Founder | Advisory Board Member | Adjunct Lecturer | Consultant | Philanthropist
I am Foster Awintiti Akugri, a Ghanaian born to two loving parents who both hail from the Upper East Region of Ghana but migrated to southern Ghana, settling in Ashaiman, a municipality in the Greater Accra Region. I was born in Taifa, a suburb of Ashaiman and moved in 2001 to a different neighbourhood called Lebanon, also a suburb of Ashaiman. It was then a new site. Few buildings, one major road. Life was quiet there — you couldn’t believe it was Ashaiman.
One of the biggest things my parents kept drumming into our heads was this — “It doesn’t matter where you come from. What matters most is how you influence where you get to. The decisions you make today lead you where you get to tomorrow.”
Today, I hold 3 degrees, I am still counting my professional certifications. I founded the Hacklab Foundation which prepares the youth for future jobs, impacted over 12K young people and places over 1300 into jobs. I’ve barely ever interviewed for a job and am grateful for my other entrepreneurial adventures outside of Tech. I believe my life’s mission is to help others find their path and I do so at the slightest opportunity I have through the organizations and projects I work on.
What were the biggest initial hurdles and how did you overcome them?
I was introduced to Keren Akoh who became my mentor in designing and running Hacklab in its first and second year. It was a tough journey in the beginning. So hard finding people who wanted to take it as something they were fully committed to. But it paid off over time. It’s incredible that we are able to mobilize close to 300 volunteers at-a-go for our events these days.
What books are you currently reading:
I decided to share my reading list for 2022, just in case you find any interesting
- Sam Walton: Made in America by Sam Walton
- The Innovator's Dilemma by Clayton Christensen
- Will by Will Smith
- Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein
- Origin Story: A Big History of Everything David by Christian
- Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design by Paul Resnick, Robert E. Kraut, and Sara Kiesler
What advice would you give to an upcoming youth or talents locally and internationally? What are your final words?
The biggest things for me are consistency and giving God the credit. Wisdom is basically the application of knowledge. We should always seek wisdom while we acquire knowledge, never forgetting that people play significant roles in our successes.
Social Media Handles:
LinkedIn: fosterakugri
Facebook: Awintiti
Instagram: Awintiti
Twitter: Awintiti
YouTube: Foster Awintiti Akugri
Website: fosterakugri.com