The Design Thinking and Innovation Hub (D-Hub) of the University of Cape Coast in partnership with Access Bank and Development Bank Ghana, has sharpened the skills of young entrepreneurs, and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on entrepreneurial finance.
The workshop was on the theme, "Fundamentals of Entrepreneurial Finance-What Every Entrepreneur Should Know.”
Addressing industry players at the capacity training workshop, a senior lecturer at the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprises (CESED-UCC), Dr. Charles Hackman Essel, said the success of any business was not solely hinged on the injection of money but rather ideas. He, therefore, entreated young entrepreneurs to come up with realistic business plans to win the attention of investors.
Dr. Essel said the University sought to enhance opportunities for hands-on learning and experimentation to encourage young people to develop problem-solving and critical-thinking potentials.
He further urged young entrepreneurs to play an active role in the D-Hub and Access Bank initiatives by continuously developing their competencies, skills and professional capacities to stay relevant in the ecosystem.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Zonal Head of Business Banking, Access Bank, Mr. Jones Darmoe, told participants that the Access Bank SME capacity building training was to engage various SMEs on best solutions the Bank could offer them.
According to him, Covid-19 had impacted small and medium enterprises in unprecedented ways and as such, digitisation was a sure bet to navigate the challenges presented.
"At Access Bank we realize the need to equip SMEs to be better prepared for the current business trend. Our experience has shown that digitisation offers tremendous opportunities to increase productivity and create jobs" he said.
He explained that Access Bank was interested in empowering the youth because they were the greatest assets for building the future.
In a remark, the Director of D-Hub, Dr. Keren Arthur, urged participants to put to good use knowledge they acquired from the workshop.
She said the current crop of entrepreneurs were interested in finding solutions to common problems of society and implored young entrepreneurs to enter into partnerships with others in the same sector. This, she noted, would better position them to attract funding.
Dr. Arthur said D-Hub was committed to supporting and promoting the youths’ ideas and skills for growth and development in the country.
Other speakers from the Development Bank Ghana (DBG) and the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) also spoke extensively on their mandate to the young entrepreneurs.
Source: Documentation and Information Section-UCC