African Collegiate Entrepreneurs (Ghana) 2011 Confab Ends

Participants at the Conference (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology - Kumasi, Ghana)

This years African Collegiate Entrepreneurs (A.C.E) international conference has ended in Kumasi (29th May to 1st June) on the theme Unlocking your Entrepreneurial Potential for Wealth Creation. The conference was organised by A.C.E - Ghana in partnership with Torch Bearers Diaspora Incorporated USA. This years conference did not only see the youth and students participating, but professionals from various business backgrounds and even pensioners. The conference is a time to embrace innovation, imagination, and creativity and create solutions with immediate and lasting impacts. It is a period where small actions unleash big ideas. The period we change the world. It is organised annually to empower the youth to be independent of government. Events for the conference included: incubation clinics, mentoring, networking around the globe and human entrepreneurship. Various resource persons and corporate bodies from the USA, UK and Ghana spoke on various topics and addressed many issues. They urged participants to think realistically and creatively about what they can achieve as any business idea begins in the mind. Topics discussed were: personality branding for wealth creation, building a local business to international standards, laying the foundation for your business, riding the storm to succeed, funding opportunities available for start ups, legal framework for registering a business in Ghana, writing marketable business proposals and riding the storm to succeed. Participants were not only taken through the theoretical aspects of entrepreneurship, but the practical aspect as well. They were grouped into several business incubators ranging from agribusiness, information communication technology, finance and investment, services etc to explore business opportunities in these areas. They identified the opportunities and drew business plans for their business. Some businesses with good business proposals received on the spot funding. Dr Kofi Djan a Ghanaian lecturer of medicine based in Ohio, USA was very impressed about the incubation clinic and pledged his support for the agribusiness team. Mr. Kofi Obeng, the first retiree A.C.E scholar together

with Theresa Gambrah participants at the conference, invested directly into one of the business incubation groups. The founder and USA director of Torch Bearers Diaspora Incorporated, Dr. Isaac Fordjour urged participants and Ghanaians to embrace entrepreneurship as it is one crucial way of eradicating poverty from the African continent. In order to achieve this he said we should think outside the box and not reinvent the wheel. In an interview with the media, he said We go to the grassroots, the young people who need business; they are the ones who should develop the businesses. Were not expecting the government to create businesses for us; theyve had the opportunity to do that all these years, they havent done it and we want the young people not to depend on anybody else, and when they become successful businessmen, then the government will come to them He said Torch Bearers is crossing boundaries into Kenya and South Africa to establish A.C.E in those countries.

Some of the Key Personalities at the conference (Dr. Brenya Pascal, Mr. Jewette Johnson, Prof. Dr .Dr. Bour, Dr. Isaac Fordjour)

The special guest of honour for the occasion, Prof. Dr. Dr. Daniel Bour, the Vice Chancellor of Valley View University in his address said the panacea to the countrys unemployment and the drive for economic advancement is entrepreneurship. Produce entrepreneurs and underdevelopment will be a thing of the past. He said the State must provide resources to put in place institutions, structures and infrastructure adequate enough to ensure sustainable training of entrepreneurs. And when you talk of entrepreneurship, you dont talk of theories theory plus practice will lead to development. Prof. Bour said, the search for socio-economic development in Ghana and other developing countries does not end with the striking of oil, gold, diamond and other minerals. In their quest to imbibe computer literacy into entrepreneurs, Dr. Isaac Fordjour donated laptop computers to A.C.E - Ghana to be distributed to ACE scholars at a small fee. This he said will go a long way in bridging the gap in information technology know-how. Mr. Jewette Johnson, an African American and Founder/CEO of A-PLACE, a humanitarian entrepreneurship nongovernmental organisation based in Ghana stressed on the need to give back to society and volunteer to solve societal problems. Other speakers were Dr. Pascal Brenya, a consultant for British Council Ghana and founder/CEO of Focus Central Ghana from the UK, Col.Opuni Mensah a

financial executive, Mr. Ernest Amoansah, an entrepreneur in the agribusiness, Samuel Aboagye of E-Jobs Africa, Franklin Owusu Karikari, a consultant and National Curricular facilitator of A.C.E Ghana, Samuel Afonaa Mensah, an entrepreneur and National Coordinator of A.C.E Ghana, professionals from Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, lawyers and a host of others. Participants described the four day conference as relevant and successful because of the total transformation of business models that was addressed, as well as the wide range of opportunities in agriculture, finance and investment, services; it also addressed topics that were relevant to today's aspiring young entrepreneurs and business leaders; and the opportunity for young entrepreneurs to learn at first hand the business skills, networks, and values needed to grow their ideas into innovative, sustainable enterprises. The mini book fair which was also ongoing at the premises also gave participants such opportunities to broaden their scope. Various educative movies and documentaries were shown.

Some of the books on display at the mini fair

Certificates of achievement and participation were awarded to participants. Key personalities and resource persons received the Torch Bearers Badge, an award given to personalities for their role in the advancement of entrepreneurship in Ghana. Like many great movements, African Collegiate Entrepreneurs started with an idea. The notion to inspire innovation in youth began with Dr. Isaac Fordjour. The organisation has established chapters in the University of Ghana, University of Cape Coast, Kwame Nkrumah University of science and Technology and Town chapters where they meet regularly to share ideas. A.C.E has trained over 1000 young entrepreneurs over the past five years and has provided seed capital and technical expertise to start-ups in Ghana. Very soon, A.C.E will cross boundaries into Kenya and South Africa to propagate the need for entrepreneurial development across the African continent. The conference is held annually in various cities of Ghana. Over 100 participants: students, educators, businesses and government leaders took part in the conference. Activities were advertised and televised across the country. Sponsors and organisers of the conference included Torch Bearers Diaspora USA, A.C.E Ghana and the multimedia group (TV3, Luv FM, Mynd FM, Ashanti TV and Metro TV) African Collegiate Entrepreneurs (A.C.E) is a Non-Governmental youth-led social enterprise Organisation working in the United States of America and Ghana that focuses on the development of young people today. It is a project of its parent body Torch Bearers Diaspora Inc. of USA. A.C.E has its mission statement as To produce world-class professionals and business people to operate productive and

sustainable businesses in Africa by promoting, supporting, and facilitating entrepreneurship beginning at the post-secondary level. The vision of A.C.E is to create healthy, self sufficient and environmentally sound communities and to leverage its own resources for continual improvement of quality of life from one generation to the next. ACE has over the past five years trained over one thousand youth entrepreneurs in various tertiary institutions of Ghana. Visit www.acescholars.org for more information.

By: Francis Kofi Somuah Recruitment Coordinator ACE - Ghana