Nana Owusu Achau, Chief Executive Officer, Kings Innovations, has encouraged students and young people to venture into opportunity-based entrepreneurship and desist from need-based ones.
He said most times people ventured into entrepreneurship because they had identified that they needed money or were jobless, instead of identifying an opportunity in the market and meeting it.
Nana Achau made the remarks at the one-day students’ interactive seminar in Accra, organised by the College of Education, University of Ghana on the theme: “Harnessing Employment and Entrepreneurship Prospects for University Graduates: Building Resilience and Embracing Technology.”
The seminar aimed at equipping graduates with the necessary skills, mindset, and knowledge to navigate the ever-evolving job market, foster resilience and leverage technology, notably artificial intelligence to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.
He noted that there were lots of opportunities in the country and that there was the need for young people to find these opportunities, find solutions to meet the gaps and build a sustained enterprise.
Nana Achau also advised parents and guardians to desist from discouraging their children into pursuing entrepreneurship courses.
He encouraged young people to take control of what belonged to them and not depend solely on foreigners.
“In Africa, if we are conscious of what is possible, we definitely will make the difference and so I think that we are not far away from being able to take control of our own ecosystem and bring change to other parts of the world,” Nana Achau added.
Dr Austin Luguterah, Head of Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies at UG, said education must adapt to the realities of life driven by cutting-edge technologies.
He said understanding entrepreneurship and innovation improved one’s ability to think critically and logically, which would help individuals to solve any problem.
Dr Luguterah said through the provision of cutting-edge technologies, entrepreneurship primarily assisted in resolving issues that arose on a daily basis to alleviate the plight of people.
“A student’s education is enhanced by an entrepreneurial mindset by teaching them
persistence, tenacity, creativity, problem-solving, and collaboration so they can recognise issues and come up with solutions,” he added.
Dr Luguterah said economic development and the emergence of knowledge and innovation-based economies both relied on entrepreneurship as a source of growth and innovation.
He said because of recent global developments, organisations now required more innovation and entrepreneurship skills than ever before to adapt to changing conditions.