Dr. Caryn Agyeman Prempeh, a Medical Doctor and Entrepreneur, has urged tertiary institutions in Ghana to make entrepreneurship attractive to the youth, since they had shown profound interest in the free enterprise sector.
According to Dr. Agyeman Prempeh, entrepreneurship happens to be one of the most illustrious business avenues given to mankind. She noted that the prospects of entrepreneurship were so great that significant profits could be accrued from the sector, however, it was coupled with a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, and tough decisions amongst others.
She has, therefore, asked higher educational institutions to devise strategies through which they make entrepreneurship attractive in the eyes and minds of the youth.
Using herself as case study and charging the graduands to take keen interest in entrepreneurship, she stated: “Nobody knew and ever thought entrepreneurship will be my cash cow, because everybody saw me as that beautiful doctor who takes care of kids and smiles at them, however, it has given me more reward than any of my jobs.”
Dr. Caryn Agyeman was speaking at the 7th Graduation ceremony of the Christ Apostolic University College (CAUC) at Kwadaso in the Kumasi Municipality, where she spoke on the theme: “Producing transformational Leaders and Entrepreneurs for Ghana; the role of the Universities in Ghana.”
Whilst Agyeman Prempeh described some of the shortcomings of entrepreneurship as self-doubting, she noted that the sector was still rewarding and fulfilling, igniting the sense of pride in entrepreneurs.
According to her, the emergence of Covid-19 had brought to fore the prowess of entrepreneurship. “Looking at the effect of the pandemic, businesses had to shift from their usual focus to incorporate protective gear, disinfectant, vaccines and others to enable the world combat this uncertain and unplanned pandemic,” she said.
The President of CAUC, Professor Clement Baah Somuah, on his part, urged the graduating students to muster courage and venture into entrepreneurship as they seek to join the Ghanaian workforce.
“It is not an easy path, but you can make it if you are prepared to make the commitment to work hard and persevere. Never ever give up. Attributes such as commitment, honesty and going the extra mile are indispensable for success,” he said.
In a fraternal message delivered on behalf of the Vice Chancellor of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, she told the graduands that some years back, when university students were graduating, companies would be around ready to employ them.
According to Akosua Dickson, “in those days, all that one needed was to get a degree, but the status quo changed some 25 years ago,” adding that “degree hardly matters anymore.
“You need it as a requirement, but it hardly matters, because some 25 years ago, what we needed from you was something that came to be called skills – soft skills,” she said, adding, “After whatever degree you were awarded with, you were expected to have some soft skills, and that is why some of us were better than others. We would be doing the same job, but breed differently.”
Prof Akosua Dickson, however, regretted that nobody cared about skills anymore. “In other words, degrees do not matter, it is only a requirement. Skills nobody looks at. What matters now is attitude.”
