The Students Entrepreneurship Fair (SEF) 2019 which was launched about a month ago by the School of Business and Economics of Presbyterian University College, Ghana (PUCG) was officially opened on Wednesday, 27th February, 2019 at the Okwahu Campus of the University.
The 2019 Fair is under the theme “Ghana Beyond Aid: Promoting Student Entrepreneurial Creativity and Innovation,” and it is scheduled to run from 26th February to 2nd March, 2019.
An officer from Avotrain interacting with the Rev. Prof. E. Adow Obeng, President – PUCG
Addressing the gathering at the Fair, the Dean of School of Business and Economics PUCG, Mr. Ebenezer Agyemang Badu said the SEF seeks to establish link between Industry and Academia. According to him the linkage will help produce students who fit into the needs of industry.
Again, the SEF aims at exposing students to opportunities available for business starters and how to take advantage of them to promote self employment which he noted is the way forward to dealing with the unemployment menace.
The Dean of School of Business and Economics announced that in order to achieve these objectives, the Management of the University has approved the SEF to be an annual event.
The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) and the Kwahu East District Assembly (KEDA) are the main main partners of this year’s Fair. The Fair was also sponsored by 12 media houses.
The District Chief Executive of Kwahu East District Assembly, Mr. Isaac Agyepong admonished the exhibitors to take advantage of the Fair and network to create support themselves in the development of the private sector. He promised support from the Kwahu East Assembly to the SEF.
The AGI Chairman for Eastern, Volta and Oti Regions, Efo Dela was full of praise for the University for the Initiative to institute the SEF. He said the AGI will continue to provide technical and other support to the SEF to ensure that it truly achieves its objectives.
He disclosed that the AGI at the regional levels has setup the Young Entrepreneurs Round Table on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He said the objective of this project is for young people to incorporate the SDGs in their line of work.
Efo Dela made a donation of GH₵1,000.00 to the Fair and another GH₵1,000.00 to the quiz competition being organized by the School of Business and Economics for Senior High Schools in the Kwahu area.
The Eastern Regional Director of Ghana Exports Promotion Authority (GEPA), Mr. George Adomako urged the exhibitors who are entrepreneurs to reach out to them for technical support that will help them expand their businesses to the level of exporting some of their products.
The GEPA team registered some of the exhibitors for future engagements regarding their products.
The President of PUCG, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Adow Obeng who chaired the opening ceremony thanked the KEDA, GEPA and AGI for the support they have given to the Fair and hoped they would keep to their promise to continue supporting the Fair in subsequent years.
The President also thanked the exhibitors for taking part in the Fair to showcase their creativity and innovation.
He said one of the goals of the University is to support entrepreneurship and for that matter entrepreneurship is a common course for all students of PUCG. He hoped the Fair would give the students the necessary exposure to become entrepreneurs on their own.
Among the exhibitors at the Fair are Databank, Kumasi Technical Institute (KTI), Avotrain, Abetifi Presbyterian Senior High School, students of PUCG, Atibie Government Hospital among others.
