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Herman Chinery-Hesse

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This article is about the Ghanaian technology businessman. For the German writer, see Hermann Hesse.

Herman Chinery-Hesse
Born(1963-11-18)18 November 1963
Dublin, Ireland
Died (aged 60)
Accra, Ghana
CitizenshipGhanaian
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Founder and Chairman of theSOFTtribe
SpouseSadia Chinery-Hesse[1]
Children2
Parents
Relatives

Herman Owula Kojo Chinery-Hesse (18 November 1963 – 17 September 2024) was a Ghanaian technology businessman and the founder of theSOFTtribe, the oldest and largest software company in Ghana.[2][3][4] He was popularly known as "the Bill Gates of Africa".[5][6][7] Chinery-Hesse also made the list of 15 Black STEM Innovators.[8] In March 2019, he was introduced as the Commonwealth Chair for Business and Technology Initiatives for Africa.[9]

Early life and education

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Further information: Hesse family and Clerk family

Herman Chinery-Hesse was born in Dublin, Ireland on 18 November 1963 to Lebrecht James Nii Tettey Chinery-Hesse and Mary Chinery-Hesse, née Blay.[10] His maternal grandfather was Robert Samuel Blay, a barrister and Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana in the First Republic. Blay was the first Vice President of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), of which he was a founding member and a Speaker of the 1969 Constituent Assembly.

Chinery-Hesse was educated at the Ridge Church School in Accra and Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast, Westlake High School in Austin, Texas and Texas State University, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Technology.[11]

Career

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In 1991, Chinery-Hesse co-founded theSOFTtribe, one of the leading software houses in Africa. Over the years, the company has pioneered a number of groundbreaking products in the following areas:[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]

  • Hei Julor!!! a low-cost, mobile-based, mass market community security alert system for Africa
  • Government payroll systems
  • ERP systems
  • Nationwide utility e-billing systems
  • Point of Sale Systems
  • Electronic payment systems
  • In addition to theSOFTtribe's proprietary payroll system, Akatua, other software products his firm introduced to the local market were Gbefalor (a travel package), Battor (forex management), Nzama (stock management), Eziban (restaurant management), Efuom (farm management), Bimbilla (a general ledger), and e-Susu (software for microfinance/peer-to-peer savings and credit)[19]

His project "Afrikan Echoes" is aimed at creating African audiobooks app for global consumption, such that for the first time ever Africans are in a position to tell their own stories to a worldwide audience.[20] He was an assessor for the Commercial Courts of Ghana.[21] He was also a real estate investor, with business interests in property development joint ventures in Ghana and Sierra Leone.[19][22]

Personal life and death

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Chinery-Hesse was married to Sierra Leonean lawyer, Sadia Atami Chinery-Hesse (née Clarke) [23][24][25] and they had two children, Nii Tettey and Naa Densua.[26] He died on 17 September 2024, at the age of 60. Chinery-Hesse was buried at the Graceland Memorial Garden, in Berekuso, located at the foothills of the Aburi ridge, near Accra.[19]

Honours and recognition

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Chinery-Hesse and his company have won numerous awards and accolades, including World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer (2008), the GUBA award in the UK for Exceptional Achievement, the Ghana Millennium Excellence Award for IT, the Ghana Club 100 Award for the Most Innovative Company, the "SMS" App of the Year Award, the Mobile World Lifetime Achievement Award and the Best Entrepreneur in Information and Communication Technology. He also won the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Texas State University, the first and currently only African recipient of the award.[2] The City of San Marcos, Texas also gave him the honorary key to the city.[19]

He was also honoured at the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards (GECEA) and the African Innovation Award for ICT Leadership and the Ghana Legacy Honours.[19]

Chinery-Hesse was also bestowed with a honorary chieftaincy title by Ghanaian traditional leaders in recognition of his contributions to national development and technology. [19] He was also adjudged the Microsoft African Partner of the Year.[27]

Chinery-Hesse was a speaker at many prestigious institutions including the University of Oxford, Harvard Business School, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Chatham House and Tech4Africa. He also played a supporting role in the realm of technology and innovation to many Ghanaian presidents in their international engagements. He was a TED Fellow and featured heavily in the international media's reportage on technology in Africa, including CNN, BBC and Al Jazeera, and in publications such as the Ghana Business & Finance Times, The Guardian, Forbes Africa, New African, IEEE Magazine, The Financial Times, among many others.[2][5][28]

He was named one of "20 Notable Black Innovators in Technology", one of Africa's "Top 20 Tech Influencers", among the 2Top 100 Most Influential Africans of our Time", and one of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" by Foreign Policy Magazine.[29][30]

A conference room at Google's Nairobi, Kenya's office is named after him.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ "Sadia Chinery-Hesse". myenterprisegroup.io/. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "The Judges". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  3. ^ "Life In The Fast Lane With The Bill Gates of Ghana". Forbes Africa. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  4. ^ "The African Hacker". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. August 2005. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b Smith, David (25 August 2012). "New Africa: how an entrepreneur became 'the Bill Gates of Ghana'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
  6. ^ William, Wallis (10 October 2024). "Herman Chinery-Hesse, tech entrepreneur, 1963-2024".
  7. ^ "Remembering Herman Chinery-Hesse: Innovation, Humor, and Humanity | Kajsa HA". 19 September 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Ghana's Chinery-Hesse makes list of 15 Black STEM Innovators". Citi Fm Online. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Chinery-Hesse outdoored as C'wealth Business and Tech African Chair". MyJoyonline. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  10. ^ "A "Very Nice Man" Goes Home". DailyGuide Network. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  11. ^ "Herman Chinery-Hesse, Africa's 'father of technology'". Daily Maverick. 15 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
  12. ^ Welsing, Kobina (17 September 2024). "Tech pioneer Herman Chinery-Hesse passes away". Citi Newsroom. Archived from the original on 17 September 2024. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Ghanaian tech expert Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse is dead".
  14. ^ "Ghanaian tech pioneer Herman Chinery-Hesse is dead".
  15. ^ Amoah - +233(0)243818256, Henry Kweku; Amoah, Henry (18 September 2024). "Council Member, Mr. Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse Passes On". GCTU. Retrieved 23 October 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Renowned Ghanaian technology entrepreneur, Herman Chinery-Hesse dead - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  17. ^ "SOFTtribe's Herman Chinery-Hesse passes on".
  18. ^ "First Lady mouns Herman Chinery-Hesse; signs book of condolence - MyJoyOnline". www.myjoyonline.com. 19 September 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d e f "Biography: The man Herman Chinery-Hesse | 3News". 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  20. ^ "New African audio books to be launched worldwide - CNN Video". CNN. 27 May 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  21. ^ blackentrepreneurprofile.com. "Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse". Black Entrepreneurs & Executives Profiles. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Herman Chinery-Hesse (1963 - 2024)" (PDF).
  23. ^ "Sadia Chinery-Hesse". myenterprisegroup.io/. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Sadia Chinery-Hesse – Member - Ghana Center for Democratic Development". cddgh.org. 24 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Sadia Chinery-Hesse: Positions, Relations and Network - MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Herman Chinery-Hesse". Archived from the original on 27 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  27. ^ Babantsi, Mildred Xorlali (4 November 2024). "10 achievements of the late Herman Chinery-Hesse for which he will be remembered". Pulse Ghana. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Chinery-Hesse's Moment Of Truth". New African Magazine. 3 October 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Herman Kojo Chinery-Hesse". LSE Africa Summit. 30 March 2014. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  30. ^ Pavgi, Kedar (28 November 2011). "The FP Top 100 Global Thinkers". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  31. ^ Dzakpata, Fred (18 September 2024). "Six things you (probably) didn't know about Herman Chinery-Hesse". Asaase Radio. Archived from the original on 7 October 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  32. ^ Mensah, Kent (18 September 2024). "Why Chinery‑Hesse is a pivotal figure in West Africa's tech sector".
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