The Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) to begin a collaborative relationship on various areas of agricultural, agribusiness, capacity-building interest and mutual benefit.
The MoU, signed on March 18, 2024, aimed at supporting young agripreneurs and start-up organizations in the agribusiness value chain and other business-related areas.
The Vice-Chancellor of AAMUSTED, Prof. Frederick Kwaku Sarfo and Prof. Dr. Isaac Abunyuwah (Principal of the Mampong Campus) signed the MoU on behalf of AAMUSTED. The KIC team was also represented by the Executive Director, Mr. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, and Mrs. Terence Kamuoye Tienaah who is the Program Manager of KIC.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Kwaku Sarfo expressed his joy in seeing this collaboration between KIC and AAMUSTED, highlighting its solidification of the mandate of AAMUSTED in equipping TVET and ATVET learners with the requisite training, capacity development, practical orientation, and support to become entrepreneurs and competent professionals.
‘As a TVET University, we have a mandate to train TVET/ATVET teachers and professionals, develop entrepreneurs, and collaborate with industry to respond to the needs of society,’ Prof. Sarfo
He further assured KIC and future partners that AAMUSTED is committed to making deliberate efforts to get more females involved in agripreneurship and other ATVET-related activities following a plea made by KIC to get more females involved in the upcoming project.
On his part, Mr. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse gave a brief background on the origin and activities of KIC and its sponsors – MasterCard Foundation, Cargill and ACDI/VOCA as well as expectations from its partner institutions. According to Mr. Gyan-Kesse, over 100,000+ farmers have benefited from KIC to a tune of over $720,000 invested as seed funding for young agripreneurs.
‘We expect this marriage between our institutions to provide opportunities for young people to bring out their hidden potentials to help society and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Zero hunger, No poverty, and Decent jobs,’ Mr. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse stressed.
The project is expected to impact the lives of over 50,000 young people across Ghana with the support of 16 academic institutions across the country, some of whom are Universities and Agriculture Colleges. AAMUSTED was strategically selected to work with youth within the Ashanti, Western-North, and Bono-East regions of Ghana. AAMUSTED will also supervise the activities of Kwadaso Agricultural College and Ejura Agricultural and Mechanization Centre under this project.
Although the project relates to agriculture, it is not limited to only agricultural science students, rather it is open to every young person (18 – 35 years) with a ‘fire in the belly’ to start or boost an already existing business in the agribusiness value chain.
The five (5) – component projects include the Young Agripreneurs Forum (YAF), AgriTech Challenge, Women Bootcamp, Booster project for SMEs, and the Young Farmers Business Academy (YFBA).
AAMUSTED recognizes the significant role of agriculture in Ghana’s economy and is committed to partnering with more such NGOs and industry players to solve the challenges of agriculture, one at a time.
