Pursue business ventures with lasting prospects – Youth entrepreneurs advised

Klenam Gakpetor Tsisah, an entrepreneur, has advised young entrepreneurs to develop business ventures that have the prospect of standing the test of time.

According to her that was the only way those businesses could thrive and bring them the benefits they desired.

Mrs Tsisah gave the advice at a Women’s Empowerment and Leadership programme organised by the Science Laboratory Department and the Technical University Science Laboratory Association of Technologists and Technicians (TUSLAT) of the Accra Technical University on Wednesday.

The purpose of the event was to empower the youth especially women to pursue entrepreneurship and create more jobs to reduce the country’s growing unemployment rate.

Mrs Tsisah, who is the Founder of Klensen Designs, noted that many businesses in the country collapsed a few years after their establishment because they were not set up to stand the shocks the business environment posed.

Again, such businesses, she said, were set up to address an immediate challenge making them non-profit when the problem for which they were established was resolved.

“We are fixated on raising businesses that are enough to keep our families going instead of ventures that would keep the world going,” she said.

Mrs Tsisah urged the students to venture into entrepreneurship, explaining that Ghana and the rest of the world today, were controlled by entrepreneurs.

“Every entrepreneur knows that the biggest opportunities are in solving people and societal problems. There are many problems in this school –somebody needs an ice cream, somebody needs a laptop, somebody needs a shoe."

“Every need is an opportunity, begin to look for them and begin to provide solutions to them and you are on your way to becoming a great entrepreneur,” she advised.

She added that “we must not forsake humble beginnings. Know that Apple Computers started from the garage, for all you know, all you have to do for your big dream to catch somebody’s attention to want to help you is the small things you have been ignoring to do.”

She also advised women especially young ladies to rise above cultural limitations and perceptions that sought to restrict them from realising their full potential to ensure they achieved their goals.

She noted that many women entrepreneurs had failed to make it in the entrepreneurship world due to a lack of commitment, saying persistence and consistency were key to becoming a successful entrepreneur.

“We turn to be wishy-washy, we change our plans at every turn, but to achieve much you must have a vision or dream, concentrate on it and work on it until it becomes a reality,” she stressed.

Mrs Caroline Brown, a Lecturer, said the journey of entrepreneurship was not an easy one, noting that it demanded “unwavering commitment and unrelenting spirit” for one to be successful.

She urged the students to leverage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills to develop ventures that would solve global challenges.

Three students – females, were awarded for developing biodegradable materials which can be used for packaging to reduce the reliance on plastic bags.

Dr Phylis Otu, Head of the Department of Science Laboratory Technology, said the development of those biodegradables was part of the School’s efforts to curb the plastic waste menace in the country.

She said plastic waste particularly polythene bags left a lasting environmental legacy which was likely to affect future generations, adding that “it’s crucial to adopt practices, like using eco-friendly alternatives and proper waste management to mitigate these consequences.”

She called on the industry to partner with the School to scale up the initiative to address the country’s plastic waste problem.

Professor Alice Mensah, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences, urged the students to be relentless in pursuing their entrepreneurship goals.