Accra, August 24th, 2022

Based in Ghana, Scolpta is a strategy and brand experience design agency. From start to finish, it develops a consequential strategy and creative design thinking to solve major business challenges. Scolptre describes itself as an “UpSideDown” agency, which means it visualizes brands holistically, highlighting theirstrengths.

Kwabena Osei Asare is the Lead of Digital and Impact at Scolpta, overseeing the development of the agency’s digital ecosystem and of initiatives that have a positive impact on the community. In an interview with TIA, Kwabena described his personal journey, starting as an intern in Scolpta, and gave some recent examples of exciting work currently being developed by the agency.

What’s one must-do experience in Accra in your opinion?

Being a football fan, I cannot let this go without talking about the match day experience when Accra Hearts of Oak (arguably the biggest football club in Ghana) plays. Football is very popular in Ghana and it is very thrilling to see how the local fans are passionate during match days. The cheers and chants, and all the matchday rituals are a must-do experience. You could give it a shot, even if you are not a football fan. I am sure you would love it.

Tell us about your personal journey. How did you find yourself being the Lead of Digital and Impact?

My journey to this role has been about identifying opportunities and making them count. As cliche as this may sound, it holds a golden truth.

I first entered Scolpta as a Social Media Manager Intern (saw the Ad on Instagram and just applied) after completing my National Service. This was a time when Scolpta was growing and moving into the next growth phase. Working in a startup is not all sunshine and rainbows as it may seem, and for a young person transitioning to the world of work right after school, it was very tough for me, to be honest.

During my internship period, I made a personal commitment to identify growth areas and take more initiative and three months into it, I got rewarded with a permanent offer. Since then, I have been leading various projects and constantly finding avenues for growth.

What are your main focuses at the moment?

At the moment, I am much focused on learning and honing my business skills, and gaining practical experience in building brands. Indubitably, we are in a world of rapid technological advancement and to stay ahead and relevant, one needs to learn by doing. I try as much as possible to practicalize the Kaizen philosophy.

What makes Scolptre stand out?

At Scolpta, we always live out “Think UpSideDown” in our works. “Think UpSideDown” simply is about holistic thinking when building brands, every detail and considerations matter. Inspiration literally can come from anywhere, hence the need to open up to many possibilities. Since I joined Scolpta, I have had first-hand experience with how effective this approach is in building sustainable brands and win-win moments with clients.

In your opinion, what ingredients are key to managing a successful brand experience design?

Understanding the brand’s goal(s) is foremost for me. It gives a starting point and adds meaning to the whole design journey as design is not just about aesthetics.

Another point for me is the ability to transfer goals into tangibles. This is where much of the sweat is. In this phase, solutions are developed, ideas and assumptions are tested. Getting this right is key to managing a successful brand experience design.

Are there any exciting projects that Scolpta is working on that you can tell us about?

Of course, yes. We are currently working on DesignTheNext, our flagship community-impact project. We believe that brands should walk the talk, and not just have one-off shows or catchy phrases about social good.

DesignTheNext is about moving the next change-makers by design. The nature of our work has given us a firm belief through experience, that design can be a great medium to impact, influence and alter lives for good. In our maiden event, our focus is on education, specifically, lower primary pupils in underserved public schools.

The goal here is to engage our collective efforts through design to improve teaching and learning while consciously introducing modern teaching and learning materials consistent with the State approved curriculum.

The project would also see the introduction of peer learning activities to promote good social behaviour. We have set a goal to directly impact about 10,000 young people in Africa by 2027. We are open to partnering with other brands and businesses that share this value.

How do you know that you are leading, and leading well?

Assigning tasks is not enough. I always see to it that the deliverables are clear and that the team is on the same wavelength. Then, teammates are encouraged to constantly update the team on the progress or otherwise, of the project at hand so we can improve our processes along the way.

As a leader, I think feedback is key to your growth. At Scolpta, we run a very flat system so people are free and open to making known their views and reactions. It is from these reactions that I get to assess if I am leading well or not.

What do you enjoy about working in brands’ digital ecosystems?

Every single task, in the grand scheme of things, is to bring value to the client. For each project, I see it to be a new challenge thrown at me or another opportunity to win. To be honest, it is not exciting all the time when digging for resources, deep research and often times creating out of nothing. The excitement comes when the value is delivered and the realization that all the hard work paid off. Also, I get to add to my pool of knowledge after every project, as I get to learn new things.

What advice would you give to a new nonprofit startup that is looking to build a smart digital strategy?

Iteration is key. On paper, many strategies appear perfect and actionable. It is only when you get to the execution phase that you realize that there could have been other “perfect” ways to have met goals.For new nonprofit startups, I would advise them to be very sharp-eyed. I don’t believe in hopping on trends all the time, but there are times when they need to see what is working and what is failing in the digital landscape.

How would you describe Ghana’s interactive industry?

Well, it is growing steadily in my view. Over the past years, there has been a deliberate plan by both government and private bodies, to accelerate digitalization in Ghana which to a large extent has yielded many positives. Google opened an Artificial Intelligence Lab and Twitter set up its first African office in Ghana.

The growth in the interactive industry here could also be attributed to Ghana’s youthful population which happens to be more tech-savvy. To be honest, there is more to come and I am excited to be part of this wave.

What role do you think digital skills play in the development and individual growth of African youth?

Africa has the most youthful population in the world with a median age of 19.7 years. Beyond the statistics, this presents a big opportunity and digital skills could be the bedrock to unlock the potential of many youths in Africa.

With digital skills comes access to information, better education, ease of communication and even commerce. All these are enablers for young people to find meaningful work which is an indispensable means of advancing a person’s sense of usefulness and belonging. For many young people in Africa, having digital skills could be the path to financial independence.

In this industry or in life, have you had any particularly influential mentors?

I definitely have. Generally, in life, I’ve been and still continue to be inspired by my Dad. I take much of my calmness and focus from him as he taught me both, directly and indirectly, to understand that life sprinkles both highs and lows. In entrepreneurship, I learn a lot from Strive Masiyiwa (Founder, Econet Global) and Fred Swaniker (Founder, African Leadership Group). I love how they are transforming Africa for good in their respective fields.

Three things I wish I knew when I left school…

• Go beyond expectations
• Be responsible for your decisions
• You can’t build with everyone

Can you name a fun-fact people would be surprised to learn about you?

Lol, yeah. I never imagined myself in the branding and tech space. I had wanted to be a footballer when I was a child, around my primary school days.

I actually played for my school’s football team until Senior High School.

Thanks Kwabena!

• Learn more about Scolpta
• Scolpta’s Spotify playlist 
• Follow Kwabena on social media:

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• Follow Scolpta on social media:

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africaAfrican youthDigital Business StrategyThink UpSideDown