White house honoured

The White House in the United States of America (USA) has honoured a Ghanaian entrepreneur, Dr Ashifi Gogo, as one of the 11 Immigrant Innovators at its “Champions of Change” awards ceremony held recently. Dr Gogo, who is the Chief Executive Officer of Sproxil Worldwide, has been operating in the USA as a technology entrepreneur, having established the company in 2008. Sproxil, a global leader of sms-based mobile product authentication (MPA) and intelligent brand protection, now operates in five countries, including Ghana. The Chief Technology Officer of the United States Government, Mr Todd Park, said at the event that the government was proud to honour immigrants, given their immense contribution to the development of the country's economy. “We are proud to recognise these leaders who work everyday to grow our economy, advance science and technology, and support their home communities," Mr Park added. The Champions of Change programme was created as an opportunity for the White House to feature groups of Americans – individuals, businesses and organisations – who are doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities. The laurel is one of many recent honours received by Dr Gogo and his team at Sproxil Worldwide. On why he was singled out by the White House, Dr Gogo said "our work in emerging markets is transformational - using cellphones consumers already have in their pockets to reinstate information symmetry during purchases so that consumers don't get duped into buying fake products." "It's an empowering solution that has gained a lot of attraction and a humbling degree of social impact in a growing number of countries, he added. Sproxil’s MPA solution also received worldwide acclaim earlier this year when it received the Patents for Humanity Award issued by the US Department of Trade. Fast Company Magazine also ranked Sproxil as the Seventh Most Innovative Company in the World, ahead of Apple, Google, Pinterest and Safari, some of the established tech companies. The company's innovative MPA solution has proven to be a key success factor in the global fight against drug counterfeiting. The Country Manager of Sproxil Ghana, Mr Osei K. Agyeman-Buahin, explained that the MPA solution combats counterfeits by providing consumers a way to verify that the product they buy is genuine, through the use of a mobile phone and simple text message. “At point-of-purchase, users scratch a panel on the product to reveal a onetime-use code and text (SMS) the code to a mobile short code number. Within moments, a response is dispatched from our cloud-based system indicating the genuineness or otherwise of the item being authenticated. The user also gets a description of the product and a health tip," he said. Mr Agyeman-Buahin added that the benefits of Sproxil’s MPA would be felt all over Ghana within the next quarter as the company launched brand protection activity for two major global brands.

world Day of safty

France recognize Ghana's potential

President Francois Hollande President Francois Hollande President John Mahama and French President Francois Hollande have agreed on a number of projects to be financed under the French Development Agency’s support for Ghana. The two presidents, in a meeting at the Elysee Palace, discussed trade and development assistance to Ghana, improved military cooperation, security and democracy in West Africa and the Sahel regions of Africa, conflicts, terrorism and the need for Ghana to take advantage of its presence within a Francophone block to enhance the teaching and learning of the French language. President Hollande, who has just marked his first year in office, observed that despite their francophone-anglophone backgrounds, Ghana and France share a number of common views on governance and democracy. He observed that Ghana’s economic progress has been widely recognized, noting that the country and others in Africa are doing well at a time when the global economy is in recession. According to him, Ghana is one of the few countries with huge potential for growth in the world. President Hollande said he supports the new phase of his country’s relationship with Ghana, explaining that his invitation to President Mahama was aimed at enhancing that relationship and familiarize better with development in Ghana. The two presidents agreed to more French support in the area of tertiary education and support with French technical instructors and training of more Ghanaian French teachers in September. On Mali, President Hollande thanked Ghana for the support during the deployment of troops to Mali. He lauded Ghana for sending an engineering contingent to support the West African country. President Mahama thanked his host for the invitation and for sending a high-level team to the funeral of the late President John Atta Mills. He also acknowledged the growing presence of French businesses in Ghana, thanking the French government for the decision to keep Ghana among its 14 priority countries earmarked for support by the French Development Agency. Answering a question after the meeting on the outcome of such official and state visits, President Mahama told journalists that his visit to Turkey and now France have significant impact.