Launch of the Executive Programme in Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Leadership
Leeds University Business School has partnered with Innohub in Ghana to design and launch a brand new programme aimed primarily at the entrepreneurship ecosystem actors and policy drivers.
Entrepreneurship can be the key to unlocking resilient growth across Africa, but only when driven by both socially productive and growth-oriented new businesses. It is an enabler for socio-economic growth and development in Africa, especially within the context of youth unemployment and increasing youth population for which the traditional, and indeed emerging, industrial sectors will not be able to produce sufficient jobs to meet demand.
The Executive Programme in Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Leadership is aimed at providing insights around how to unlock true value through sponsoring entrepreneurship. It will provide policy makers, enterprise support organisations and programme funders with the tools and frameworks to evaluate local entrepreneurial ecosystems they operate in and identify ways in which this can be adapted for deeper meaningful impact. The highly interactive programme will interrogate various models of entrepreneurship ecosystem development around the world, drawing on deep lessons towards creating sustainable pathways for ecosystem development.
Tone Thomas Vaduthala, Director of Executive Programmes, said
“The Leeds University Business School has a strong record of supporting entrepreneurship in our local region. So we are excited about the opportunity to partner with Innohub to support policy makers and funders across Africa in this journey in crafting a more sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem.”
The programme will consist of a five-day immersion at the University of Leeds in the UK, augmented with follow-on implementation support as needed. It will also aim to create a cross-country ecosystem of entrepreneurship between the various entrepreneurship support organisations in Africa, providing opportunities to share best practices and learn from each other’s experiences.
Nelson Amo, CEO of Innohub says,
“This programme could not have come at a better time for a continent that needs to radically create economic opportunities for its significantly large youth force. With a growing interest in entrepreneurship across the continent, African countries have both an opportunity and a challenge to design programs that will help transition necessity entrepreneurs into transformational businesses that create jobs and shared prosperity. Innohub is excited to partner with the University of Leeds Business School towards making this happen.”
The inaugural cohort of the programme launches in August 2023.
