The best way to promote economic growth and address the huge youth unemployment problem in the country is for deliberate structure to be instituted for entrepreneurship to thrive, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airtel Ghana, Mrs. Lucy Quist, has observed.
She said the traditional structures in sub-Saharan African countries did not create room for the entrepreneurial potential of its human resource to be properly harnessed.
“The people in sub-Saharan Africa are poor because the system is designed to keep them poor. Until we begin to re-orient our mind-set and challenge the status quo, the numerous development challenges will continue to weigh us down and make us poorer,” she said.
She made these observations last Saturday at the maiden “UK Alumni Awards,” an initiative by the British Council, Ghana, to celebrate the alumni of British universities who have impacted lives and addressed national challenges through their Activities.
At the event, three out of 12 finalists received the outstanding UK alumni awards in the three categories of Professional Achievement Awards, Entrepreneurial Awards and Social Impact Awards.
A Judge of the High Court, stationed in the Land Court of Accra, Mr. Justice Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, received the top awards in the Professional Achievement category for his contribution to justice delivery and building lawyers.
For the Entrepreneurial Awards category, Mr. Sesinam Dagadu was celebrated for his innovative postal address location service that enables 8.7 million people to get their codes and call the ambulance service in terms of emergency, especially in remote areas.
The Social Impact category was won by Gameli Adzaho, a public health professional and educator, for his “Global Lab Ghana” initiative that uses social media to connect and mentor students in colleges.
The awardees each received a memento and other nine finalists were also recognized at the event.
The Country Director of the British Council, Mrs. Lilian Biglou OBE, urged the awardees and other alumni of UK education to continue to explore innovative means to address key national challenges.
She said the UK education system installed the principles of excellence, punctuality and discipline in students and added that those virtues ought to reflect in all UK alumni.
The awardees pledged their commitment to work harder to develop the country.
By: Timothy Ngnenbe/Ghana
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