The Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED) is happy to join millions across the world to celebrate the 17^th Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), an annual event that promotes entrepreneurship worldwide and inspires individuals to explore their entrepreneurial potentials. The 2024 celebration, spanning November 18 – 24, 2024, with the theme: “Entrepreneurship is for Everyone,” is directly related to the mandate of AAMUSTED. The GEW celebration comes to AAMUSTED as a golden opportunity to drive home the inevitable role of entrepreneurship in the development efforts in the world and, especially Ghana.

Just like many across the world who would be conducting various celebratory activities such as workshops, seminars, pitch competitions, and networking events to foster innovation, encourage collaboration, and provide support for aspiring entrepreneurs during the Week, AAMUSTED would also undertake several virtual activities including a Webinar. I am happy to launch the AAMUSTED Virtual Entrepreneurship Week celebration today.

AAMUSTED is Ghana’s Premier Public TVET and Entrepreneurial Development Teacher Education University. It was established by an Act of Parliament of Ghana (Act 1026) in August 2020 as part of the Government of Ghana’s determination and golden agenda to facilitate the implementation of innovative TVET, Entrepreneurship, and Industrialisation for the economic and sustainable development of the country.

As a University, our cardinal mandate to:

• provide higher education in TVET and entrepreneurial training to develop skilled manpower for job creation and economic development.
• train and provide teachers with the relevant competencies for teaching in technical and vocational education and training institutions.
• train and provide teachers with the relevant competence for teaching entrepreneurial development and,
• develop strong linkages between the University, industry, and the community to ensure the holistic training of teachers, predispose us to train teachers to teach entrepreneurship at the various levels of education in the country, and prepare persons with the entrepreneurial acumen for the world of work. The University also equips people with the ability and skills to create jobs and employ others.

The University has tasked itself with the vision to be a world-class socially responsible TVET and Entrepreneurial Development Teacher Education University with a Mission to train and provide relevant TVET and entrepreneurial development teachers, and other professionals for educational institutions and industry and promote research and innovation for (TVET and Entrepreneurial) educational policy and economic development in Ghana, West Africa, and beyond.

To achieve the mandate, vision, and mission, supra, and to operate the University to meet the demands of society, the University Management, from the outset, embarked on a national and internal university-based Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) to identify the actual needs and gaps to inform its decisions and actions towards the execution of the University’s mandate to rein in maximum productive outcomes including the:

• strategic development of 86 new practical and demand-driven academic programmes related to TVET, ATVET, and Entrepreneurial Education, in consultation with major stakeholders, especially industries. About 52 of the new programmes are fully accredited with the rest at different stages of the accreditation process,
• introduction of two (2) University-wide courses on entrepreneurship across all programmes in the university.
• introduction of two (2) full-time Entrepreneurship Programmes – B.Sc. Entrepreneurship with Education and B.Sc. Marketing and Entrepreneurship
• establishment of an Institute of Entrepreneurial Development Education and Innovation (IEDEI), and
• the construction of an ultra-modern Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation Center to energise, empower, direct, encourage, and support business creation, invention, and innovation among students and non-students,
• establishment of an Entrepreneurship Club for students to discuss, polish, nurture, and develop entrepreneurial ideas,
• institution of an Annual Innovative and Design Contest to foster creativity and entrepreneurial spirit among students, as well as periodic exhibition of student-produced innovative products and fashion shows.

The University has established collaborations and partnerships with industry, and global institutions to enhance students’ learning experiences and research.

Among these organisations are:

1. Jospong Group of Companies (ZoomLion)
2. Kantanka Automobile
3. Toyota Ghana Ltd
4. GIZ
5. World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and many others.

These collaborations, coupled with hard work, and innovation are part of the reasons why in just about four years of existence, AAMUSTED is already receiving global recognition and attention. For instance, Times Higher Education (THE), a London-based leading global-ranking agency has ranked AAMUSTED the best in Ghana and fourth best in Sub-Sahara Africa for Teaching Skills in its Sub-Saharan African universities impact ranking.

When we say entrepreneurship is for everyone, one may ask, “is everyone born an entrepreneur or is everyone trained to be an entrepreneur?” I think about the world’s acclaimed entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, and others like our own Despite, Dr. Ofori Sarpong, KESSBEN, Jospong (Executive Chairman, ZoomLion Company), and the late Akenten Appiah-Menka, and I wonder how they got the entrepreneurial acumen to evolve into such stalwart statuses. Were their unique abilities by divine providence, learned, inborn, or experienced? I have not yet come to a firm conclusion on that.

However, it gladdens my heart that there is extensive evidence in the literature that entrepreneurial knowledge and skills are taught, learned, acquired, developed, retained, and applied. The theme: Entrepreneurship is for Everyone is, therefore, in perfect synch with the mandate of AAMUSTED to provide higher education in TVET and entrepreneurial training to develop skilled manpower for job creation and economic development and Train and provide teachers with the relevant competence for teaching entrepreneurial development. Quality entrepreneurship education and training help people acquire knowledge, skills, and flexibility to create their own enterprises/businesses successfully. Entrepreneurship easily imbues people with the mindset and ability to be creative, think critically and strategically, generate ideas, and become curious. It also makes people risk-tolerant, decisive, persistent, resilient, innovative, inventive, researchers, etc. In addition, a person with an entrepreneurial mindset would bring innovation to the workplace and improve the quality of products and services. This is intrapreneurship.

Entrepreneurship education is thus key to Ghana’s development. For instance, TVET and STEM education will be fully productive if we can integrate entrepreneurship into the curricula. To that extent, we are grateful to the government, and the Parliament of Ghana for establishing AAMUSTED to train and provide teachers with relevant competencies in TVET and entrepreneurship to teach in the various TVET institutions. We see it as a strong move by the government to promote entrepreneurial literacy in the Ghanaian Educational System. AAMUSTED, by default is at the heart of the nation’s development effort to make innovative entrepreneurship education available to every Ghanaian (both students and non-students). It is for this reason that I stated that the theme for the Global Entrepreneurship Week celebration is directly in line with the mandate of the University. We recognise this crucial position, and we know, we can neither disappoint nor fail.

The lack of entrepreneurial spirit among the youth is cowering most of them from venturing into uncharted but potentially viable areas. As we celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, let us reflect on the theme: Entrepreneurship is for Everyone, and rededicate ourselves to develop and apply entrepreneurship in all aspects of our lives.

We should take advantage of the Celebration to champion quality entrepreneurship practices as the world seeks to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I am convinced that quality entrepreneurship together with innovative TVET, ATVET, STEM/STEAM education can help to achieve the SDGs.

During the week, AAMUSTED would pursue Social Media Campaigns to promote our entrepreneurial success stories and encourage students to share their own entrepreneurial experiences and aspirations.

I commend the initiators/organisers of the GEW for their thoughtfulness and commitment to celebrating and bringing attention to the hard work and innovation of entrepreneurs. Congratulations to all entrepreneurs; May the 2024 Entrepreneurship Week celebrations be fruitful and joyous.

Thank you.

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