The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi has hosted a delegation from AMREF International University, alongside representatives of the Africa Health Collaborative, on a learning visit aimed at strengthening collaboration in health innovation and entrepreneurship.

The visit focused on preparations by AMREF International University to establish a Health Innovation Hub, drawing lessons from KNUST’s experience in innovation ecosystems and entrepreneurship programmes.

“We are here for a learning visit to understand what is happening around the Health Innovation Hub and health entrepreneurship programmes, as we prepare to roll out our own hub,” said Prof. Duncan Irungu, Director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at AMREF International University, during an engagement with KNUST’s International Programmes Office (IPO).

Prof. Irungu said the visit also builds on an existing relationship between the institutions and offers opportunities to learn beyond health innovation. “It is an extension of friendship,” he said. “We are open to learning in areas beyond health entrepreneurship, not exclusively the hub.”

Welcoming the delegation, Prof. Edmund Ekuadzi, Dean of the International Programmes Office, underscored KNUST’s long-standing focus on entrepreneurship and innovation as drivers of technological advancement and youth employment.

“At KNUST, we are training people not only for the private market; we are training them for the global market,” he said, noting the university’s emphasis on equipping students with transferable skills.

Prof. Ekuadzi encouraged the AMREF team to explore formal collaborations where KNUST expertise could support the planned hub.

He said the university was open to entering working memoranda of understanding to share knowledge and services, extending beyond public health where relevant.

He also urged the delegation to tour other university facilities that could inform future areas of partnership.

By: Belinda Danso Photos: Emmanuel Offei