Rarebirds

CoFounder of Startup Lounge Africa

Badou Mbye, is a Software Developer, Producer, and Host of HighTech Show, and all-round tech enthusiast. He grew up in the U.K. and graduated with a BSc. In Information Systems in The Gambia. He was always surrounded by tech growing up and used it to help around the house.  Seeing how technology made things easier day-to-day, sparked a curiosity to learn how he can use it to better himself and solve systematic problems in Africa using technology.  It helped him to create a Production Team to build content and stories around Digital Awareness. His company is called High Tech and it Captures and provides captivating advertisement for innovative tech solutions in Africa.

Phillip is an IT Service Delivery Analyst, he concentrates primarily on Travel Technology Delivery for Tourists and Travel Guides in Africa. His key skills and expertise include IT System Analysis, Project Management and Monitoring & Evaluation of further Employee/Project Leads.  His company Tukwan is the first on market travel tech provider in Ghana, offering tourists the freedom to experience quality tours and pay less.

I have worked with and supported over 300 tech and non-tech startups and entrepreneurs/brands in Ghana and other African countries over the past 5 years. I have also, started, failed and succeeded at many ventures of my own.

My vision is simple: support innovative and sustainable local brands in Africa to grow a sustainable African economy.
I believe it all begins with the Young and Innovative Startups and the Digital Economy!

At Start.Up Lounge Ghana, I lead our product development team in building an online platform for African Startups. We call it Kutana Africa (Kutana in Swahili means "meat up").
With Kutana Africa, your business/startup will be visible across Africa and globally and you also will have the opportunity to connect and collaborate with other businesses across Africa to grow or scale up.

Passionate about using mobile tech to ease the lives of many. HR management where I have worked with early stage companies to hire critical employees.

I am a motivated and tech-savvy intern who studied Civil Engineering with 3 years of experience and research in Graphic Design,Automobile workings,Sketching. Skills include public speaking, creative problem solving and intermediate level graphic design. Able to communicate effectively with a team and very keen to develop more professional skills, such as Company Business Management.

Currently building a regenerative Cacao Farm in Ghana centered around community and committed to seeding BIPOC sovereignty in the food system.

I am a creative with a background in business management and technology. I am currently working as a junior market analyst and pursuing my MBA. I am passionate about entrepreneurship and economic development.

I am a marketing professional with huge interests in technology, marketing, and start-ups. Through my passions and skills; I work with a company that is automating global customer support centers; Besides this, I lead a marketing firm that is creating tools to help businesses get their products into local markets; and I’m also a co-host of a podcast that features African Startup entrepreneurs.

Mr. Jasmin is Group Chairman and Managing Director of Smart City Clearing Company Ltd. a BVI based frontier market Merchant Bank. The bank’s focus is working with High Net Worth and Institutional clients across all aspects of the Alternative Investment Class as they look to invest and participate in Guyana’s growth. His practice focuses on four key markets: Commercial Real Estate, Oil & Gas Service Companies, Infrastructure Development, and Technology. ​

To learn more about my origin story, follow the LinkedIn Article I posted below: "Finding the Path to El Dorado in Guyana".

With over 15 years of experience as a Management Consultant and Investment Banker for Fortune 500 and Middle Market Companies, he has experience spanning all aspects of business but prefers to focus on Corporate Finance and Investment Banking. ​ He is able to bring a deep and significant skillset as well as an extensive world-wide network with key relationships to bear for his clients and partners.

Some of his clients have included: Delta Air Lines, Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, and Proctor & Gamble. Prior to being a Fortune 500 consultant,

Mr. Jasmin is also a former registered Investment Banker. ​ He has worked as a Managing Director for Corporate Finance Associates where he oversaw deals across the entire alternative investment asset class. Prior to working with CFA, Steven was Vice President at the boutique investment bank Street Capital. Steven’s network and background as a former FINRA registered investment banker and management consultant allows him to bring a unique perspective to every opportunity.

With a degree from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, and over 15 years of business experience in the fields of finance, marketing, information technology, and operations, Steven has an eye for detail across all spectrums. ​ Recognizing that successful companies are built over time he is driven to employ his business acumen and broad skill set to help his partners and portfolio companies achieve their desired goals and long term financial success. Steven resides in Atlanta, Georgia but spends the majority of his time in Guyana as he works to help the country navigate through first oil and beyond.

Proudly Moroccan, The foundation of my education and understanding is built on a unique Geopolitical and Societal diploma completed in the early stages of my growth. This prepared me for an approach not only with a business mind but with a political understanding too. I have grown from financial consultancy experience, language expertise and a large amount of political work to a strong passion in the world of Technology. With my Oxford University Blockchain Strategy Knowledge of the Blockchain Ecosystem/
Innovations in Value Transfer/Decentralized Apps and Smart Contracts/Transforming Enterprise Business Modules and the Blockchain Frontiers as well as my vast understanding and experience in the political and financial arena - my approach to the development of this new technology is unique given my established networks and full stack strategy. I am driven by the desire to succeed and make a difference in all I do - that said, I intend to actively be a part of supporting the education and development.

Tarek is bringing value to business through blockchain technology.  He is the Founder of K2LIS, A Paris based company that supports customers from all sectors to anticipate, innovate and deliver high value through innovative projects based on Blockchain technologies. They bring an end-to-end state-of-the-art Blockchain expertise: - Acculturation and training for Business and IT people - Strategy and consulting to identify appropriate and high-value use cases - Solutions development and deployment support.

Sebastian Vidal is the Chief Innovation Officer at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology & Innovation Trust.  He is the former Executive Director of Parallel18 an international Startup Program based in Puerto Rico where they support and invest in 80 global companies per year with the goal of having an economic and social impact in the island. After the first year, the program has been able to generate 5 times return the distributed investment.

Before this, Mr. Vidal led government funded program Start-Up Chile, aiming to attract global minded entrepreneurs to his native Chile in order to transform the country in to a world-recognized innovation capital. Through Start-Up Chile, he was able to work side by side with more than 1,000 startups in different stages and industries, managing a 10 USD Million yearly budget and witness a country’s cultural transformation towards entrepreneurship, guiding the program in to become the most innovative company of Latin America according to FastCompany in 2015.

He has also helped develop technology ecosystem public policy strategies in countries like Peru, Brazil, Malaysia and South Korea, and consulted the World Bank for a technology development ecosystem project in Lebanon. He has invested in some startups and also has been a mentor in different accelerators and entrepreneurship programs such as Stanford Ignite, Founder Institute and others.

Digital Economy Advocate Economist|Professional Speaker| Blockchain Consultant/ Educator| Youth Mentor
Dedicated to serve and impact and author. 

Ohemaa Adjei Andoh is an optimistic person who aims to achieve the best results in every thing she does. She believes in Team work and motivating others to bring out the best in them. Ohemaa Andoh believes everyone has a light in them that needs to illuminate the path for generations after them.

During her undergraduate study in Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) studying BSc. Geological Engineering, she served as the Women's Commissioner and Women in Engineering president for the College of Engineering.

She has six(6) years experience in the Oil and Gas Industry as a Cementing and Stimulations Engineer and worked in offshore operations in Ghana and Nigeria and supported projects in Ivory Coast, Senegal and Mauritania. She believes Engineering is less of the use of the hands and more of the use of the mind in solving problems in the society.

Ohemaa Andoh is passionate about encouraging and inspiring young girls to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and this fuelled her to start Girls in Science and Technology (GIST), an organisation that encourages young females and empowers them by showing them representation of Ghanaian women in STEM careers and sharing their journey and growth with them amongst other things.

Ohemaa Andoh continues to empower herself to be able to empower others.
GIST was awarded the Outstanding Women Social Community Award at the Ghana Outstanding Women Awards (GOWA 2020) and Ohemaa Andoh was nominated as an Outstanding Woman in Innovation at the same awards that year.

Her greatest achievement is being a mother to two amazing children.

Ohemaa Andoh's mantra is "Let you light shine from within."