Innovation for African Universities Launches Student Venture Support Training Program

A student venture support training program has been launched as part of the Ghana Connects Project, spearheaded by the Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID).

The virtual launch took place on June 13, 2023. The project which is in its third phase seeks to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in African universities and encourage innovative ideas of students to be developed into viable commercial ventures.

The initiative funded by the British Council is part of the Going Global Partnerships program, with support from Impact Hub, Accra. Other participating Universities are Imperial College London, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology KNUST, and University of Cape Coast (UCC).

Present at the launch were Professor Felix A. Asante, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Development (UG), Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, Pro Vice-Chancellor, KNUST, Professor Mrs Rosemond Boohene Pro Vice-Chancellor, UCC, as well as representatives from Imperial College, London, Impact Hub, Accra, British Council and University of Ghana Business School, Innovation and Incubation Hub among others.

Professor Asante initiated the launch by welcoming partner institutions, participating students and other stakeholders. He commended the KNUST and UCC and their students for their dedication to the objectives of the project and thanked other project partners and the British Council for their support.

Following brief solidarity messages from partners, students from UG, KNUST and UCC who had been shortlisted following a competitive selection process by each institution, presented a glimpse into their business ideas. Each institution will host a regional demo day to further shortlist the teams of students. The three institutions will present 5 teams to be evaluated for the ultimate challenge tagged the National Demo Day to be hosted in Accra on  July 28, 2023 at the British Council.