Title:

Individual Assignment I

Submitted by:

Joseph Baazeng

Student ID:

42922028

Course:

Foundations of Design and Entrepreneurship II

Date of Submission:

Friday, June 23, 2025

QUESTION 1:

SWOT PERSONAL TEAM

S (STRENGTHS) I can learn quickly and adapt Every team member can
to new concepts without speak his or her local dialect,
difficulty. providing a strong personal
I am highly organised, which connection to our goal of
gives me the capacity to preserving local languages.
manage tasks efficiently We hold rapid discussion
even under pressure. sessions that help us to
I can communicate in small collaborate in generating
groups clearly so that great ideas that would help
everyone understands our project succeed.
whatever I want to put The team comprises people
across, and make sure they with diverse backgrounds
understand their and skills, which allows for
responsibilities. multiple perspectives and
meaningful contributions
W (WEAKNESSES) I have identified public During group discussions,
speaking as one of my weak the team sometimes goes
points, and that is hindering off-topic, which reduces
me from expressing myself focus and progress.
fully, especially during Not all members are equally
presentations and other confident in public speaking,
public discussions. and this affects the team’s
I am a perfectionist, which ability to present ideas
makes me have high clearly and convincingly in
expectations for others, critical situations.
leading to strained The team lacks proper time
relationships and sometimes management skills reason
conflicts. being that it is mostly
I sometimes struggle with difficult getting all the team
receiving constructive members to attend scheduled
feedback, which sometimes meetings, which results in
makes me miss out on not starting meetings on time
valuable insights and and eventually causing us to
opportunities for growth. end the meetings late.

O (OPPORTUNITIES) Access to workshops and Ashesi provides access to

events that are focused on communication, leadership
communication and and presentation workshops
leadership at Ashesi would that the team can
give me an opportunity to collectively leverage on to
build my public speaking
 confidence and improve my improve our ability to
presentation skills. communicate our ideas.
Team-based activities and The team dynamic
interactions with peers encourages peer-to-peer
would provide a suitable support, which creates a safe
environment to practice environment for members
receiving and responding to who are time-conscious to
constructive feedback more give constructive feedback
openly. to those who are not to be
Assistance from mentors and apt at their game.
faculty would help me The availability of AI and
balance my perfectionism by digital tools for language
understanding different work preservation aligns with our
styles and adjusting my team’s goal, and the
expectations to improve advancement in technology
team collaboration. would complement
members’ strengths in
achieving our goal.

T (THREATS) Fear judgments might still Team members who are still
discourage me from actively developing public speaking
participating in public may struggle to represent the
speaking, even when team effectively during
opportunities are available. pitches.
Limited time to consistently Academic stress and time
engage in personal building constraints could reduce
activities like workshops or team members’ availability
mentorship sessions due to to engage in skill-building,
academic workload may which might slow down the
slow my personal group’s progress.
development. The absence of institutional
The chance of my resisting support, for example, the
collaborative work is very educational system, would
high, which might lead to make it difficult for us to
tension within the team and achieve our goal of
reduced effectiveness, preserving native languages.
provided I am unable to deal
with my perfectionism.

QUESTION 2:
Comparing my personal SWOT analysis to my team’s, I have realized that they both align in
several areas. My strengths, such as being highly organised and having the capacity to
communicate clearly, put me in a good position as an individual who would always assist in
facilitating well-structured team discussions that seek to ensure that clarity is attained after
each meeting. Because these qualities would make me redirect conversations whenever I realise
they are drifting off-topic, just to ensure our discussions are productive. In the other way round,
my teammates having deep cultural insights and diverse perspectives would enhance my
learning and would help me expand my thinking beyond just the organisation to include
emotional relevance as we explore preserving Ghanaian languages. Even though I struggle with
receiving constructive feedback, the collaborative nature of my team ensures that feedback is
normalised and easy to accept and grow. Moreover, my team members are open-minded in their
creative ways, which would help me balance my perfectionist tendencies to become more
flexible and collaborative. As a team, we have a unique competitive advantage because of our
common cultural identity and limited exposure to digital platforms, which would help us
develop meaningful solutions to preserve Ghanaian languages. However, a lack of institutional
support from the education system presents a great challenge. But fortunately for us, since the
team includes members who are always willing to collaborate and adapt, we have been able to
identify alternative means such as leveraging Ashesi’s Innovation networks and forming
partnerships with Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). However, we understand that it
would be difficult for us to fully overcome this threat, and so being aware of this limitation
encourages us to keep on seeking guidance and external collaborations to help us achieve our
goal.

QUESTION 3:

Thinking through the various types of entrepreneurships that exist, I see myself becoming a
social and non-profit entrepreneur who is motivated by creating meaningful social change
rather than financial gain. This is because being a social entrepreneur aligns with my
involvement in preserving Ghanaian languages. My identified strengths in organisation and
clear communication position me to take up risks in managing projects effectively, while
opportunities such as the numerous mentorship and leadership programs at Ashesi provide me
with all the resources and learning platforms needed to thrive in this area of entrepreneurship.
However, weaknesses like my fear of public speaking may limit my ability to pitch or sell my
ideas, and perfectionism could break down collaboration if not managed well. For me to
prepare very well for this path, I have already started using entrepreneur thinking by identifying
social problems, working in teams and adapting to constructive feedback.

QUESTION 4:

In my own understanding, entrepreneurship can be defined as taking up all the risks involved
in pursuing an opportunity to solve human and societal problems. It involves having a creative
mindset and the willingness to create value without even considering the availability of
resources. One entrepreneur I really admire is Ibrahim Mahama, a Ghanaian artist and founder
of the Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA). He uses art as a tool for economic and
social engagement. He transforms rejected materials and neglected public spaces into cultural
and educational hubs. What makes me think of him as an entrepreneur is his high level of
creativity, boldness in taking risks and his commitment to creating societal impact using
unconventional means. Based on my own definition, I will still consider myself an entrepreneur
because even though I am still developing certain skills, I have taken the risk to pursue an
opportunity that aims to preserve Ghanaian languages despite limited resources and
experiences. Like Ibrahim is doing, I will also make a profit by creating social impact.

QUESTION 5:

The role I played during the customer safari was helping design the questions to ask our proxies
and leading some of the interviews. My personal interest during the safari was to find out why
people do not speak their local languages and what could motivate them to learn their language.
A key insight I gained was that many rely on English due to their own family influence and
education. Also, the attempts they made in the past to learn their local languages failed because
they were not fun, affordable and accessible. Other insights were that adding features like AI
conversation tools, one-on-one tutoring, and a rewards system would boost customer
engagement. Moreover, a customer suggested that pricing should be made very low with
mobile money, Visa and Mastercard serving as preferred means of payment. My strengths in
organisation and clear communication helped ensure we captured useful insights during the
safari. Going forward, my strengths would allow me to support the team in terms of designing
a user-friendly experience that makes learning native languages enjoyable, affordable and
accessible.