Pecan Energies and its partners have awarded full scholarships worth GH¢5,524,000 to 70 students to pursue various courses at tertiary institutions across the country for the 2023/2024 academic year.
The Pecan Inspire Scholarship Programme (PISP) targets brilliant students from low-income households. The addition of 70 new students brings the total number of beneficiaries so far to 141. The scholarship covers full tuition and lodging fees, one laptop for academic work, semester stipend, student development programmes, including career and skills training and mentoring & academic advising.
“Our commitment at Pecan Energies to investing in education as a tool to unlocking prosperity remains unflinching. We have new owners in Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) who share this commitment and are ready to make the necessary investments so more young people can get the skills they need to contribute to Ghana’s economic development.
We will continue to prioritize investments in building capacity in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). We do this knowing full well that we are yet to commence oil production. While we make good progress towards first oil, we remain acutely aware that the education of these brilliant young men and women cannot wait,” said Kadijah Amoah, Chief Executive Officer of Pecan Energies Ghana Limited.
The PISP remains the flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative for Pecan Energies and its license partners: Lukoil Overseas Ghana Tano Limited, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), and Fueltrade Limited. It is designed to help improve access to tertiary education for Ghanaians. It replaced the Pecan Energies Senior High School Scholarship programme, which gave more than a thousand high school students the opportunity to attend a school of their choice, fully funded.
At least 40percent of the beneficiaries selected for the 2023/2024 academic year are female, including Jennifer Apingu, whose powerfully compelling story went viral last year. She worked as a head porter (Kayayo) to fund her Senior High School education.
Despite representing her school in the prestigious National Science and Maths Quiz and her excellent grades, she was forced to work in a “drinking spot” in Navrongo in Ghana’s Upper East Region with little hope of pursuing her dream to become a pharmacist. “I am exceedingly happy I can now pursue my dream. Pecan Energies has paid my fees, and I am now looking forward to working hard to earn a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Health and Allied Sciences,” noted Jennifer.
The PISP reserves at least 80percent of places for beneficiaries from coastal districts of the Western Region, with the rest reserved for other regions of Ghana. 85percent of beneficiaries are studying various STEM-related programmes including two physically challenged students.
