Wisconsin International University College, Ghana (WIUC-GH)’s Business School has held its Entrepreneurship Week celebrations aimed at providing captains of industry the platform to interact with students and young entrepreneurs.
Speaking at a forum as part of the celebrations in Accra on Wednesday, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NEIP, said all over the world, entrepreneurs were the driving force of economic activities, hence the timeliness of the event.
He spoke on the topic, ‘The Roles of Business Schools and Industry in Developing the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs and Innovators.’
“Just like other developed countries, Ghana can rely on its own products (Made in Ghana goods) and reduce the importation of foreign products which has huge impact on the economy with regards to inflation,” he said.
He encouraged the students to form partnerships and utilise the entrepreneurship skills they acquired on campuses to create jobs amongst themselves while consulting with industry for guidance, support and funding.
“The academia provides the capabilities need for business growth and the university campus is an important area to initiate. Universities must also come out with entrepreneurship programmes to encourage young people to venture into the creation of jobs,” he stressed.
The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) he said, would soon be rebranded to become the ‘Ghana Innovations and Startups Agency’ as part of efforts to make the outfit a hub for job creation in Ghana.
This according to him would enable his outfit to focus on the commercialisation of innovations and startups for economic growth.
“The proposed Ghana Innovations and Startups Agency would ensure that we receive the proper legal backing and direct resources towards supporting young entrepreneurs and the private sector,” he stated.
According to Mr Nkansah, the new agency which was expected to be in place by next year, would also provide support to student entrepreneurs since innovation and entrepreneurship had become the key to economic development.
He said, the government would continue to support the private sector and startup Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to create jobs for the youth.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Sustaining your business in the midst of crisis,’ the Managing Director of JS Morlu, Mr Bernard Bempong encouraged businesses to put in place mechanisms to early detect crisis to help business growth.
He added that proper corporate governance structure must also be in place for sustainability and crisis management.
“Innovation and technology must also be adopted in dealing with crisis as well as collaborations and partnerships. By providing the needed resources, we can help young entrepreneurs develop their ideas to drive economic growth,” he added.
The Chairperson for the occasion, Prof. Obeng Mireku commended the speakers for their impact and urged them to support the university in their quest to commission an innovation hub that would support young entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurship and innovation has become crucial tool for socio-economic development and we commend the government for all initiatives geared towards entrepreneurship and committed to partnering the government to create jobs for the youth,” he stated.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
