The Aha Moment

Hi my name is Regina and I am addicted to all things technology. For a young Ghanaian woman I seem to be fine disclosing my age. I am proud of how far I have come and have no desire to do any calculus to my age to bring it to a more appropriate figure. I am 29 years old. I am a software programmer by profession and a tech geek by nature.

I am also a social entrepreneur and have started my own social business called Soronko Solutions. Soronko is an Akan word which means “Unique”. Thus I intend to provide unique technology solutions that bring about a social change.

In Ghana starting a business has its challenges. Now that is let’s say one part of a very complex puzzle. Then there is starting a tech company, which is another part. Then there is being female and starting a tech company which is perceived as a male dominated field. The last piece of the puzzle is starting a social business.

So I want you to come along with me on the journey. I can assure you it will be a very interesting one. For individuals who are planning to start a business in Ghana this can serve as a guide. For women trying to enter the tech world, it will give you a realistic view of what to expect.

Ok ready or not buckle up and let’s start………..

When I was younger in typical fashion in the 80’s my parents wanted me to be a doctor. In fact I was sold on the idea. I used to imagine myself in a white coat with my stethoscope rushing in to save a life. When the question was asked in primary school what do you want to be when you grow up, as other children fumbled, I had the answer. I was going to be a Doctor. Doctor Regina, that just had a nice ring to it. This was until class 6 when my dad brought home a computer. I was fascinated with the object. It looked like a TV but had too many other things attached to it to be one. My dad was like it was not a toy but something to help us learn. I started to explore this new gadget and fell in love with it immediately. Then I read that you could study computer science and learn to give the computer a set of instructions to get it to produce a desired result. I just immediately dropped my imaginary white coat and stethoscope and picked up the mouse and keyboard and said I wanted to be a Computer Scientist.

It was only in Senior Secondary School that I decided that I wanted to be a programmer. At the time I was the only one in my science class in Senior Secondary School who wanted to be a programmer. Most of my friends wanted to be doctors, chemist, and pharmacists. So I volunteered to work in the computer science lab. I was always on the computer. I knew I had to take my math seriously so I did.

As you would expect Computer Class was my favorite class. It would have been great to say that I wrote my first computer program in Senior Secondary School but that was not the case. I knew I wanted to be a programmer but at the time I did not have enough resources and guidance to help my take my passion to actual code writing.

After Senor Secondary School, the next big thing was where to go to university. Once again most of my friends wanted to go to University in the States. At the time, I felt that Ghana needed skilled people to stay and develop the nation. I knew if I went to school abroad, chances were that I would stay there.

Luckily for me I was introduced to Ashesi University by my Dad. Ashesi was a great university that gave me the skills set and more to excel in my career and to be a great programmer. At Ashesi, my love for programming became complete since I could now write applications that performed certain functions.

After University, I got a job at this great software company. That company was my baptism of fire. There I was given challenging tasks day in and day out and my gender was never an issue. Then I went on to the banking industry. To be honest, the banking industry can be exciting if you are a banker. For a programmer it can be a little frustrating since you are not always challenged and can be quite restricted. I stayed in the banking industry seduced by the comfort and security of a paycheck but harassed internally to do more with my skill sets.

Then early on this year, I had the Aha Moment. Being courageous is not the absence of fear but forging ahead even when you are afraid. So with that I left the corporate world and joined the scary world of entrepreneurship.

Deciding to start a company is one thing but as an entrepreneur you must really ask yourself what value you intend to bring. As a techie I am driven by the passion I have in my craft but being passionate may not necessarily ensure that you build a successful company.

People ask why don’t you still keep your job and do the business as a side thing. The truth is that can be an option depending on what business you intend to do. But truthfully starting a company is a lot of work and if you want it to take off fully you will have to commit to it 100%

So the next thing to think about is what service I intend to offer, who my target customer base is, what my revenue models are, how to pay for my start up and setup costs. In short I needed a business plan.

Not having a business plan is like walking through a maze with blindfolds on. You may think you know where you are going but you will discover in time that you are lost and no one else knows where you are trying to go.

Well look at the time. Unfortunately I have to leave now. I am working on this project which I will be sharing with you. My next blog post will continue from where I left off.So this journey is now on auto pilot.......

Signed

Girl Tech Start Up