Alosius Akonteh: African Problems Are Best Solved in Africa

Akoben: Stories of Impact. Tales of Courage is a series that speaks about the power of education as a tool for transformative change in the world. They are told through the lens of Mastercard Foundation Scholars and Alumni. Here is Alosius’s story.

Alosius Akonteh describes himself as a passionate young African with a deep interest in technology, the intricacies of the human mindset, and social issues. He was raised by his father, who was a driver, and his mother, a hairdresser in Yaounde, Cameroon. Alosius’s parents toiled tirelessly to ensure their children received the education they could not attain.

After graduating from high school in 2019, Alosius took a gap year to invest in self-improvement. A fellow student from his high school attended a program involving Ashesi University and encouraged him to apply. Eager to solve African problems from within the continent and witness firsthand real-life case studies, he applied to Ashesi. Though his heart was set on computer science, his curiosity for hardware led him to opt for computer engineering.

The news of Alosius’ scholarship was met with some reservation from his parents as the concept of a scholarship was unfamiliar. Nevertheless, they supported his pursuit of higher education abroad, making him the first in his family to attend university outside the country.

I chose Ashesi because I feel solving African problems is best learned in Africa.”

At Ashesi, Alosius unearthed a passion beyond his major. His love for research pushed him to learn to be a problem solver and create practical solutions for real-world challenges. The process of critical thinking encouraged him to explore alternative approaches to problem-solving. While spending time at the career services office, Alosius found himself engrossed in writing about students’ motivations for seeking guidance and their hesitations. These observations inspired the careers team to make changes in their operations. This included changes in the office design to make it more friendly to students and capitalizing on student referrals. In addition to Alosius’s academic pursuits, he developed an interest in photography. He delved into technical aspects such as lighting and lenses, further enriching his open-mindedness and creative horizons.

Alosius advises prospective applicants to explore and interact with different people. He observes that many Scholars gravitate towards those they are already familiar with, inadvertently missing out on the opportunity to connect with new and fascinating individuals.

“I am grateful for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. We have dedicated support and a lot of opportunities. It is almost impossible to fail unless you choose to.”

Alosius looks forward to building a career in the data science and machine learning ecosystem, which he believes will shed light on how things work and enable connections between different problems to find effective solutions.

Read more stories from the Akoben series