Innovation could end Africa’s dependence – Prof Blankson

The dependence of Africa on aid from donor countries could be brought to an end, if the continent gets more innovative with its natural resources.

This could start with young people in Africa being oriented at an early stage, to create value from untapped opportunities within the continent.

Professor Isaac Abeiku Blankson, Vice President of the Ghana Technology University (GTU), said this at a stakeholder’s meeting on the role of universities in entrepreneurship, which was held on Wednesday in Accra.

He said currently, one major setback to progress in Africa was the continent’s dependence on foreign aid for its development, although Africa had a lot of wealth in its natural resources.

Prof Blankson said the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in the country’s universities is key to ensuring that natural resources and other hidden opportunities are properly utilized into generating wealth and employment on the continent.

He touched on entrepreneurship among the youth and said the entrepreneurial process is not necessarily an easy one, but requires a lot of discipline and determination.

Prof Blankson urged parents and guardians not to discourage their wards and children if they decide to pursue other areas of endeavour, other than the traditional ones such as teaching, medicine, law among others.

He claimed that many of the greatest achievers in the world chose lesser known paths and not the traditionally accepted ones.

Mr. Samuel Seglah, a lecturer at the GTU, said the academia should form partnerships with industry players, to enable students’ practice knowledge gained from entrepreneurial courses they had embarked upon.

He noted that entrepreneurship could best be promoted, when universities found practical opportunities for students to perfect their skills.

The session which was held on theme, “the Innov8GH Conference,” was attended by stakeholders from the academia, to discuss the role of universities in the academia.

Source: GNA