Ghana

A former British colony Ghana is in Western Africa with a population of approximately 30 million people. Former Empires of Dagbon and Ashanti were in Ghana’s present-day borders long before the colonization of the region. During the 15^th century Portugal established trading routes eventually taken over by Britain. After British Colonization Ghana reached independence in 1957 resulting with the first presidential election in 1960. How did Ghana go with that design of the national flag?

Red represents the blood for the struggle for independence
Gold represents the mineral wealth of the country
Green represents the forestry and natural wealth
The Black Star represents black unity, emancipation, also the star from Marcus Garvey’s Black Star Line.

Justice System

The judicial system is based chiefly on the English model, but Ghanaian customary law is recognized as well as English common law. The administration of justice is handled by various courts divided into two groups: the superior courts, consisting of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, and the High Court; and inferior courts, consisting of the circuit courts, the district courts, and other courts provided by law, such as the juvenile courts. The adjudicating authorities in chieftaincy and purely traditional matters are the regional and National House of Chiefs. Appeals from decisions of the National House of Chiefs are made directly to the Supreme Court.

Encylopedia Britannica. (n.d.). From Encylopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Ghana/Government-and-society

Tech Industry

One of the essential building blocks of any start-up ecosystem is talent and Ghana is cultivating a strong pool of future tech leaders. The nation has a strong network of local universities such as public institutions like Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana, along with private universities like Ashesi University (founded by ex-Microsoft Patrick Awuah). Geographically, Ghana is strategically seated in the middle of a couple of Francophone African countries, a largely untapped market. Ghana is also near the most populous country on the continent, Nigeria. Besides, when compared with other West African countries, Ghana benefits from stable infrastructure and democracy.

GSMA. (2018, July Friday). From https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/blog/a-deep-dive-into-the-ghanaian-start-up-ecosystem/

Culture

In Ghana, the forms of music in African Jazz, Highlife, and Hiplife. Hiplife is a fusion between Afro Reggae, dancehall, and Hip-Hop.

Various dance styles throughout Ghana include Adzogbo, Kple, Bamaya, Adowa, Nmina, and Agbadza. The top spectator sport is football (soccer) in Ghana which is a powerhouse in Africa.

The kente cloth, the most traditional of all Ghanaian attire. “Kente is a ceremonial cloth hand-woven on a horizontal treadle loom and strips measuring about 4 inches wide are sewn together into larger pieces of cloths. Cloths come in various colours, sizes and designs and are worn during very important social and religious occasions.

In a cultural context, kente is more important than just a cloth and it is a visual representation of history and a form of written language through weaving.” (Wikipedia)

The Year of Return

In 2019 Ghana was courting African Americans and fellow blacks throughout the diaspora to return to African after the 400-year anniversary of Jamestown. Today after global protest of African American George Floyd Ghana, encouraged African Americans to “come home.” Recently Ghana has been offering citizenship to African Americans to move back or to invest in Ghana, a very much appreciated gesture.