Araba Amissah Quansah, Class of 2011

Araba is originally from Saltpond in the Central Region. At the University of Ghana, she studied Statistics and Computer Science, a natural decision since her father also had a background in computing.

While in university, Araba interned at CalBank, where she worked in the marketing department. She later did a large data analysis project for the Institute for Statistical, Social, and Economic Research (ISSER) on the Ghana campus. After graduating, she worked for a year as the assistant network administrator for the Volta Hall residence. Araba was first attracted to MEST because of her passion to start something on her own in the software space. She is currently the class representative for 2011. As she finishes her first year of training, she is also preparing for a summer internship with Busy Internet.

Badu Boahen, Class of 2011

Badu is from Kumasi in the Ashanti region. His love for programming began when he took a year off before attending KNUST. Inspired by an older brother who bought a computer for his work teaching math in a secondary school, Badu found a manual on Visual Basic and began to teach himself how to code.

At KNUST, Badu studied Business Administration. He quickly realized that many basic business processes could be greatly simplified by software. While in school, he continued to code independently. He built a data management system for a church, a financial management system for a savings and loan business, and a program for his brother to keep track of student assessments. Other teachers were so impressed by his work that his brother's entire secondary school began using his program.

Badu's love for software development and his strong self-motivation made MEST a natural choice for him. As he finishes his first year, he has become known as one of the star programmers in 2011. His latest obsession is AJAX and PHP, and he continues to brainstorm ways that software can be used to improve business processes using SaaS and ERP.

Joshua Owusu-Ansah, Class of 2011

Joshua is originally from Accra, but has lived most of his life in Akosombo. His entrepreneurial spirit became apparent at a young age when he bought two pet rabbits and – much to his parent's dismay – soon found himself running a sixty rabbit farm. At the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Joshua's love for invention and design led him to study Mechanical Engineering. When he was first introduced to computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), a passion was born. He loved the way that software could bring the design and engineering process together so smoothly, and he became the CAD/CAM guru on the KNUST campus.

During the summers, Joshua returned to Akosombo to intern at the Volta River Authority, where he did work at the hydrogen generation stations and at the transport department. Yet as graduation drew near, Joshua decided that he wanted to pursue a career that would allow for more creativity, a career that would allow him to start something and watch it grow. He found that opportunity at MEST, where he is currently working on his Capstone Project, the culmination of the first year of MEST training.

Anne Amuzu, Class of 2010

Anne is a recent graduate of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where she studied Computer Engineering. Anne has interned at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and Technonet Ghana Limited. At GAEC, she programmed a computer board within their Digital practice and through that learned assembly language and system programming. She also helped in the technical section of Technonet, repairing and assembling desktop computers.

Anne is currently finishing her second year as an Entrepreneur in Training (EIT) here at MEST. She is preparing an idea for the business incubator (MINC) that would allow companies to address a number of customer service complaints via SMS.

Eugene Idan, Class of 2010

Eugene is originally from the Brong Ahafo Region in the central part of Ghana. He graduated from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he studied Agriculture, though he has had a strong interest in computing ever since learning basic programming in secondary school.

After finishing at KNUST, Eugene worked as a mathematics tutor at Jema Senior High in his home region. He was one of the founding members of the computer club there, and helped to create a computer lab for the school – the first of its kind in the district.

Eugene's long-term goal is to be an entrepreneur in the software business and contribute to the economic development of his motherland – Ghana. As he finishes his second year here at MEST, he is currently building a web application that will make online teaching as easy and intuitive as blogging.

Mawuli Kofi Sikanku, Class of 2010

Mawuli attended the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he studied Aerospace Engineering. He was also a member of the Ghana Air Force for three years, and he took courses in Aircraft Maintenance and Servicing while there. He is a self-trained graphic designer and has also had experience with computer animation and sound engineering.

Mawuli is currently completing his second year as an Entrepreneur in Training (EIT) here at MEST. He and his teammates are preparing to pitch an idea to our incubator (MINC) that will democratize learning and teaching on the Internet, making hosting an online course as easy as it is to write a blog.