On May 27, 2011, Ashesi University, in partnership with the Ashesi Alumni Association, held the first edition of the Ashesi Entrepreneurship Forum at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra. The Forum is a bi-annual event which provides young business-minded individuals with an opportunity to present their business plans to a group of successful Ghanaian and international entrepreneurs and members of the Ashesi community. The goal of the event was to promote the creation of new businesses and business models.
The forum included a business plan competition in which four groups of students presented their ideas to an audience comprised of Ashesi faculty, alumni, and entrepreneurs from organizations such as Airtel, Calbank and Intercontinental Bank. Each business idea was designed to target a specific need or inefficiency within current services, as identified by each student group.
The first presentation of the night was given by Nicole Ahouadjinou and Joy Preston. Their business, called NJ Express, offers a new business model for operating a safe, efficient and reliable taxi service in Accra. The second presentation of the night was made by Afua Aidoo and Melvin Akaba, representing the business DataWorks. Their objective is to set up a market research company to provide critical market information to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), large corporations and foreign investors. The third group, Nirvana Company Limited, represented by Casely Okyere and Philip Dzisenu, presented a plan to provide an excellent unisex hair salon, cafe and snack bar service to Ashesi's new campus in Berekuso.. The final presentation for the night was given by Jonathan Attipoe, Prince Yeboah Benneh and Richard Bempong. Their business idea is a web-based market platform, called PhlexMart, which seeks to promote e-commerce in Ghana by creating a platform for business both online and offline.
DataWorks and NJ Express were judged the strongest presentations of the night, and won consulting services in marketing, finance and strategy, human resource, technology and legal advice worth $10,000 from the forum’s partners: Axis Human Capital Limited, Rancard Solutions and Ashesi University.
The outcome of the event was extremely positive. The 50 member audience was impressed with the presentations and commended Ashesi for its initiative in creating a platform for young entrepreneurs to learn from industry players, the community and from each other, while also providing a great networking opportunity. The participants were very appreciative of the opportunity and the feedback they received. They were also happy to meet and interact with the Ashesi alums and the people from industry.
Special thanks to Yawa Hansen-Quao, Linda Laryea Andara Kamara and Ebenezer Buckman who were very instrumental in the organization of the maiden event.