Ghanaian business emerges top 3 start-ups at Oxford University Africa Innovation Fair

TalentsinAfrica.com a talent searching platform backed with AI Skills Assessment algorithm, last week was the only Ghanaian start-up to pitch at the Oxford University Africa Innovation Fair 2019.

Speaking to Bridget Boakye, Co-Founder, ‘We are happy to share with our candidates, employers, investors, friends, and well-wishers that we were among the top finalists at this year’s Oxford Africa Conference Innovation Fair hosted by the University of Oxford Africa Society. We were the only Ghanaian business listed among the finalists this year.

Bridget Boakye, co-founder, TalentsinAfrica pitched at the conference on Friday May 17th following a key-note by Sudanese-British billionaire businessman, Mo Ibrahim.

“Pitching at Oxford was a wonderful opportunity as it further validates our vision and commitment to this work. We know that our mission to connect tackle youth unemployment by matching 1M young Africans to jobs to 2024 may seem crazy to many but we believe that we can use technology, data, and strategic partnerships to make a huge dent in the problem. We can’t continue to complain and/or fear youth unemployment and do nothing about it. We must be intentional about tackling this issue on a grand scale,” Boakye said.

According to the event organizers, “the Oxford Africa Conference is the leading interdisciplinary conference on Africa, hosted by the University of Oxford Africa Society. The Conference brings together heads of state, policymakers, business leaders, academics, artists, students, and professionals of African descent to critically expand the discourse and action on Africa.” In its 9th year running, this year’s conference was themed ‘Africa’s Relevance: Locally, Continentally and globally’.

Following the pitches by Ms Bridget Boakye and two other finalists, Arunma Oteh, OON (Officer of the Order of the Niger), Treasurer and a Vice President of the World Bank, and the former Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Nigeria, pledged $1,000 to each entrepreneur.

Ms Bridget says she is grateful to Ms. Oteh, Oxford, and the entire Innovation Team at Oxford for their tremendous support and validation.

“Attending a charter school in the South Bronx of the U.S. in the early 2000s exposed me to so much and opened up an opportunity for me as a young African immigrant. I hope our platform can similarly unlock opportunity for millions of young Africans without access to influential networks or "whom you know" politics. We are on a mission to democratize opportunity for all Africans through exposure and skills,” she explained.

The team’s recognition at Oxford follows a growing list of other acclaims including Georgetown Africa Business Conference New Venture Competition, top 10 innovators at Harvard University Africa Business Conference, speaking platforms at Columbia University Annual Africa Economic Forum and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Innovate Africa conference, and acceptance among the top 20 Innovators in Africa of the Harambe Entrepreneur Alliance.