The KNUST Nutrition and Sustainable Agri-food Collaborative, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation (Nkabom Collaborative), has begun discussions with Takoradi Technical University (TTU) on a potential collaboration under its Virtual Partner University (VPU) Entrepreneurship Training Programme.
The proposed partnership seeks to extend the Nkabom Collaborative’s entrepreneurship and agribusiness development interventions to students of TTU.
The initiative is designed to equip students with practical entrepreneurial skills to develop innovative and sustainable businesses across the agricultural value chain.
Professor Wilberforce Achiaw Owusu-Ansah, Entrepreneurship Pillar Lead of the KNUST Nkabom Collaborative, said the Virtual Partner University initiative was one of several training programmes being implemented under the 10-year Nkabom Collaborative, funded by the Mastercard Foundation.
He said the programme was designed to involve students from diverse academic disciplines rather than limit participation to those studying agriculture.
Professor Owusu-Ansah said modern agribusiness required expertise from fields including business, marketing and engineering to develop sustainable enterprises.
“Agribusiness is not about production alone. The training will bring students from different disciplines together to identify business opportunities and develop innovative solutions across the agricultural value chain,” he said.
He said the training would expose participants to design thinking, the Nkabom Hybrid Business Model Canvas, financial management, marketing and pitching, enabling them to transform ideas into viable businesses.
Participants would also be encouraged to identify real problems faced by consumers and develop solutions that respond directly to those needs.
Professor Owusu-Ansah said participants who successfully developed viable businesses could access funding of up to US$15,000, as well as business registration support, mentorship and relevant industry expertise.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor of Takoradi Technical University, Professor Ebenezer Boakye, expressed the University's readiness to partner with the KNUST Nkabom Collaborative.
He said the partnership could complement existing entrepreneurship initiatives at TTU while strengthening efforts to prepare students to create employment opportunities rather than depend solely on government and other formal-sector jobs.
“At the end of the day, this initiative will help the students create jobs and they will also help other people get jobs,” he said.
Professor Boakye proposed that relevant TTU staff be included in the collaboration to build their capacity and learn from the Nkabom Collaborative's entrepreneurship development model.
He also expressed interest in expanding the relationship beyond the Virtual Partner University programme to other Nkabom interventions, particularly the Multi-purpose Integrated Programme (MIP).
Story and Photos: Michael Kwawu
