Day 3: Google Ghana Conference - day 2

Bitten by the fitness bug due to my ever growing paunch, woke up at 6:30 am for a lovely long jog around the apartment with the rest of the bunch. Most of the roads on this side of the city are like grids and it was not too difficult to find out way around.

Had breakfast, caught a glimpse of the royal wedding on TV and left for the conference. Today's agenda was to conduct another set of demo pods, attend the break out sessions to understand what Google's doing in the sub-saharan African market, and conduct a session for the Google campus ambassadors. Demo pods like yesterday was the highlight of the morning. I loved the curiosity and their quest to learn more about Google's products.

Post lunch the team sat down to plan our event with Google's ambassadors in Ghana Universities. The team being highly creative and diverse in expertise came up with a kickass plan in under an hour. The session went very well and for me this was the highlight of the day. These students were the brightest, most talented on their campuses and it was so evident. They were cravving to learn more about Google's products, technology, thinking of starting AdWords agencies etc.

We divided the group into 2 teams with each team spending time to brain storm on how to conduct events in their colleges to encourage students to use of Google's products, how they would create a buzz etc. It was wonderful to listen to their ideas, observe the way they thought which was so similar to the college students I've worked with in India. It's the same tricks like teasers and the swags that work - world over! The session ended with a Q&A which was predictably sprinkled with some very intelligent questions. one particularly interesting question was : 'What are the challenges we face as Googlers'... I'd never thought of that before..

Post the session, we all went to a really nice Jazz club called '+233' (which btw is the country code). Bacon cheeseburger with a really good Jazz music and a lovely ambience is a perfect dinner story. :)

And then...crashed happily.

Day 2: Learning Begins: The Google Ghana Conference

Woke up at 6:00 in the morning. Couldn't sleep much longer as I was jet lagged. Did all the important morning calls. The day looked interesting with Google Ghana Conference being the schedule for the day. Unlike the other Google conferences that I've been to, this one is organized for the public - to provide small & medium entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn about Google's products & get online!

After a quick English breakfast, we set out to the Alisa Hotel for the G Ghana conference. It was an amazing learning experience to interact with Googlers working in the sub Saharan Africa and the highlight being the interactions during the demo pod sessions we held. My demo pod was about Google AdWords (predictably). Basically, any one with AdWords questions could just walk up & ask away!

Top things I learnt today:

1. The room was packed with 99% men. Exposure to technology is still a privilege for the men here.

2. These entrepreneurs are intelligent and have bright ideas - they just need the right push in the early days of their business to propel them into making history in Ghana.

3. Technology/Internet penetration in Ghana is like India 10yrs ago. This also poses a big opportunity for those who recognise it's value early enough (like now!). Which is why I believe those who came for the Google conference have seen this potential and are already on their fast track to making a difference to their economy.

4. Apparently, maps don't work here! People conceptualize places in relation to a well known landmarks.

5. Credit is unheard of here. Everything is bought through cash. So, anything that's fast, easy & free is what people are looking for.

I've begun to appreciate/see India's technological advancement now! :P

Google in Africa works just like a start up but without any financial constraints of being one (how cool uh?). After the conference, we all headed out to Captain Cook for dinner. A really neat place with a submarinish sort of theme. Loved the food and the people so far... :)

Stuffed, tired and satisfied.. I'm crashing now!

The First Day

Finally, I arrived! Hyd to Dubai (4 hrs) + Dubai Airport (7.5 hrs) + Dubai to Accra, Ghana (8.5 hrs) = Exhaustion but alll totally worth it! Akwaaba - that's what the sign at the airport read which means 'Welcome'. :) 

Set Foot in Africa!

For a change, I decided to act careful & responsible and got myself a sim card before leaving the airport. A very 'friendly' guy offered his phone so I could call the driver - I wasn't sure if they expect tip here the way they do in India - so instead of looking overly 'tippish' just in case he decided to shower more favors, I made the call - said 'Thank You' and moved on.

Holi Flats, Accra

Checked into Holi flats(Hospitality in India rocks!). An average two bedroom service apartments - this would be my home for the next 30 days. Unpacked. Was famished, so the entire Google Reach team went to lunch at The Best Western hotel. My first food in Africa was a beef burger (ridiculous I know! but it was awesome!

My room for the next 30 days

The team sat together to learn about the details of the program and the schedule looks super exciting!

Crashed at 8:30 pm (it was 2 am in India already)..Looking forward to what's in store for me!