University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) Innovation and Incubation Hub, with support from the Research and Innovation System for Africa (RISA), has launched ‘Bridge the Research Innovation-Industry Assimilation Gap’ (briing).
The initiative seeks to train farmers in six different suburban communities in the country. It will equip farmers and food processors with modernised ways of food processing with the aim of adding value, preserving food for longer periods and increasing income for players along the value chain.
The six teams were picked from Daily Research, Improvement and Innovation Consortium (driinc), a group that is into food processing research.
Each team tackled different topics such as fruit processing, tomato processing, yoghurt processing, fish processing, palm processing, and poultry and egg production.
The beneficiaries include: Takoradi; Dormaa; Techiman; Cape Coast; Kade; and Juapong.
Clarifying why these communities were selected, Oliver Kwabena Aggrey, Hub Manager for UGBS Innovation and Incubation Hub, said all chosen communities are leading producers of the foods mentioned above.
He further lamented how syllabus taught in schools are mostly theory-based and less practical, adding that the UGBS Innovation and incubation Hub seeks to fill practical gaps left in the educational system. “This is the Business school; we have to be able to train students to start and run their own businesses, which is also relevant in the quest to help solve challenges of unemployment.”
Mr. Aggrey noted that the UGBS Innovation and Incubation Hub has been in existence since 2019, with the motive of helping students with bright business ideas transform them into viable ventures.
Gameli Adzaho, Country Technical Lead for RISA – a multi-country project funded by the United Kingdom with the aim to support research and innovation systems strengthening in Africa – explained that RISA decided to support and fund UGBS Innovation and Incubation hub because it aligns with RISA’s ecosystem growth agenda.
RISA operates in six other African countries; which include Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Kenya.
Expressing delight, Nana Ama Serwaa Osei – a research assistant at driinc and a team-member for ‘fruit processing’, said she is happy to participate in the briing project; especially going out of her comfort zone.
