The Director-General of the Advanced Information Technology Institute at the Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence (AITI-KACE) says students at the senior high school must start thinking about private business.
Ms Dorothy Gordon said students must not consider themselves too young to start businesses.
She was speaking at the launch of this year’s edition of the Junior Achievement Africa Region contest in Accra.
The 2011 Africa Region JA Company of the Year Competition slated for October 18 – 22 will be hosted for the first time in Ghana and will see 21 other African countries participating.
“In 2010, the first ever Africa Region JA Company of the Year Competition brought the members of 13 successful student-created and operated companies from 11 sub-Saharan countries together to showcase business expertise and hands-on learning. This competition, which is now conducted in every JA region around the world, is a contest of business skills, ingenuity and innovation that focuses on the accomplishments of African JA Company Program the students between ages 15-19, engage in during the year,” a statement issued at the launch said.
Ms Gordon said “I know that there are many people who will be watching this particular news item and wondering, ‘could I follow the Junior Achievement programme? Is it that I’m too young to become a business person’? You are not; Junior Achievement, from 15-19 years old, you are eligible to follow any of the courses that we offer.”
She said students must recognise that the entrepreneurial skills that they acquire as a result of their participation in the programme, can “actually help your parents because you could advise them on how they could improve their business plan after you’ve gone through the business plan training.”
Ms Gordon who is a judge in the Junior Achievement Programme, charged all students to demand that Junior Achievement comes to their school and that they must participate fully in the programme.
To the two teams from Accra Academy and Adisadel College who will be representing Ghana in this year’s Africa competition, Ms Gordon said they must not let the country down.
The Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ghana who are the main sponsors of Ghana Junior Achievers said the bank was committed to investing in the country’s young entrepreneurs.
Mr. Benjamin Debrah said, “I would like reiterate Barclays unflinching and continued commitment to support the youth in Ghana to become better citizens and better contributors to the development of our country.”
The Executive Director of Junior Achievement Ghana, Mr. Jefferson W. Agbai, lauded the contributions of Barclays Bank and FedEx for supporting the Company Program across Africa.
He said, “the competition forms part of a broader initiative of Junior Achievement to bring entrepreneurship learning to the door step of young people through hands-on learning, and encouraging all students to inject seriousness into their operations.”
“As part of the competition here in Ghana, we are introducing the FedEx Global Access Awards. As part of the program, students participate in a seminar in advance of the competition to further their understanding of Access and prepare them for the judging for the FedEx Access Award. At the Trade Fair, FedEx judges evaluate participating companies, recognizing the JA student company that presents the best business plan with the potential to create jobs, grow their small business, expand global development and improve the environment,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Academy group, Richard Anku, speaking on behalf of the others assured they would do their best to raise the flag of Ghana.
He said the experiences garnered during the national competition would certainly help the groups to excel.
Two groups were selected after regional competitions in all the ten regions of Ghana. Winners from the various regions met in Accra for the national competition where the Accra Academy and Adisadel College emerged winners after a vigorous competition and rigorous selection process.
