Sproxil CEO named Social Entrepreneur 2014

The Chief Executive Officer of Sproxil, Dr Ashifi Gogo, has been named the Social Entrepreneur for 2014 by a Geneva-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

Dr Ashifi, together with Mr Patrick Awuah of the Ashesi University, was one of the two Ghanaians who made it into the list of Social Entrepreneurs for the year.

The Sproxil CEO, a Ghanaian-born technology entrepreneur based in the United States of America (USA), was selected, alongside 37 others, in recognition of his innovative approach to everyday problems.

The innovative approach, the Sproxil Product Authentication, which earned him the honors, makes it possible for people and institutions to determine and protect genuine brands and products using their mobile phones.

A statement from the Schwab Foundation said the 2014 crop of social entrepreneurs would add to a Schwab Foundation community of social entrepreneurs, which currently comprises 250 people from 60 countries across the globe.

Social entrepreneurs are mostly people who provide innovative solutions to pressing societal problems through which they make profit.

Sproxil, which was founded by Dr Gogo, has through its mobile product authentication system provided solutions to the pressing issues of counterfeiting, substandard production and duplication of brands by making it possible for consumers to determine genuine brands and products through text messaging.

The solution, which was introduced in response to the rising incidence of counterfeit medicines in Africa and other developing countries, makes it possible for a consumer or interested person to determine the genuineness or otherwise of a brand and/or product such as medicines just by texting a hidden code to a general number and receiving an instant notifications on the request.

The solution is currently in use by selected companies in most developing countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, India and the USA, where it was founded.

Although the Sproxil Mobile Authentication Product was introduced into the pharmaceutical sector, it has now been extended to include brand protection, thereby making it possible for companies to sign on to the solution to protect their brands from being duplicated by counterfeiters.

Dr Ashifi, who is currently overseeing the operations of the company from USA, once told the GRAPHIC BUSINESS that the goal of the company for the years ahead would be to connect consumers to genuine brands, while helping to save lives.