Ethel Cofie, a leading woman entrepreneur influencing IT in Africa

April 4, 2021 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, Founder & CEO, EDEL Technology Consulting (Ghana)

Lioness Weekender Cover Story

EDEL Technology Consulting, combining strategy and technology to bring business success to clients.

Named one of the Top 5 Women influencing IT in Africa, Ethel Cofie is CEO and Founder of EDEL Technology Consulting, an IT Consulting Company in West Africa and Europe which was recently named IT Consulting Firm of the year by the Telecoms and IT Industry. Ethel is also the Founder of Women in Tech Africa, the continent’s largest women in tech group with members in over 30 African countries and in the diaspora and growing, and the 2018 UN Equals in Tech Award Winner, Leadership Category. She created Women in Tech Week, a global event that impacts over 10,000 women globally. Ethel currently sits on the Advisory Board for Ghana’s Vice President, helping to design a Digital Strategy for Ghana. She also sits on the Tech Advisory board for the Graca Machel Trust. She has been featured on BBC/CNN/FT/Wired UK giving her thoughts on the topics of doing business on Africa, technology in Africa, Africa technology ecosystems and women leadership in business in Africa.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

September 16, 2019 Melanie Hawken

“Don’t only learn from your mistakes, learn from other people’s mistakes too.”

Ethel Cofie, Founder & CEO of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana)

100 LIONESSES: Ethel Cofie, a pioneering leader of Africa's 'Women-in-Tech'

September 15, 2019 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie is a leading tech entrepreneur from Ghana and the founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting, a company that provides IT and software services as an enabler and catalyst for businesses to achieve their goals. Ethel is the founder of Women in Tech Africa, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT. She has been featured by the BBC and CNN for her work in technology and promoting women's leadership. Ethel sits on numerous boards and is also a President Obama Washington Fellow for Leadership (YALI).

Read Ethel's full '100 Lionesses' profile here.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

October 9, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, techpreneur & founder of Edel Technologies, Ghana — Ethel Cofie, techpreneur & founder of Edel Technologies, Ghana

"I believe entrepreneurship is Africa's way out of poverty. Entrepreneurship is on the increase, because Africa, at last has been emerging and the economies are booming -- several countries are starting to really increase entrepreneurial activity and move to opportunity entrepreneurship, rather than necessity entrepreneurship."

- Ethel Cofie is a technology entrepreneur and the CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting in Ghana. As a high caliber IT Professional, Ethel has gained a wealth of technical and commercial experience across a wide range of demanding roles having worked in the United Kingdom, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone on projects for organizations like Bill and Melinda Gates Mobile Technology for Health project, the Ford Foundation’s Election Monitoring project for Nigeria and as Head of Commercial Solutions for Vodafone. Ethel is founder of Women in Tech Africa, was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT, and is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI).

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

August 23, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technologies (Ghana) — **Ethel Cofie**, founder of Edel Technologies (Ghana)

"I think one of the challenges is that women don’t have enough mentors that really do push them beyond their comfort zones, encourage them to dream bigger, to think bigger, and to really supersize their dreams."

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has been featured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

July 31, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana) — **Ethel Cofie**, founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana)

“Just because you have failed at something does not make you a failure.”

- Ethel Cofie is a leading tech entrepreneur from Ghana and the founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting, a company that provides IT and software services as an enabler and catalyst for businesses to achieve their goals. Ethel is the founder of Women in Tech Africa, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for work supporting women in ICT. She has been featured by the BBC and CNN for her work in technology and promoting women's leadership. Ethel sits on numerous boards and is also a President Obama Washington Fellow for Leadership (YALI).

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

May 9, 2017 Melanie Hawken

"Entrepreneurship is not new to Africans. We are after-all masters of survivalist entrepreneurship What needs to be taught is how to create strong, scalable industry giants…"

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has been featured on BBC and CNN for her work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Africa and was recently named one of the 'Top 5 Women Impacting I.T. in Africa' by South Africa's Mail & Guardian.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

January 26, 2017 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana) — **Ethel Cofie**, founder of Edel Technology Consulting (Ghana)

"We don’t celebrate failure enough."

- Ethel Cofie, is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. She runs the women in tech group in Ghana and is a founder of the Women in Tech Africa Alliance. In 2014, Ethel was selected to be a President Obama Washington Fellow.

Ethel Cofie recognized as Africa’s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government for ICT by CEO Global

November 27, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder & CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting in Ghana — **Ethel Cofie**, founder & CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting in Ghana

Ethel Cofie, CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting is Africa’s Most Influential Woman in Business and Government for the ICT Category, according to CEO Global. The award was conferred on her in South Africa on Tuesday November 23, 2016. The awards are the leading African recognition programme honoring excellence in the private and public sector. The programme covers 23 economic sectors and has for the past sixteen years independently recognized leaders who are at the pinnacle of their industry.

100 LIONESSES: Women in Tech Founder, Ethel Cofie, Announces Largest Global Gathering of Women in Technology Week Celebration to be Held Across Africa and the Diaspora

September 25, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Women in Tech Founder and CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting, Ethel Cofie, has announced the first and largest ever global women in technology week to be held both physically and virtually in over 40 countries.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

August 8, 2016 Melanie Hawken

“Access to the internet is critical – the internet is no longer a luxury; it’s important for development,”

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has beenfeatured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

100 LIONESSES: Ethel Cofie participates in the Citi Business Festival in Ghana focused on “Technology Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century”

June 10, 2016 Melanie Hawken

The first outdoor event of the Citi Business Festival, The Footprint, takes place at the Ghana Telecom University College. A key participant, Ethel Cofie, will be contributing to the event theme: “Technology Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century”.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

May 17, 2016 Melanie Hawken

"I think the belief that Africa is rising must move from the mere rhetoric to actual practical achievements. Africa cannot be rising if we cannot produce enough electricity for businesses to grow, amongst other things. So it is nice to say Africa is Rising or Ghana is Rising. But the rhetoric must be backed solidly."

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has beenfeatured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

100 LIONESSES: Ethel Cofie's Edel Technology Consulting is nominated for IT Consulting Firm of The Year

May 16, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder Edel Technology Consulting, Ghana

EDEL Technology Consulting, founded by Ethel Cofie has been nominated in this year’s Ghana Telecom Award now re-branded Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards (GITTA), in the category “IT consulting firm of the year”. This follows hot on the heels of being judged one of the '100 Most Globally Competitive Startups in Ghana', compiled by one of the country’s reputed media rating establishments, Avance Media, together with The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) and Joy Business.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

May 5, 2016 Melanie Hawken

"My personal goal going forward is to ensure that my dreams are not small and comfortable, but rather big and audacious, even scary, so that I can be motivated enough to feel excited about the challenges ahead when I wake up in the morning."

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has beenfeatured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

Quote of the Day by Ethel Cofie

April 28, 2016 Melanie Hawken

"Dream big, keep on trying, this is our time. This is Africa’s time."

- Ethel Cofie is a Ghanaian-born entrepreneur and founder of Edel Technologies. This techpreneur is passionate about technology, female leadership and empowering women entrepreneurs. Ethel is a Mandela Fellow for President Obama’s Young African Leaders initiative(YALI), and has beenfeatured in BBC and CNN for work in technology and women leadership. She is the founder of Women in Tech Ghana, initiator of the 1st Pan African woman in tech meetup and was shortlisted for the UN GEM Tech Award for her work supporting women in ICT.

VIDEO: Ethel Cofie, one of the top 5 women changing the face of Tech in Africa

February 16, 2016 Melanie Hawken

Watch this fascinating interview with Ethel Cofie, one of the leading women in Africa's tech scene, in which she discusses her personal entrepreneurial journey and how she is also helping to propel more women in tech to be successful.

Entrepreneur Advice from Ethel Cofie - Stop second guessing and just jump

December 23, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder of Edel Technologies — **Ethel Cofie**, founder of Edel Technologies

Stop second guessing and just jump....

"Remember the mistakes you make are all part of learning, so instead of overthinking things just do it, and on your way down you will figure it out."

Ethel Cofie: Diversity in tech: Joining the boys for golf?

October 22, 2015 Melanie Hawken

Ethel Cofie, founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting — **Ethel Cofie,** founder and CEO of Edel Technology Consulting

Source: How We Made it in Africa | by Dinfin Mulupi | 20 October 2015

Silicon Valley’s diversity problem has been a subject of much debate in recent years. Women and minorities remain under-represented in tech companies and venture capital firms. In Africa’s tech industry, women are becoming more visible but they too face challenges.