Ghana - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

XCreativs, a Ghanaian tech startup, builds tech solutions to connect Africa and break its digital divide. We offer software services, build in-house tech products, train and educate Africans in relevant digital skills and research various technologies.

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

Our vision is to be the dominant African technology company that builds innovative and creative technological solutions to tackle Africa’s big problems. XCreativs operates on four pillars: XCreativs services, XCreativs products, xGroe and XCreativs Lab. We deliver tech services (software development services) by building technology solutions for individuals, governments and businesses (XCreativs services) and build in-house technology solutions (XCreativs products) for Africans (currently working on a health tech product called the Unity DigiHealth to digitalize health and connect health institutions in Africa). To make sure that Africans understand and are able to use our products and services, we launched xGroe to provide training and education of relevant digital skills to Africans. Lastly, XCreativs is built on research and curiosity and that is why the XCreativs lab is in existence to serve as Africa’s tech research lab. Every innovation in the company is influenced by this lab.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

XCreativs Technologies is addressing the digital divide and disconnectedness in Africa's government and business infrastructures. Many African businesses lack affordable and effective software solutions, often resorting to expensive systems from the West. Government systems are also fragmented, leading to inefficiencies where simple tasks take days or weeks to complete. XCreativs aims to partner with governments to achieve interoperability and streamline services. Additionally, we are tackling major challenges in health, education, financial services, and agriculture through our expertise and custom-built products, such as the Unity DigiHealth initiative and through the xGroe initiative.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

1. Custom tech solutions will improve efficiency and productivity in governments, businesses and individual lives, thus, these beneficiaries will be efficient in delivering their services or selling their products. 2. Interconnected health institutions and digital health system for improved health care access for Africans, to reduce health care delay (Unity DigiHealth project). 3. Enhanced digital literacy for individual Africans (through xGroe). 4. Interoperability of government agencies will boost government efficiency, transparency, responsiveness, citizen trust, and service delivery (through XCreativs 4 pillars). 5. Conducting research to tackle continental challenges like climate change and diseases among others and creating socio-technological solutions for a better African life. 6. Creating equal digital opportunities for Africans for prosperity. 7. Businesses will get access to continental market easily through custom software built for them (through XCreativs services).

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

1, Individual African users: XCreativs services, products and xGroe directly benefit individual users by providing access to customed developed software services, tech products like the Unity DigiHealth and educative resources, respectively. 2. Businesses: XCreativs services and products help companies reach customers, manage data, and improve operational efficiency. 3. Governments: XCreativs services and products benefit government by establishing an interoperable government system for efficient and productive governance.

01.05 When was your company established?

2024-01-01

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

Yes

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

0

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

0

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

Please I am the only owner.

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

https://xcreativs.com

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

h) IT (digital services, equipment and software)

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

6

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the potential to contribute positively to the No Poverty goal by expanding digital literacy through the xGroe initiative (which we've already started), facilitating business growth, improving government systems and human life through the XCreativs services, products and lab. When businesses get access to better tech solutions from XCreativs, it will help them to be efficient in delivering their services or selling their products, thereby promoting economic opportunities. The more people get access to relevant digital skills, the more capable they become and get employed or start their own businesses. Thus, contributing to the no poverty goal.

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

6

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the potential to contribute positively to the zero hunger goal through all our four pillars. We seek to contribute to agricultural systems for sufficient food production and improved agriculture through our own in-house built tech solutions to facilitate such production based on research from the XCreativs lab. Although we have started with our health project, it does not mean that is the end. The main aim of the XCreativs product and XCreativs lab is to research big problems in Africa of which food security is part and then, develop specific tech solutions in-house to solve these challenges. The XCreativs lab will allow researchers and farmers to analyze agricultural data and improve farming practices with inspiration from the research work we do inside the XCreativs lab. Also, upon making these research, we will build and deploy custom in-house solutions to solve such problems. This is how we seek to contribute to the Zero Hunger goal.

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

6

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the highest potential to contribute positively to the Good Health and Well-being goal through all our four pillars. We aim to contribute to digital health systems to ensure healthy lives and especially promote well-being at all ages. We have started a tech solution to achieving this goal called the Unity DigiHealth. This is one of the main aims of the XCreativs product and XCreativs lab pillars, to research big problems in Africa of which health is part and then, develop specific tech solutions in-house to solve these challenges. The Unity DigiHealth project will connect all health institutions together ensuring interoperability in their service delivery. This way, all Africans will get access to health services directly from their phones and also, the sharing of data between health institutions will be seamless allowing for a faster health treatment. This project is set to start from Ghana and then, expanded into the other African countries. This is just the start.

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the highest potential to contribute positively to the Quality Education goal through all our four pillars, especially through the xGroe. We aim to contribute to quality education to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning. We have started an initiative towards the achievement of this goal called xGroe. xGroe is the education and training pillar of XCreativs with the mission to break the digital literacy divide. We have launched two free workshops offering training in graphic design. We have also launched our mega graphic design course which is set to start in August. We have plans of reaching out to various communities and schools and teaching them digital skills. We believe that education should easily be accessible and affordable in Africa to break the digital divide, and so we aim to building an educational platform for Africa and collaborating with the right institutions to deliver the goal of quality digital education.

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

5

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the potential to contribute positively to the Gender Equality goal through all our four pillars. We believe that giving all genders access to quality education simply gives them the edge to compete healthily in the job market. We help to achieve this through the xGroe initiative. By educating both males and females equally, we set a standard where all genders qualify to work in the workplace, especially the tech space to make sure that no one is left out. And also, we encourage females to partake in our courses and get involved in the tech industry. With regards to our service delivery and product development in-house, we seek to employ both genders to occupy all positions if they qualify. By so doing, we give both genders the opportunity to apply for job openings and if they qualify, we recruit them. I think in this way, there is no discrimination.

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

6

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the potential to contribute positively to the Clean Water and Sanitation goal through all our four pillars. Research is what drives our innovation, makes us more creative and gives us the ability to solve big problems in Africa. The XCreativs lab has the potential to raise awareness about water conservation and sanitation issues and if any technological solution is needed, we build them in-house and publish to the outside world. Also, our lab has the potential to design technological solutions to be built in-house to map water resources and identify areas of scarcity that need attention and solutions. By so doing, we make sure that, we contribute to clean water and sanitation goals on the continent.

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

6

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

XCreativs lab has the potential to research in renewable energy technologies like solar and wind power and design tech products of that nature to solve any related issues. Complimenting this is by building technological solutions as products of the company to Africans to make such renewable and clean energy solutions affordable and easily accessible to everyone. Since XCreativs is in the starting phase of business, we have not achieved much in this area, but we seek to build the right infrastructures through our research lab and in-house built products to address any related issues concerning affordable and clean energy, since we have the capacity.

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

6

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

Xcreativs has the potential to contribute to Decent Work and Economic Growth through the software services like website development among others we offer to businesses and entrepreneurs to support them and make them more productive and efficient. Training and education through xGroe have the potential to equip Africans with relevant digital skills needed for jobs in the digital economy thereby, amounting to economic growth on the continent.

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

6

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

XCreativs' Unity DigiHealth is an innovative technological solution to helping Africans get access to quality healthcare anywhere, anytime empowering them to live healthier lives and innovate more through their work and businesses. Also, the XCreativs services, products and lab will provide infrastructure for businesses and organizations to innovate and create new and better technological solutions to help solve some of Africa's biggest problems of internet connectivity and more.

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

6

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the highest potential to contribute positively to the reduced inequalities goal through all our four pillars. XCreativs can help bridge the digital divide and empower people in disadvantaged communities to also partake in the digital economy through the xGroe initiative. XCreativs strives to develop technological solutions in-house and deliver tech services that is accessible to people with disabilities, small businesses and individual entrepreneurs.

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

6

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

XCreativs has the highest potential to contribute positively to the sustainable cities and communities goal through all our four pillars. Through our services, products and lab, we can build technological solutions like data analytics tech products that can help in urban planning and the development or building of smart cities. Also, we can build better technological solutions for government use to detect unforeseen natural disasters or other unfavorable circumstances through our in-house products which will be backed by research from the XCreativs lab.

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

5

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

We support and contribute to the responsible consumption and production goal by adopting sustainable practices such as using only the electrical energy that are required for our business processes and nothing more. By doing this, we conserve energy for the longer use and make sure that, no energy goes to waste through unimportant activities. Also, when it comes to our product side of the company, we are looking at building sustainable energy infrastructures like solar panels as part of our tech products in the near future so that, our greater reliance on energy in Africa will shift to renewable energies for a brighter and sustainable continent.

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

6

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

Through our XCreativs lab, we can make research about climate action in Africa and the world and then use technologies to build solutions to sustain a better climate for our continent through our XCreativs product pillar of the startup company. Also, we can secure meaningful partnerships with the various climate related organizations in Africa and build technological infrastructures for them through the services we provide to enhance the productivity of their work and make them more efficient in their forecast and activities.

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

6

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

Through the XCreativs lab, services and products pillars of the startup company, we can do intensive research and build specific tools to assist marine conservation efforts. This could be building systems as products of the company or delivering services to marine institutions or other institutions related to water bodies for tracking fishing activities among others.

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

5

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

Through the XCreativs lab, products and services pillars of the startup company, we can research into various topics surrounding wildlife, forests and terrestrial ecosystems and develop analytical technological solutions to help stakeholders in that field to make better informed decisions that could lead to combating desertification and halt & reverse land degradation and biodiversity loss. We can also build tracking tech solutions on technologies like AI to track activities related to land degradation and deforestation. We can do all these through the tech services we provide as software services or through in-house built tech products.

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

5

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

At XCreativs, we support this goal of peace, justice and strong institutions by making sure we use our tech products to promote peaceful and inclusive societies by promoting transparency and justice through our products for a sustainable continent and provide our services to the right institutions who stand for a peaceful cause.

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

XCreativs is a company that is willing to partner with governments, NGOs and other organizations to support various initiatives that align with the SDGs. Since we have four pillars (xGroe, XCreativs lab, XCreativs services and XCreativs products), in order to achieve our goals of breaking the digital divide and connecting Africa, we will definitely partner with governments and the right institutions to make our mission possible as we align our activities with the SDGs.

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

5

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

6

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

3

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

4

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

6

06.08 Justification for my startup

XCreativs encourages ambitious and outlandish ideas through initiatives like Unity DigiHealth, fostering a culture of innovation that pushes boundaries. We also leverage vast amounts of data from the XCreativs lab to inform in-house product development and services to deliver, leading to highly optimized user experiences. Xcreativs actively utilizes open-source software projects, fostering collaboration within the tech industry and looking to contributing to such developments soon. What defines our uniqueness the more is our vision and mission to connect Africa together and break the digital divide. Also, we give back to our community through our free workshops on teaching digital skills. These are what make us unique on all levels of our company's production.

06.09 Competitive Analysis

Our competitors are the various software development companies in Ghana like Msoft Ghana, Turntabl, Axon Info Systems among others. What makes us unique is our research-focused development. Through our lab, we make in-depth research to make sure we build in-house products that are specific to the individual big problems in Africa and deliver quality services. An example is our ongoing health project. The xGroe initiative faces competition from Ghanaian educational institutions like OpenLabs, ALX, IPMC and various Universities and training institutes in Ghana among others. Ghana and Africa often seek Western tech solutions, neglecting their own. This lack of trust in human resources is a competitive advantage for XCreativs. By building widely used tech systems in Africa for governments, businesses and individuals that demonstrate expertise, we will gain the trust in our brand and that will give us the competitive advantage to attract more students for xGroe and clients for the company.

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes, XCreativs is initiating actions in our community to promote female entrepreneurship. We are doing that through organizing workshops for both males and females to teach them relevant digital skills, creating an equal opportunity for females to also partake in the digital economy. We do this through the xGroe initiative. We have already organized two free graphic design workshops. We are now marketing our mega graphic design course for August of which we are encouraging more females to join.