Ghanaian team a global finalist in Google challenge

Golden Baobab and CLAK Impressions, a group of four young Ghanaian entrepreneurs-in-training at the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST), have been named Global Finalists in the 2012 Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC). Out of 11,000 participants from 86 countries, the Ghanaian team was 1st in Africa, 2nd in the Africa-Middle East region and a Global finalist. This win makes this young group of Ghanaians one of the top 20 Google online marketers in the world today.

Golden Baobab, a dynamic Ghanaian social enterprise fuelling the global imagination through African children’s literature, was picked by the MEST group from a complete listing of Ghanaian businesses as their partners of choice for the GOMC. To fulfill the requirements set by Google, MEST students Kwasi Owusu Achiaw, Lenny Wosornu, Seth Adinkra and Charles Mensah designed a campaign to drum up page views and increase submissions for the Golden Baobab Prize, an annual literary award organized by Golden Baobab to inspire and reward the very best talent producing African children’s literature. Golden Baobab’s social media strategy and online marketing savvy combined with the innovations of the MEST entrepreneurs made for an unstoppable team. In addition to being named a Global Finalist, the team was also named as a contender for the highly prestigious Social Impact Award which comes with a large cash prize and will be announced at the end of August.

Contacted about the news of this victory, the Executive Director of Golden Baobab, Deborah Ahenkorah, said “The results of this challenge are truly phenomenal. The Golden Baobab-MEST team set what we thought was the overly-ambitious target of 250 story submissions from 15 countries. We surpassed that goal and were delighted to receive 450 stories from 19 countries. We therefore exceeded the challenge by almost a 100% and that’s a winning story we hope the Social Impact Award jury is aware of! We are keeping our fingers crossed for that announcement at the end of August.”

Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Google Ghana Lead, expressed great pride in the group’s achievement and said "You have raised the Ghana flag high. To the MEST team, we say "Ayekoo!" and hope your win will encourage other teams across Ghana and Africa to participate in the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) in the future. The results of the Golden Baobab campaign are testimony to the incredible potential of online marketing. A great job done!" Lenny Wosornu, team lead of CLAK Impressions, which is starting a marketing consultancy firm on the wings of this success, declared that “all companies in Ghana who embrace online marketing in the way Golden Baobab has can also vastly exceed their set marketing and organizational targets.”

The Golden Baoabab-MEST victory certainly seems to prove that with online marketing Ghanaian companies could boost their competitive advantage and assume a dominant place in the global economy.

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Note to Editors:

GOMC
The Google online marketing challenge is an annual competition which was developed to provide participating teams with a hands-on opportunity to acquire skills in online marketing through a Google sponsored online marketing campaign for a businesses or non-governmental organisation chosen by participants over a three week period. The competition offers students the chance to pair with a business or social enterprise of their choice and increase the organisation’s brand awareness using only $200 worth of Google Adwords.

Golden Baobab
Golden Baobab, established in July 2008, encourages the writing of African literature for children and young adults by recognizing gifted authors of the genre. It organizes the Golden Baobab Prize, which invites entries of unpublished short stories written by African citizens irrespective of age, race, or country of origin. Golden Baobab was co-founded by Ghanaian Deborah Ahenkorah and Senegalese-born Rama Shagaya. Its Advisory Board includes renowned author, Ama Ata Aidoo, and founder of the Global Fund for Children, Maya Ajmera.
Website: www.goldenbaobab.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/goldenbaobab
Twitter: www.twitter.com/goldenbaobab
Media contact:
Famia Nkansa
Communications Officer
+233- 245-46-1915
famia@goldenbaobab.org


MEST
The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology – or MEST – was established in Accra, Ghana, through the non-profit Meltwater Foundation, with the aim of creating jobs and wealth locally in Africa by training young Africans to become software entrepreneurs. During the intensive two-year program at MEST, Entrepreneurs in Training (EITs) work with experienced business executives, university graduates and current MBA students from top universities worldwide to develop software applications and prepare them for launch in the global marketplace. The MEST concept was developed by Jorn Lyseggen, CEO of the Meltwater Group, a global Software as a Service (SaaS) company founded in Norway in 2001. He believes that talent is everywhere, and that with the right support and guidance people can achieve great things. This belief is the foundation for MEST, which is proving that a new generation of young, successful global software entrepreneurs can originate in Africa.
Website: www.meltwater.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Mestofficial
Twitter: twitter.com/MESTghana

CLAK Impressions:
CLAK impressions is an online marketing consultancy firm with the aim of helping businesses in Africa integrate online marketing into their overall marketing plan. This is a great opportunity for businesses to use online communication channels to reach targeted audiences, build online presence and brand recognition, and increase lead generation. The company was established by the MEST team that worked with Golden Baobab in the Google online marketing competition. Our services include Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search engine marketing (SEM), Social media marketing (SMM) and website optimization.
Website: www.clakimpressions.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/clakimpressions
Telephone Contact: 0242-383949


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