With an insatiable belief that Ghana has a lot to offer the rest of the world, a young Ghanaian has gone beyond just dreaming and has transformed Africa's corporate ingenuity in many unimaginable ways.

Michael Amankwa returned to Ghana in 2005 after graduating from JMU with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and completing his Master of Science degree in information technology and telecommunication systems at the Johns Hopkins University and no sooner did he form the CoreNett Limited, which has now become the boundless solution for transactions processing management across the African continent.

CoreNett's cutting edge solutions has endeared the company to retailers, governments and other institutions for processing electronic transactions offering many innovative services including, but not limited to, branchless banking, a social networking platform for consumers and enterprisers, and technology allowing users to access financial services without having to step foot inside a building.

Helping families become financially stable

One family in particular has been impacted significantly thanks to the technological advancements of CoreNett. Rashidatu relocated to Accra, Ghana, in 2009 with hopes of providing a steady income to her family, which was facing economic troubles. With seven siblings and parents who didn’t have a stable income, she hoped to make a solid income and improve the quality of life for her family.

After Rashidatu started making a steady income, she attempted to send money home to her family. However, she found that the banks in Ghana were complicated and tried to charge her large transfer fees for sending money.

Finally, Rashidatu heard about CoreNett’s Mobile Money service, which allows her to save a portion of her income each day on her Mobile Money wallet. At the end of each month, she can securely send the savings to her family directly from that wallet. Once the transfer is complete, her family simply walks to the nearest ATM and retrieves the money.

Previously, there was a gap between people who could afford complicated banking services in Ghana and those who, like Rashidatu and her family, could not. Now, thanks to CoreNett’s innovative service, she can support herself and her family in a safe and user-friendly manner.

Advice for current students

Amankwa advises current business students to study hard and persevere when it gets tough. “See challenges as opportunities, learn from failures, and believe in yourself. If others have done it, you can equally do it and do it better.”

By following his own advice, Amankwa continues to contribute to the African story while “innovating and tackling the challenges of modern day society,” an aspect of his job that he finds to be most rewarding