THE University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has launched an innovation and incubation hub to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the youth in the country.

The about $240,000 facility will provide technical support and other capacity-building programmes to shape the path of young entrepreneurs to build successful start-ups.

It will also adopt modules, including ideation, mentorship, seminars, pitch programmes, among others, for beneficiaries.

The project is being funded by both public and private institutions, such as the Agricultural Manufacturing Group (AMG), the University of Ghana, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the British Council.

At the launch in Accra yesterday, the Dean of the UGBS, Prof. Justice Bawole, said theory-based teaching had become outdated with the evolving job market, hence the need for the initiative to develop skills of students to create sustainable start-ups to contribute to the economic growth of the country.

He said as a hub, it would take students through varied modules, as well as incubate ideas in the students to enable them to support and grow their businesses from the micro level to fully operational registered entities.

“So, basically, this will create the opportunity for students to be able to establish sustainable businesses for themselves,” Prof. Bawole added.

The Pro Vice-Chancellor in charge of Research, Innovation and Development at the UG, Prof. Felix Asante, expressed appreciation to the business school for the initiative and said it coincided with the approval of the innovation policy for the school.

He said his office was in the process of establishing a maker space for the university to harvest various talents for the job industry in the country.

“I am hopeful that when this initiative comes into reality, we will be able to polish these ideas harvested from our incubation hub with the makers space,” he added.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the AMG, Ernest Kwasi Appiah, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the efforts of the school in helping to address some of the challenges facing the youth through the hub initiative.

He said the project would create a vibrant atmosphere in which students and trainees would be encouraged and given the platform to grow their businesses.

Mr Appiah pledged his commitment to the success of the project, while calling on other stakeholders to invest in the ideas of the youth to build a resilient industry and economy.

SOURCE : Graphiconline