TESS – Technology Entrepreneurs Seminar Series [www.tessafrica.org] is a project set up to promote and develop technology entrepreneurs in Africa.  Hence, this year fashTECH has been expanded into a forum for Internet and Mobile Entrepreneurs to give space for Internet and Mobile Entrepreneurs in Ghana to showcase their creative ventures and unique concepts. We believe by doing so African Youth and Graduates will be challenged into using technology entrepreneurship as means of enhancing their livelihoods. The importance of such a forum cannot be overstated. Why is this so?

Here is the answer:

The information economy, driven by the new media – Internet and mobile applications -, has birthed a space for participation, access, expression and creativity. Concerning development in Ghana, we ask, what is the impact of the new media on the Ghanaian Entrepreneur?

Entrepreneurs play a critical role in the starting and establishing small business opportunities in Africa. However, a number of newly-established ventures in developing economies fade out in the early stage of business, within 42 months [1]. There are multi-prong challenges including access to information and new skills which contribute to this failure. These challenges stifle the contribution of African entrepreneurs to the society.

Research studies have discussed the impact of the new media for business and development as including new business models, access to new resources, markets and opportunities for collaboration, and novel approaches to sustaining livelihoods [2-4]. However, these opportunities depends on the ‘capability to function’ – thus the ability of the African entrepreneur to go beyond access to new media and use associated functions and services which empower them in their individual ventures and contribute to sustaining their livelihoods. This capability to function starts from educating and training in the use of new media, and hence, the objective of this conference.

Under the auspices of the TESS (Technology Entrepreneur Seminar Series), the 2010 MBA MIS Class of the University of Ghana Business School, Ghana, and The PearlRichards Foundation, Ghana are organizing a one day conference on the new media and entrepreneurship in Ghana. The conference titled, Ghana Internet and Mobile Entrepreneurs’ Forum 2010 (GIMEF 2010), seeks to showcase the innovative use of new media – internet and mobiles – by entrepreneurs to address the socio-economic and development challenges in Africa. This year’s theme is “Building Ghana through Internet Enterprises and Mobile innovations. The conference has three interrelated objectives, namely:

• To offer participants an opportunity to share, discuss and learn from individual career experiences and profiles of Ghanaian Internet and Mobile entrepreneurs.
• To educate participants on how to use Internet and mobile resources and applications to support and promote their creative ventures.

The conference will take place on November 5^th 2010 at the University of Ghana Business School. This conference will bring together a blend of academics, practitioners and policy makers in the area of ICT for sustainable development and innovative mobile solutions for Africa. GIMEF 2010 will encourage open minds, critical thinking, self-examination, creativity, and sharing ideas. We invite you to join us and look forward to welcoming you to Ghana Internet and Mobile Entrepreneurs’ Forum 2010. We believe your invaluable experience and insight academics, practitioners and policy makers of Africa will add to what is an invaluable discourse for Ghana. We have no doubt it will be a challenging and thought-provoking, as well as an entertaining, experience.

Forum Chair



The keynote speakers were:

• Phoebe R. Apeagyei, Fashion Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
• Irene Armah, Jewellery/Fashion Accessories Designer, INKA Accessories, Ghana, http://www.pluraleinka.com/

The key questions addressed were:

1. What are the opportunities for fashion designers in both developing and developed countries?
2. What the challenges in using the Internet and other forms of technology?
3. What does the future look like and where do we go from here?

This first workshop was organized in Ghana at the University of Ghana Business School and had 125 attendees (58 per cent being women). The attendees were MBA Scholars and entrepreneurs from diverse disciplinary backgrounds including MIS, finance, HR, and Public Administration.  The workshop chair was Dr Richard Boateng, founder of Ewuraba.com. The workshop is a pre-conference event for 2010 International Conference on ICT for Africa (ICIA), which be held in Yaounde, Cameroon, 25-28th March, 2010 (see www.ictforafrica.org).

Workshop Presentations

1. fashTECH Brochure
2. Information Technology in Ghana Fashion Industry (presentation) - Irene Armah
3. Information Technology in Ghana Fashion Industry (View Point Article) -  Irene Armah
4. New Technologies in Fashion – 3D Scanning Technology (presentation) - Phoebe R. Apeagyei
5. Pattern Customizing Technology (Research Paper) – Phoebe R. Apeagyei (Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management)
6. Researching the Human Body (Research Paper) – Phoebe R. Apeagyei (Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management)
7. The Cult of Size Zero (Research Paper) – Phoebe R. Apeagyei (International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education)

Outcome of the Workshop

The African fashion industry face a major challenge in the standardization of size measurements, cataloging, pricing and financial management of resources used in design and production of garments and fabrics. More research is needed to define context specific solutions in these resource poor environments. The PearlRichards Foundation, Ewuraba and ICITD are committed to setting up a research agenda in the development of standards for size measurements and a software for managing African fashion enterprises. This research agenda will stem from collaboration with African fashion designers and local educational institutions.

The research will go a long way to contribute to the mass customization and virtual shopping of African garments and designs. This research has opportunities for economic development for entrepreneurs and African nations and new markets for fashion houses in the developed world. The research will be led by ICITD (www.icitd.com) under the supervision of Dr Richard Boateng and Prof. Victor Mbarika (of ICITD, USA), and with our speakers, Phoebe R Apeagyei (MMU, UK) and Irene Armah (INKA, Ghana) as lead consultants. The 2010 fashTECH workshop will be held in Ghana.

Workshop Media : | Click here for Pictures |