Episode 277: Building Biotech Ecosystems for Africans with David Hutchful

Greetings Glocal Citizens! I met this week's guest last month as a fellow AfroTalks 2025 (https://afrotalks.com) speaker. Our collective charge for the event was to present our ideas about the "how" of Pan-African progress from mindset, to skills development to migration policy and the future of work. While I shared insights from the future of work salon series, our guest this week, David Hutchful participated on a panel discussing skills development. Born in Ghana, David is a passionate technologist, entrepreneur, educator, and design thinking expert dedicated to building tech-driven solutions in emerging markets. With over 25 years of experience in software development, he has led teams to create award-winning innovative platforms that drive business and social impact in Ghana and abroad. As Co-Founder and CTO of Yemaachi Biotech (YC21) (https://www.yemaachi.com/company/), he is working to build the most diverse genomic database to advance precision oncology. Previously, he co-founded Bloom Impact, led technology innovation at Grameen Foundation, and worked at Microsoft Research. His expertise spans Fintech, Health tech, and Biotech, with a focus on leveraging technology for meaningful change--all topics we touch on in our conversation. Where to find David? On LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhutchful/?originalSubdomain=gh) On Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dkhutchful/) On Facebook (https://web.facebook.com/dhutchful) On YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz-BUKLGAqE) What’s David watching? Dept. Q (https://www.netflix.com/title/81487660?source=35&fromWatch=true) on Netflix What’s David riding and a few motorcycle clubs in Accra: Yamaha XSR900 (https://yamahamotorsports.com/models/xsr900) Ultimate Riders MC (https://www.instagram.com/ultimate_riders_mc/) Hotwheels Ghana MC (https://www.facebook.com/hotwheelsghanamc/) Biker Girls GH (https://www.instagram.com/bikergirlsgh/?hl=en) Other topics of interest: Apam, Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apam) Adukrom, Ghana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adukrom) About Abelempke, Accra (https://www.foxsports.com/stories/soccer/abelemkpe-a-tale-of-two-cities-within-a-city) What is the Africa Rising Movement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa_Rising) about? About Ahaspora (https://www.ahaspora.com) Why did nurses and midwives in Ghana go on strike? (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/BREAKING-Nurses-and-midwives-suspend-nationwide-strike-1987698) Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) in Ghana (https://www.modernghana.com/news/849705/community-based-health-planning-and-services-chps-in-ghana.html) About Kasapreko (https://kasapreko.com/our-story/) About WACCBIP - West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (https://www.waccbip.org) GDPR - General Data Protection Regulation (https://gdpr-info.eu) +233 Jazz Bar and Grill (https://www.instagram.com/233jazzbarandgrill/) Empire of AI (https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/743569/empire-of-ai-by-karen-hao/) by Karen Hao Special Guest: David Hutchful.