‘Support entrepreneurial development of students’

Mr. Kweku Rockson, a former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism, has urged corporate Ghana to support the entrepreneurial development of students in order to make them more useful to society.

He argued that the ability of graduates to develop strong visionary projects and programmes will culminate in the development of entrepreneurial skills which will benefit their communities and the nation at large.

Mr. Rockson made the remarks at the launch of “The Pen of Truth Competition” in Accra. The competition is a Ghanaian educational TV Reality Show, in which graduates from tertiary institutions compete for a chance to reform their communities with their knowledge, ideas and innovations.

The initiative, the brain-child of Cheetah Communications, is a means of engaging and empowering undergraduates, diplomats and graduates in ventures that can catapult their knowledge and skills acquired into practical productive enterprises.

Mr. Rockson congratulated the organisers on their foresight and desire to find an alternative to graduate unemployment, saying it is an opportunity for graduates from the nation’s universities to make their talent and entrepreneurial capacities available to the market, instead of waiting for jobs.

“Cheetah Communications’ efforts are a laudable initiative that will harness skills and abilities of young men and women onto a workable platform for development instead of the usual cry for jobs from elsewhere. In this initiative, they take their destinies into their hands and move on with their ideas and innovations.”

Mr. Kojo Boateng, Operations Manager of Cheetah Communications said: “Pen of Truth takes off officially on March 10, 2014. He noted that the competition is a platform for critical analysis of the Ghanaian economy from the perspective of young talented adults, equipped with tertiary education.

“…It is to promote, encourage and boost the intellectual development of the leaders of tomorrow through basic research,” he stressed.

Mr. Boateng said participants who qualify will be shortlisted and come before a panel of distinguished judges, with the winners getting a one-year bursary and internships with blue-chip companies, GH₵50,000 cash prize, access to a community development fund that will be inaugurated during the Awards Night, and publication of the award-winners’ essays.

The entries will in the form of research writings covering the Economy, Health, Medicine, Law, Media and Food and Agriculture in addition to the other area of business, commerce, art and culture.

Mrs. Margaret Tachie Micah, CEO of Nest of Ideas Consulting, expressed delight at the initiative and called for public support.

B&FT Online | Ghana