Student Entrepreneurship Initiative (SEI) programme was launched at Kumasi Technical University (KsTU) on 20th November, 2019. The programme is a deliberate effort by the government of Ghana to create entrepreneurial ecosystem that would help students to enhance their entrepreneurial acumen to improve their livelihood.
Giving the purpose for the gathering, Mr. Ebenezer Kofi Boakye, the Registrar of the University, made the point that it was good to be among the youth in Ghana today. He said the youth of today have been given a lot of opportunities that did not exist previously. The Initiative is a wonderful opportunity for the youth to create business ideas and be given start up funds. According to him, the Entrepreneurship Initiative programme is an innovative way by government to help build the entrepreneurial capacity of the Ghanaian youth.
The Director of Communication and ICT at National Entrepreneurial Initiative Programme (under the Ministry of Business Development) Mr. Joseph Osei Oppong Breyna, intimated that the SEI has designed a road map to inject a heavy dose of entrepreneurship into the tertiary system as a panacea to graduate unemployment and as a boost to ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’. In this direction, he emphasized that institutions are encouraged to form business clubs with the active collaboration with Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service.
He said the clubs will be trained by selected hubs that are already working with the Ministry of Business Development and the NEIP. He further stressed that SEI will roll out business plan development competition among tertiary institutions regarding what the various entrepreneurship clubs want to pursue. According to him, the grand finale of the Business Plan Competition will be held in Accra early next year where students of the various tertiary institutions will present their ideas to a special jury after which the winners will travel around the world to have better a understanding of entrepreneurship and the real world of business.
It is envisaged that places like Silicon Valley in the USA and Tech City in London will be visited. It is expected that under the SEI, the Ministry of Business Development will train and stimulate 10,000 students annually to think entrepreneurship and impact two million students over the next five years; Benchmark the aspirants with world class successful companies by exposing them to the good and great businesses practices in the world to act as the necessary accelerator of their dreams of establishing business and also, to change the narrative from ‘graduate employment’ to ‘graduate job creation’ as an index in the employment sector within five years.
The students of KsTU were highly in attendance including the President of the Students Representative Council Mr. Wireko Brobbey.
Picture: Registrar of the University addressing the gathering
