TechCabal Daily – Thank you Ghana, that’s how it’s done 👏

Explain your job to a five-year-old

I help individuals and businesses to move money in the least expensive and most efficient way. 

What’s the first career you dreamed of having as a kid?

I always wanted to be a pilot. That was very fascinating at a young age. As a teenager, I was awed by the tall skyscrapers I saw in movies and I wanted to design and build them. I always thought I’d be an architect. And I know I would have been a pretty good one. 

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

A few things matter in life. Being good to others, keeping fit and enjoying one’s self. By all means, travel. You are assured of being a millionaire if you learn the magic of compounding – be it in building skills or investing. Couple that with extremely large dreams and you can do anything.

What’s your favourite book?

It really depends. I jump from book to book. Currently, it is ‘The Beginning of Infinity’ by David Deutsch. 

How do you unwind outside of work?

I take the kids to the park if I am in Paris. If I am traveling, it revolves around meeting new people and that also usually entails work. 

What (singular) achievement are you most proud of?

The work we do with Eversend. I would really prefer it was being a great dad. That’s what I strive for. 

A genie gives you one wish for the African tech ecosystem, what would yours be?

To fix early stage tech funding on the continent. There are great problem solvers that will never get the initial capital required to make those dreams come true. We will never know what they are capable of. 

*Atwine Stone is the CEO of Eversend, an African neobank

Ghana’s Ministry of Communications announced earlier this week that its residents will have to re-register their SIM cards with Ghana Card, the country’s smart national ID.

Sounds familiar?

Yes, A similar announcement was made in Nigeria in December 2020, but the approach here is different.

The difference

Nigeria: A two-week period was prescribed for over 200 million people to conduct this exercise. After it was clear that the time window was insufficient, the Federal Government has extended the deadline three times, the current deadline is June 30th. 

The process initially started with people having to visit physical centers, this led to overcrowding and the further spread of COVID-19.

Ghana: A six-month period was prescribed for 29 million people living in Ghana to conduct this exercise. This announcement was made one month ahead of time. It’s to start next month. The re-registration doesn’t require going to any telecom outlet as the process can be carried out on mobile devices with a dedicated USSD code, as long as one has the Ghana Card.

Why it matters: This move is part of plans to strengthen Ghana’s digital economy by creating unique IDs, adding them to the country’s database, and in the process, reducing incidences of fraudulent digital activities, which have become commonplace.

One more thing: Please help us tell the Nigerian government that there are better ways to do things.

Read more: Ghanaians to begin re-registration of SIM cards with Ghana Card or risk getting their SIMs blocked