GhanaThink’s Barcamp Ghana: 15 years of building of network of young change makers, doers, and entrepreneurs

Over its remarkable history since 2008, Barcamp Ghana has evolved from a series of free networking forums into a formidable, self-sustaining national network of young changemakers, doers, and entrepreneurs. This pervasive network represents a strategic investment in Ghana’s human capital, yielding profound and lasting ripple effects across individuals, local communities, and the broader national economy.  Through this, GhanaThink has had a major impact on  the lives of thousands of youth in Ghana.

Extensive National Reach: Since its inception in December 2008, Barcamp Ghana has successfully organized over 123 physical Barcamps across more than 12 major locations throughout Ghana. This includes key urban and semi-urban centers such as Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale, Cape Coast, Ho, Sunyani, Bolgatanga, Wa, Tema, and Kasoa, ensuring a truly national footprint and reaching youth in diverse socio-economic contexts.

• High Participant Engagement: Over 23,300 unique individuals have directly benefited from the Barcamp experience, gaining critical skills, expanding their networks, and finding inspiration. Each Barcamp consistently engages a diverse and ambitious audience, ranging from 100 to 400 attendees, ensuring high-quality interactions and broad knowledge dissemination.
• Dedicated Mentorship & Expertise: Hundreds of accomplished young professionals and seasoned entrepreneurs have dedicated their time and expertise as mentors, directly influencing and guiding the next generation. This is via 8 minute conversations in the speed mentoring sessions. These mentors provide practical advice, career guidance, and invaluable networking opportunities, creating a robust support system for youth across Ghana. Thousands of mentor-mentee relationships have been created and continue to be nurtured.
• Vibrant Online Narrative & Social Proof: The authentic impact of Barcamp Ghana is continuously captured and shared across various digital platforms, particularly Facebook and Twitter (X), under the trending hashtag #BarcampGhanaImpact. These thousands of organic posts, testimonials, photos, and videos provide real-time, verifiable evidence of the program’s positive ripple effect on individual lives and communities across all regions. This continuous digital footprint offers invaluable social proof and a dynamic, evolving narrative of impact.

Some of those impact stories are as follows:

Dora Ampaabeng heard about Barcamps in Takoradi before she entered the University of Cape Coast. She grew there into leading Barcamp Cape Coast circa 2018. She talked about the impact of Barcamps to Baobab Entrepreneur: “Through Barcamps in Cape Coast, Takoradi and elsewhere, I have been able to meet people in my line of business who have taught me new ideas and helped in upgrading my business to the next level. My best experience is during the speed mentoring session when I get to speak to mentors in various areas of profession”. She is currently living in Takoradi and is leading Barcamp Takoradi.

Abednego Sowah participated in Barcamp Cape Coast. Per the experiences gained, I have been able to start a business in real estate and have joined a network of realtors. The journey has been easy but I’m still pushing till the result comes. He added: “The level of knowledge displayed by the resource personnels was magnificent. The superior level of knowledge displayed at the meetups is that benefits the serious participants”. He is running SOLACO Services GH Ltd, working in the real estate sector.

Emmanuel Boniface Arthur is a student at Nduom School of Business & Technology. After Barcamp Cape Coast, it opened doors for him to create new friendships and join other GhanaThink programs.

After volunteering, Emmanuel Billa became the Resources Lead for Barcamp Cape Coast. Through this role, he was able to learn how to better interact with persons of higher social status than himself, building his confidence which has helped him in presentations and interviews. He also led Cape Coast Konnect Meetups. In his own words: “Through networks made via Barcamps in Cape Coast and elsewhere, I got connected to joining the Nyansapow Leo club and the Leo clubs of Ghana community”.

Timothy Amuah participated in Barcamp Cape Coast many years ago. It helped him gain more interest in volunteering. He is currently the lead for Barcamp Tema after volunteering with the #bctema team. He said: “The networking opportunities and knowledge acquisition at multiple Barcamps in Ghana were great”.

Zoe Nyadzi volunteers with Barcamp Tema as well. He stated: “At Barcamp Tema, I met several individuals with like mindsets which have exposed me to learning opportunities and also we’re ready to mentor me and others also to be mentored by me. After hearing about Wikimédia Foundation from a mentor in Barcamp Community, I joined the Wikimédia community. I later applied for a role with one of their NGOs here in Ghana and won the role”. The impact does not stay with him in the true spirit of the network GhanaThink is building. He added: “Through Barcamp Ghana, I secured a job opportunity for a colleague. I met successful entrepreneurs ready to mentor me to rise with my entrepreneurship goals.”

Gabriel Boateng is interested in joining professional and networking communities to expand his knowledge, build meaningful connections, and explore new opportunities. Participating in Barcamp Tema 2024 was an eye-opening experience for him filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and personal growth. He stated: “Networking was a key takeaway, I had the chance to meet professionals from diverse fields, exchange contacts, and discuss potential collaborations. The breakout sessions and mentorship opportunities were particularly beneficial in shaping my perspectives on leadership and leveraging on Technology. He exclaimed: “The energy, enthusiasm, and wealth of knowledge shared made it a truly memorable experience”. Barcamps in Ghana bring together professionals, entrepreneurs, and students, creating a dynamic space for learning and collaboration. The interactive nature of the discussions made it easy to connect with like-minded individuals and exchange ideas.

After the first Junior Camp in Ghana was organized at Keta Senior High School (Ketasco),  Bright Atsu K. Agbetsise’s interest was piqued. He followed his teacher, Gameli Adzaho (a GhanaThink member) to Central University College in 2012 for the first Barcamp Tema. He was part of a breakout session at Barcamp Tema 2012 that gave birth to Global Lab Network (Mobile Lab Ghana). Since then, he has been to several Barcamps around Ghana because he started to love networking. He has been leading Barcamp Accra since covid, seeing it grow its partnership pool. Bright has described Barcamps as “annual events that I yearn for every year because of the level of impact it always leaves me with, what’s more than getting an intimate mentorship, life guidance and networking with great minds all at a free event.”

The profound impact of Barcamp Ghana is consistently illustrated through the personal journeys of its diverse participants and organizers. Individuals from all walks of life have found inspiration, mentorship, and tangible opportunities that have significantly shaped their careers and contributions to Ghana. The engagement of these patriotic, passionate, positive, proactive, progressive and productive people underscores the extensive reach and varied positive impact of GhanaThink’s Barcamp Ghana across Ghana’s youth demographic.