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On Thursday, March 11, 2010, Cisco Systems, Inc. and African Connections Ghana Limited launched the African Connections - Cisco Entrepreneur Institute. The ceremony was held at Ghana Telecom University College, the Institute’s site and where courses will be held. In addition to special invited guests, in attendance at the event were press from the Daily Guide, GBC Radio, Business and Financial Times, Daily Graphic, and Citi FM.
The event began with welcome addresses by John Chambers, CEO of Cisco Systems, via video-cast, and Sampson Addo, Director of Operations, African Connections Ghana Ltd. Ronald Pickings, Program Manager of the African Connections-Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, gave the main address. Gratitude and appreciation were expressed to the Honorable Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms. Hanna Tetteh, for her support.
The African Connections - Cisco Entrepreneur Training Center will open an Entrepreneur Institute in each of the Ten Regions in Ghana by 2012. These institutes are essential for entrepreneurial growth in Ghana. Half of all businesses fail within the first few years. Successful small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the largest contributors to economic development. It is, therefore, essential to focus on making sure these enterprises thrive. The African Connections - Cisco Entrepreneur Training Center, as Mr. Pickings states, “is a NGO established solely to help foster economic development ...”
“With a strong private sector, you create jobs, goods and services for export, and increased personal savings,” he says, and that, “these three items will generate tax revenues, foreign exchange, and more money for banks to lend businesses and individuals.”
In addition to benefiting the entrepreneurs who attend the Institute, Ghana as a whole will benefit from the extra tax revenues that successful businesses generate, which will enable the country to improve infrastructure, schools, and hospitals.
Mr. Pickings says, “The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Ghana.” As noted, this is seen every day from the plantain chip sellers and pure water vendors, to the mobile phone unit sellers. “Some of these entrepreneurs have a keen sense of business acumen; imagine what they could do with proper entrepreneurial training and some working capital,” states Pickings. He goes on to point out that business is more than just buying and selling, but that planning, strategizing, organizing, securing funds, and managing employees are all vital parts of starting and maintaining a successful enterprise.
After Mr. Pickings’ speech, the Managing Director of African Connections Ghana Ltd, Dr. Ayesha S. Hakeem, delivered her short remarks. She began by saying that as a company, African Connections Ghana Ltd’s objective is to provide clients with, “The means to cost effectively develop and enhance the management of their operations and projects in order to achieve their goals; thereby empowering them to thrive in a competitive and constantly changing global business environment.” This directly correlates with the AC company motto, “BUILDING GLOBAL BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS©.”
The African Connections-Cisco Entrepreneur Training Institute grew out of an introduction of African Connections to Cisco Systems through USAID during a Trade Mission to Washington, D.C. The alliance formed after the initial meeting, a series of conference calls, and presentations.
Dr. Hakeem closed by thanking the Honorable Minister for Trade and Industry, Hanna Tetteh, and Dr. Osei Darkwa, President of Ghana Telecom University College, for their support.
You can visit the AC-Cisco site at http://ac-ciscotrainingcenter.org/
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