About

The person behind Leonova

Developer, network engineer, tinkerer - and someone who still enjoys opening up a machine to see why it stopped.

Leonard Yaw Mensah

I'm Leonard Yaw Mensah

I'm a software developer and network engineer from Takoradi, Ghana, finishing a BTech in Information Technology at Takoradi Technical University. Leonova is the name I work under.

I like problems that live close to the ground: a wholesaler who counts stock in cartons but sells in pieces, a small office that has no idea what's on its Wi-Fi, a course rep handing out group numbers over WhatsApp, a cocoa farmer staring at a dark patch on a pod. Those became TrackTrack, SentriNet, Group-Alloc and Kookoo Doctor.

Most of what I know about networks I learned on my feet: an industrial attachment with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority - server-room work, CCTV monitoring, cabling out on the structures - plus two stints in IT at SIC Insurance and a season behind the bench at a computer repair shop. GDG on Campus, the Google developer student group at TTU, is where the hackathons and the talks happen. Next up: national service with AmaliTech Ghana's Digital Transformation team.

Experience

  • Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority - IT & networking attachmentMay - August 2025 · Server room, CCTV control desk, structured cabling and field work across the port.
  • Felix Computers, Sekondi - practical internshipSeptember - October 2025 · Hardware and software repairs on customers' machines - diagnosis, fixes, reinstalls.
  • SIC Insurance - internship (two stints)September - November 2023 and August - October 2024 · IT support in a large office, plus a working knowledge of how insurance runs day to day, including a little underwriting.
  • GDG on Campus, TTU - student developer groupMember of the Google Developer Groups student chapter; hackathons, sessions and speaking to the first-years at orientation.
  • Next: National Service 2026/27 - AmaliTech Ghana, Digital TransformationJoining AmaliTech's Digital Transformation team for the 2026/27 national service year.
  • BTech Information Technology graduate, Takoradi Technical University
  • Takoradi, Ghana · available remotely
See the work GitHub

Skills

What I work with

Only things I've actually shipped or run in production.

Development

  • Python
  • Flask
  • JavaScript / TypeScript
  • React + Vite
  • Node + Express
  • PostgreSQL
  • SQLAlchemy / Alembic
  • REST APIs
  • PWA / offline-first

Networking & security

  • Routing & switching
  • Structured cabling
  • IP cameras / CCTV
  • Packet capture (Npcap, libpcap)
  • Wireshark
  • Network monitoring

Cloud & operations

  • AWS
  • Docker
  • Linux
  • Render · Vercel · Neon
  • Git & GitHub
  • Gunicorn

Support & AI

  • Hardware repair
  • Windows / Linux troubleshooting
  • Training & workshops
  • Gemma / Gemini APIs
  • Prompt design

At work

Where the job actually happens

Server rooms, cable trays, the CCTV desk, the orientation stage and a hackathon table.

Configuring equipment on a network rack, GPHA
On the rack - GPHA IT department
Working on cabling in an outdoor equipment box
Cabling out on the structures
Monitoring CCTV feeds at the GPHA control desk
CCTV monitoring desk, GPHA
On site in a hard hat with test equipment
On site, hard hat on
Speaking to first-year students at the TTU orientation with the GDG on Campus student group
First-year orientation, GDG on Campus TTU
Coding at the Build with Gemma 4 AI Hackathon
Build with Gemma 4 AI Hackathon - where Kookoo Doctor started
Presenting at the TTU first-year orientation
On the mic at orientation
Working on a laptop at the Build with Gemma 4 AI Hackathon
Build with Gemma 4 AI Hackathon, July 2026
Leonard at Takoradi port with cargo ships behind him
On the quay - GPHA, Takoradi port
Leonard in a GDG shirt in front of a Google-branded wall
Google office visit with GDG on Campus

Off the clock

Life outside work

Because a portfolio should also tell you who you'd be working with.

Leonard at the harbour
Takoradi harbour
Leonard in a suit, smiling
Dressed up
Profile portrait of Leonard
Thinking it over
Candid photo of Leonard in a suit
Candid
Leonard with two friends in matching printed shirts
Matching prints with the guys
Leonard in a shirt and tie outdoors
Sunday best
Leonard with a friend at an event
At an event with a friend

How I work

A few things you can count on

Straight answers

What I can do, how long it takes and what it costs - before we start, in plain language.

Built for the real workflow

I'd rather model how your business actually runs than ship a generic system you have to bend around.

Still there afterwards

Systems need care. I stay reachable for fixes, updates and the questions that come up later.

Time for students

Project support and mentoring for students working on their own systems - I remember what it was like.

Let's talk about your project

Email, WhatsApp or the form - whichever is easiest for you.

Get in touch View my work