WAASPS is a social entrepreneurship project in West Africa. Started in 2005 after 11 years of reflection and analysis of the West African market, WAASPS operate in the light aviation sector of the sub-continent.
Social entrepreneurship is the use of start-up companies and other entrepreneurs to develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to a variety of organizations with different sizes, aims, and beliefs. For-profit entrepreneurs typically measure performance using business metrics like profit, revenues and increases in stock prices, but social entrepreneurs are either non-profits or blend for-profit goals with generating a positive "return to society" and therefore must use different metrics. Social entrepreneurship typically attempts to further broad social, cultural, and environmental goals often associated with the voluntary sector in areas such as poverty alleviation, health care and community development.
West Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo, as well as the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The population of West Africa is estimated at about 362 million people as of 2016, and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, to which 189,672,000 are female, and 192,309,000 male.
Opening the Kpong Airfield in November 2005, the organisation provides pilot training, aircraft build, maintenance and repair and provides expertise for aerial survey, air-air and air-ground video, stunt-flying, agricultural surveillance and plantation selection work, aerial dispersal, etc.
Kpong Airfield first opened in November 2005. It is the busiest private airfield in West Africa with active light aviation movements most days. It has two grass runways 19/01 (800m) and 29/11 (200m) located 3 km south of the small lake created by Kpong Dam in the Eastern Region of Ghana and 50 km north of Tema.
Based near to the Kpong Dam in the Eastern Region of Ghana, the company contributes massively to the local economy through employment and as a major attraction to the high earning communities and tourists to the country.
The Kpong Dam, also known as the Akuse Dam, is a hydroelectric power generating dam on the lower Volta River near Akuse in Ghana. It is owned and operated by Volta River Authority. It was constructed between 1977 and 1982. Its power station has a capacity of 148 megawatts (198,000 hp) with all four units running, though the total nameplate capacity is 160 megawatts (210,000 hp).
The Eastern Region is located in south Ghana and is one of ten administrative regions. Eastern region is bordered to the east by the Lake Volta, to the north by Brong-Ahafo region and Ashanti region, to the west by Ashanti region, to the south by Central region and Greater Accra region. Akans are the dominant inhabitants and natives of Eastern region and Akan, Ewe and English are the main spoken languages. The Eastern region is the location of the Akosombo dam and the economy of the Eastern region is dominated by its high-capacity electricity generation. Eastern region covers an area of 19,323 square kilometres, which is about 8.1% of Ghana's total landform.
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, in the subregion of West Africa. Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2 (92,099 sq mi), Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, Togo in the east and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south. Ghana means "Warrior King" in the Soninke language.
WAASPS works closely with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority GCAA and is the only organisation in the country providing training for the National Pilots licence as definded under GCAR Part 25 called the Private Ultralight Pilot Licence or Certificate.
GCAA or Ghana Civil Aviation Authority is the national aviation authority and regulatory agency of the Republic of Ghana for air transportation in the country. It has its headquarters in Kotoka Airport in Accra.
The Private Ultralight Pilot licence/certificate or ' PUP ' is the National Pilot Licence in Ghana, West Africa.
The first woman to gain Ghana's National Pilots Licence (PUP or Private Ultralight Pilot) was Patricia Mawuli Nyekodzi who gained her wings on 31 July 2009. [1] [2] [3]
