WestlionCo has successfully held the Africa Entrepreneurship Accelerator Summit 2nd edition 2023 in Accra.
The summit commenced with an intriguing opening speech by Chairperson Ohenewa Sakyi-Bekoe, Development Consultant and board member, WestlionCo.
She emphasised social capital and cultivating meaningful relationships as entrepreneurial currencies for young startup founders.
According to her, business owners are responsible for identifying relevant connectors and collaborators to amass the required resources for building sustainable enterprises.
She also called on key stakeholders to beef-up SME support and intentionally create opportunities for businesses to thrive.
Angela Asante, Presidential Advisor, Gender and Development delivered an insightful keynote presentation at the just-ended Africa Entrepreneurship Accelerator Summit 2023.
According to her, entrepreneurship is not merely an abstract concept but a transformative force that holds the potential to reshape our continent’s destiny.
During her delivery, she highlighted major challenges that have long hindered the rise of youth entrepreneurship on the continent. Among the many hurdles were access to education, finance, mentorship and digital innovation.
She concluded by saying: “It’s our collective responsibility to break down these barriers and create an enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship to flourish, as Africa is home to the youngest population in the world”.
She assured participants of government’s dogged determination to deepen entrepreneurship support on all fronts.
Chief Enterprise Business Officer-MTN Ghana, Richard Densu, graced the Summit 2023 as a keynote speaker.
As the custom of his presentations has always been, his keynote speech was nothing short of a game-changer.
He indicated that though Africa is rich and holds a huge proportion of the world’s renewable and non-renewable natural resources, the continent still faces a significant economic gap compared to the rest of the world – evident in lower GDP per capita, reduced access to basic services, and a lag in key development indicators.
According to him, the fastest way to accelerate Africa’s economic growth and create prosperity for generations to come is through entrepreneurship.
Job creation, innovation and adaptability, wealth creation, resource mobilisation and diversification are the preserves of a well-nurtured entrepreneurial economy.
He drew conclusive remarks from the case of Asia and its strong backbone – SMEs. He hammered on six connectors that will consolidate Africa’s entrepreneurship acceleration: Secure Energy, Efficient transport, Reliable Communication Systems, Resilient Sanitation, Affordable Housing and Soft Infrastructure.
“Africa can openly embrace new technology and ideas, with no historical imprint from which to break free,” said Mr. Densu.
