Derick Ofosu-Koranteng, founder and CEO of Cyclux Consult, delivered a sobering message to attendees at the Future Tech Kid AI workshop in Accra, building a technology company in Africa is less about chasing hype and more about enduring the grind.
Speaking at the Ibis Styles Hotel, Ofosu-Koranteng, whose firm provides website Development, Custom Enterprise Systems and IT Business Consulting across Ghana and the UK, warned against the “sprint mentality” that dominates social media narratives around artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. “With technology, you need roots more than fruits,” he told participants. “Endurance beats excitement.”
Ofosu-Koranteng traced his journey from what he called “Lodebar,” a place of hopelessness where “nobody believes in you,” to running Cyclux, a company that has delivered enterprise solutions for clients in the UK, US, Senegal, and Australia. Remarkably, he noted, he has never owned a passport or boarded a plane, pointing to the reach of digital platforms.
“Technology can move you without you moving,” he said, highlighting how internet connectivity alone enabled him to build a global portfolio.
The CEO stressed that African founders must often play multiple roles, developer, designer, marketer, project manager, because outsourcing can lead to disappointment. “Immediately you try to over-outsource, you will be over-disappointed,” he cautioned.
He also pointed to structural challenges: unreliable electricity, limited access to devices, and cultural expectations that prioritize personal relationships over product quality. “Here, when people want to purchase, they want to know who you are, who your father is, who vouches for you,” he said.
Cyclux has recently ventured into sports technology, developing systems for football clubs that track player performance and nutrition. Ofosu-Koranteng emphasized that such sector-specific expertise takes years to build. “It’s not about saying ‘I’m an AI engineer.’ Can you provide AI solutions for hospitality? For governance? That’s what makes you unique.”
He contrasted this with the rapid collapse of many Ghanaian startups, often within six months. “I know a lot of young people who own businesses and are still looking for jobs,” he said, citing poor financial record-keeping and overreliance on personal funds as common pitfalls.
Beyond technical skills, Ofosu-Koranteng urged founders to cultivate humility and collaboration. “There’s this atmosphere around tech here. It makes you naturally proud. You need to kill that demon,” he said.
He argued that African entrepreneurs must work “three times harder” than peers elsewhere, given trust deficits and competitive undercutting even from within their own teams.
For Cyclux, consistency has been key. “What I’ve been doing every year is what I’ve done as of now. I’ve not changed,” Ofosu-Koranteng said, describing his brand’s evolution as a steady chain of processes rather than abrupt pivots.
He outlined four stages of startup growth, idea appearance, idea morphism, idea stability, and root sampling, urging founders to resist the temptation of premature publicity. “Big vision means real-world pressure,” he warned.
The message resonated with the workshop’s purpose, to prepare young Africans for the realities of AI and digital entrepreneurship. “Failure is common here. Sometimes you cry. But you need to fail early, build early,” Ofosu-Koranteng noted.
