Over 200 Vodafone customers from across Ghana
CEIBS, in partnership with Vodafone Ghana, has launched an initiative to help accelerate the growth of SMEs in Ghana. Dubbed the SME Masterclass Programme, the joint project aims to help small and medium sized enterprises access key business and corporate insights as well as training in the areas of corporate governance, innovation & entrepreneurship growth, financial management and social media.
Speaking during the launch, which took place at CEIBS Accra Campus, Executive Director of CEIBS Accra Professor Matthew Tsamenyi hailed the move as a step in the right direction. The programme, he said, will immensely help participants better understand the business world and serve as an accelerator for the growth of their enterprises.
“This class will serve as an incubator and accelerator programme to help participants gain more market share and access to financial assets,” he said.
He bemoaned the lack of strong partnerships between academia and the business world, and added that he hopes the collaboration between CEIBS and Vodafone Ghana will serve as an inspiration for similar partnerships that will have the long-term effect of reducing unemployment and increasing productivity.
“It is important to bridge the gap between academia and industry so that there is collaboration between the two sectors. This initiative by Vodafone is a great one and, hopefully, this unique partnership will spur others on to follow suit,” he added.
Director of Vodafone Business Solutions in Ghana, Ms. Angela Mensah-Poku, said her team was eager to drive transformation in Ghana’s business sector and they also viewed the initiative as a way to give back to their customers.
“Over the years, our initiatives have enabled Ghana’s SMEs to scale up; but we are not resting on our laurels. We want to ensure that we make them ready to transit into the global marketplace. We remain ready, at all times, to engage new businesses and provide support to ensure that they have what is required to compete globally.”
Ms. Mensah-Poku added that she was particularly pleased Vodafone had partnered with CEIBS on the project.
“We feel so privileged to be doing this with CEIBS. It is such a great honour, and this is only the beginning of greater things to come. We hope to continue this next year and hopefully even the year after that,” she said.
She also had words of advice for participants.
“You have a great future ahead after this programme. Please do take the classes seriously and I pray you will be the next generation of Ghanaian multinationals,” she said.
Over 200 Vodafone customers from across Ghana’s 10 regions will benefit from the SME Masterclass Programme. There were 50 students in the first class, which began on September 30.
