Coral Reef Innovation Africa Managing Partner, Richard Osei-Anim.
ALX Ghana has brought together innovators, educators, and leaders in technology at a high-energy event focused on developing Ghana’s next generation of digital talent.
The event, held on June 10, 2025, at the ALX Hub in Accra, was themed “Driving Ghana’s Next Generation of Digital Talent” and drew participants from across the country’s digital ecosystem.
One of the most striking presentations came from Coral Reef Innovation Africa, represented by its Managing Partner, Richard Osei-Anim.
In a presentation that blended urgency with inspiration, Osei-Anim used a video to demonstrate how artificial intelligence is rapidly changing industries worldwide—from aviation and healthcare to agriculture and finance—while Africa risks being left behind.
“The jobs that we love, those jobs will be swept away over the next 20 to 30 years,” the video warned. “AI can do it faster, cheaper, better than you can. All those jobs will be lost in time, like tears in rain.”
Osei-Anim’s message, however, was not one of despair but a rallying call. He challenged the audience to consider why Africa has yet to see billion-dollar investments in AI or significant numbers of young people training as machine learning specialists and data scientists.
He stressed that digital transformation must begin at the margins, not just in urban centres and boardrooms.
“It has to start in the villages, in special needs schools, on farms, and in homes where children still dream despite the odds,” he said.
Coral Reef’s work over the past few years reflects that vision. In partnership with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, the organisation has deployed tens of thousands of smart devices and set up digital labs in primary and senior high schools across underserved communities.
These interventions have opened access to digital learning for children who previously had none.
A core part of Coral Reef’s strategy targets groups at the bottom of the pyramid, including girls, children with disabilities, and schools in remote areas.
In collaboration with the Otumfuo Foundation, Coral Reef has installed labs in schools in Wiawso, Kona, Gona, and the Ahafo regions, ensuring inclusion regardless of location or circumstance.
Looking ahead, Coral Reef will launch a new learning solution, LearnAIrium, on June 25.
The initiative will offer devices bundled with curated content, internet access, and insurance, available through subscription or pay-as-you-go plans.
It is supported by partners including Absa Bank, MTN, Coronation, and Old Mutual.
The initiative is also expanding beyond Ghana. Coral Reef is partnering with Access Bank to bring its model to Nigeria and Eswatini, forming part of a broader effort to build a Pan-African platform for digital transformation.
Partnerships with ALX and the Otumfuo Foundation are also central to its vision.
Speaking to the gathering, Osei-Anim said Coral Reef is committed to creating opportunities rather than waiting for them.
“We are transforming forgotten communities into digital havens,” he said. “We are not waiting for ideal conditions—we are creating them.”
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the global economy, Coral Reef Innovation Africa is positioning itself as a leader in inclusive technology.
Its work signals a shift in how Africa can prepare its youth for the future—not through promises, but through platforms, access, and practical opportunity.
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