Karen-Happuch Henneh Created An Offline Flood Safety Navigation App Informed By Her Upbringing In Accra, Ghana – AfroTech
Karen-Happuch Henneh recognized that the annual flooding in her hometown was not simply a weather issue, but a problem that technology could help address.
Henneh was raised in Accra, Ghana, where floods often claim lives and destroy property. June 3, 2015, was the day that ultimately inspired her to build an app nearly a decade later. Henneh was in an evening session for students to study on their own, she explained, when a massive flood hit.
“We heard the news that there’s been a big disaster in town, and we’re all panicking. People were trying to call home and reach their families to find out if their families were safe and all that … It kept happening because most people saw it as a weather issue and not something anybody could do much about,” she told AFROTECH™.
She eventually taught herself HTML, CSS, and Java, setting the foundation for her to build an app.
Asuo
Henneh’s app is called Asuo, which means “flowing water” in Twi, a language spoken in Ghana. It is an offline flood-safety navigation app that can send real-time flood warnings, evacuation guidance, shelter information, and safety resources to help people make informed decisions, according to information shared with AFROTECH™.
Shared location is the newest feature integrated into Asuo, allowing people to determine whether their loved ones are safe or in need of assistance.
While it is designed specifically for Accra, Henneh notes it is built to scale to 1.7 billion people worldwide living in flood-prone zones.
Henneh was named one of the 2026 winners of Apple’s Swift Student Challenge, a “robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch,” according to Apple’s website. She earned a developer certificate, a one-year subscription to the Apple Developer Program, the latest AirPods Max, and an invitation to WWDC26.
Meeting Apple’s CEO
While describing WWDC26 as an “out-of-this-world experience,” she shares that she was able to demo her app to developers and meet Apple’s Tim Cook and John Ternus, who has since succeeded Cook.
“I did share my experience growing up in Ghana and the flood that I experienced and how that inspired the development of the app. And [Cook] did say that this is very impressive. He congratulated me on being one of the distinguished winners,” she recalled.
Henneh said the app was on Apple’s TestFlight, a platform designed for developers to beta-test their apps. She acknowledged that more research is required to ensure the app’s flood predictions and other features are accurate. This stems from user feedback indicating that areas historically considered less prone to flooding — including high-elevation areas with strong drainage systems — were experiencing flooding alongside low-lying areas.
“Between now and the next rainy season in Ghana, I have some time to go back to the drawing board … If you give a wrong prediction, then a life could be at stake,” she said.
