Foster Awintiti Akugri is a computer scientist and process engineer by education, an entrepreneur by training, and a volunteer by passion. His 9 years of experience span several fields including technology, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, innovation and policy design, community building, financial inclusion, business development, marketing, leadership, and more.
In 2015 he founded the Hacklab Foundation, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Ghana with a focus on preparing the youth for future digital jobs through technology education and skills development. Hacklab has also designed and implemented hackathons across 11 countries (Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, South Africa, Cameroon, Madagascar, Uganda, Kenya, Mali, Malawi, and Ethiopia). The Foundation has directly impacted over 17,000 people.
Foster currently serves as Lead of Africa for the Innovation Village, responsible for its sustainability and expansion across 17 new markets in Africa.
Before The Village, he was Head of Innovation at Old Mutual Ltd working closely with other business partners and players in the ecosystem to create new business models and commercial opportunities for Old Mutual. He also served as the Head of Youth Banking & Stanbic Business Incubator, at Stanbic Bank Ghana, driving financial inclusion for over 35,000 youth and advising 7000 startups and SMEs to become sustainable.
In 2018, Foster was the youngest participant at the World Economic Forum’s 48th Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.
In 2019, he was listed among 30 under 30 Future of Ghana Pioneers, and named Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leader by the Policy Center for the Global South, Morocco. He was also named amongst the Top 100 Most Influential Young Ghanaians and the Top 4 Most Influential Young Ghanaians in Science & Technology by Avance Media. He also received the President's Outstanding Youth Prize in Science and Technology by the Millennium Excellence Foundation under the patronage of HRH Otumfour Osei Tutu II.
In 2020, He was listed amongst Top 50 Young CEOs in Ghana by Avance Media, nominated for the 40 under 40 Awards in Ghana, honored by the Humanitarian Awards Ghana, and nominated for the Women’s Choice Awards.
In 2023, he was conferred a National Service Award in Volunteerism & Mentorship Excellence in Ghana for contributing to National Development and contributed to the Policy Centre for the New South´s Atlantic Currents on Tech & Trade across the New South.
He also serves on several boards, a 3x TEDx Speaker, and contributed to 200+ global conferences across over 27+ countries including the Annual Gathering, WEF on Africa, and John Hopkins University, Columbia University