Two co-founders of CYST, a software and innovation company that specializes in artificial intelligence to create technology solutions, have been named among the 30 most influential entrepreneurs making strides in the technology industry in Africa.
The duo, Kofi Genfi and Nii Osae Osae Dade, both 24, created the Mazzuma app in 2013, Africa’s first app to merge Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and Mobile together.
Commenting on this milestone, Kofi Genfi said the recognition will go a long way to enhance the company’s image and open international opportunities for them as well.
“I think this award adds to our credibility and exposes us to international market as well because we will be recognized internationally for what we are doing. It is one thing to be doing something in your local space and another to be recognized internationally on what you are doing. So, for us it is real honor that we have become sort of ambassadors for Ghanaian businesses.
For us one thing that it adds to the business is credibility and some level of dignity and respect, because there are businesses that are bigger than ours but have never been recognized by Forbes,” he told the B&FT.
Nii Osae Osae also added that the award is a motivation to the team to work harder and come out with new innovative products that will expand their customer base and meet their needs.
“It motivates us a lot because for us, we see it as a pat on the shoulder. It tells us what we are doing is something worthy of recognition and we are poised to do more.
We promise our clients to deliver better services and come out with innovative products that will meet their needs. We assure them that we will continue to improve our systems to serve them better,” he said.
CYST has a research arm called CYST Research Institute, which focuses on artificial intelligence-based research and development such as natural language processing. In partnership with the telecommunications companies, CYST has access to over 15 million subscribers through its platforms.
They count MTN Ghana, Vodafone Ghana, AirtelTigo Ghana, Unity Link and Data Protection Commission among their affiliates. It means over 15 million subscribers through its platforms.
CYST’s flagship product, Mazzuma, is a mobile money payment system that utilizes distributed secure infrastructure and cryptocurrency to enable seamless payments. The Mazzuma token, referred to as MAZ, is a key payment medium in the Mazzuma ecosystem. Transactions made on the Mazzuma platform are instantaneous.