Herman Chinery-Hesse

Herman Chinery-Hesse – SOFTtribe

Herman Chinery-Hesse is the founder of the SOFTtribe, the largest software company in Ghana. Fifteen years ago Herman decided to abandon his comfortable life in the United Kingdom to prove to sceptical friends what he had always maintained - that his native Ghana was a land of opportunity waiting for entrepreneurs with innovative business ideas. With no start-up capital and little in the form of personal savings, no infrastructure, and no equipment other than his old personal computer, Herman had to rely on the only resources available to him: his determination and creative talent for writing software programs. The company now employs around 70 people and has a client base of more than 250 organisations, including major multinationals; it is also a Microsoft development partner in the region. SOFTtribe has won a number of awards including the Millennium Excellence Awards for IT in 2005. Herman holds a number of directorships and is an Assessor of the Commercial Court, Ghana.