Herman Chinery-Hesse: An African IT Giant

Ghanaian IT giant and entrepreneur Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse has been referred to as the “Bill Gates of Africa”. Ghanaian IT giant and entrepreneur Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse has been referred to as the “Bill Gates of Africa”. The reason is quite simple; he’s worked hard in the past decade to put IT at the top of the agenda for many African states. Two decades ago, he founded SOFTtribe, a software computer company that focuses in the design and implementation of computerised business applications. Since 1991 he has led SOFTtribe to a point where it can be called the premier software company in Ghana. SOFTtribe could provide adequate and cost effective business solutions in the most affordable manner at a time when it was even not in vogue, making Chinery-Hesse’s outfit a preferred option for most companies. The company grew in no time, entering into key and strategic partnerships with other leading Information Technology firms around the globe. SOFTtribe has since remained a leader in the West African sub-region. Starting SOFTtribe was challenging but Chinery-Hesse persevered. With influences from Ireland, where he was born, the United States, where he schooled, and the United Kingdom, where he worked, he was able to tap into the cultures of these backgrounds, to build a purely indigenous company. “I didn't have an option in America, he once said. “I was a black African there; until Obama, we didn’t have a track record of leadership. It would be an uphill battle, whereas in Ghana the sky was the limit. Also I'm African: we need development here and it’s Africans who are going to develop Africa. I felt a sense of responsibility; apart from the fact that I thought I'd have a brighter future here.” He achieved that, starting SOFTtribe from very humble beginnings, and growing it into a successful case study. The SOFTtribe story is admired by many; it’s made Chinery-Hesse as a person, a working note of reference not only for start-ups but for already-flourishing entities and big corporations. When he moved to Ghana two decades ago to start the company, it was pretty hard at the time, seeing as he couldn’t even afford to purchase standard company software. He took to writing and selling programs. His tiny bedroom served as SOFTtribe’s office. But that didn’t deter him, as he pushed harder until recognition started flowing in. It paid off, as he slowly but progressively moved into offices. The motivation to do all that Chinery-Hesse has consistently said was to see Africa take a commanding role in the global IT trade, and not miss out on the numerous opportunities that existed. With over 300 clients including Unilever, Nestlé, and Ford Foundation; and Microsoft as a development partner in the region, it is fair to assume that Chinery-Hesse has built a successful SOFTtribe. A knowledgeable personality who’s been useful to several debates, Chinery-Hesse is winner of local and international awards including one for Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Texas State Alumni Association and Texas State University-San Marcos (USA). He is the first African recipient of that award. In 2005, he won an award for excellence in IT, at the Millennium Excellence Awards, in Ghana. An Assessor of the Commercial Court, in Accra, Ghana, his expertise has taken him to forums at the Cambridge University, TEDGlobal Conference in Tanzania, Harvard Business School, and the Wharton Business School, among others. Herman, a manufacturing engineer turned software engineer, has been interviewed and profiled severally by leading news networks. But it is not IT alone that makes him a likeable fellow. Part of what drive’s Chinery-Hesse’s personality, is his ability to speak compellingly on the changing trends in Africa, the opportunities that exist, and how the West can tap into the continent’s growing potential rather than become observers. For instance he’s time and again questioned why it is only the likes of China, Brazil and India who have found doing business in Africa attractive while the rest sit down and watch.