Students develop business models to innovate small enterprises

A field study class from the Northeastern University, USA; in collaboration with two other organisations has designed business models to innovate small and thriving social enterprises to make them more sustainable.

The organisations are the Design Thinking Ghana Hub, an advocacy organisation and the Social Enterprise, a Non-Governmental Organisation

The study generated ways social enterprises’ could provide teachers with skills and resources to elevate learning in the classroom with interactive activities that complement the national curriculum.

It also showed how social enterprises’ would provide technological skills to the disadvantaged; starting with the blind, and revealed how a vertical farming initiative would offer a circular economic connection to urban farming that includes recycling of plastics.

The programme dubbed “Design Thinking Social Entrepreneurship Models in a Ghana Beyond Aid”, provided analogies to areas of the economy that needed attention in a Ghana beyond aid.

Dr Gordon Adomdza, the Faculty lead for the Northeastern University Program, said social enterprises’ must be assisted by partnering with civic engagement organization that promoted transparency and provided online access to public records and actions of parliamentarians. Also to provide computer programming and training to young women and offer the needed job readiness support.

He said the Northeastern University students worked with the Ashesi University to help small social enterprises increase their efficiency In finding potential volunteers for the purpose of economic value creation and sustainability.

“The collaboration between these students helped put the focus on the issue, but went beyond that to help empower small enterprises to innovate and be more efficient and sustainable”, he said.

Mrs Amma Sefa-Dedeh Lartey, the Africa Regional Director for Reach for Change, said social enterprises’ were organizations that used business principles to drive social environmental goals and focused on impact, even though profit was extremely important.

She said “until words about Ghana Beyond Aid is termed reality, policies that leads to changes in the way people are educated and in the structure of the economy, must be backed by actions”.

Mrs Lartey said to see a Ghana beyond aid, there was a need for all citizens to actively engage social enterprises, regardless of which political party was in power.

“Ghana beyond aid requires challenging the thinking you have of your personality and stepping out of your comfort zone to engage other actors who have different ideas from what you have”.

The students congratulated Ghana for taking appropriate steps towards developing Ghana to a country beyond aid.

Ms Caroline Boschetto, a student from the Northeastern University said social enterprises had the potentials to be sustainable in Ghana, so the need to utilise people and resources towards social progress.