into furthering the growth and continued effects of technology in Africa in my own little way -- which is exactly what I have done. The Home Office People Environment (HOPE) City project typifies the future of Ghana and possibly Africa, which no doubt hinges very strongly on technology. The way I see it, technology has the potential to do (and in fact is doing) what governments in so many African countries have failed to do in the past i.e. "really" change the fortunes of its citizens, as it has done in many other countries.
