The Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference Africa Continental Free Trade Area (GITFiC-AfCFTA) Club at the University of Ghana has urged student entrepreneurs to take advantage of the AfCFTA framework to expand their business reach across the continent.
The patron of the club, Professor Rosina Foli, made the call last Monday when she launched the club’s Tertiary Students’ Week celebrations.
“Students can take advantage of the AfCFTA to bring their business ideas to life.
The creation of a single African market presents students and young entrepreneurs with opportunities to develop businesses that could serve customers beyond Ghana,” she said.
The five-day celebration has the theme, “Empowering the Next Generation to Learn, Connect, Trade, Innovate and Lead,” and it seeks to expose students to opportunities in trade, entrepreneurship and regional integration.
The AfCFTA Student Week will include a business pitch competition, a sports festival and engagements with experienced professionals on how students can develop and commercialise their ideas.
Opportunities
Prof. Foli said students could use the club as a platform to connect with potential customers, partners and opportunities across Africa.
She said membership would expose students to opportunities from other African countries, including conferences, regional seminars and programmes that could help them develop their businesses and careers.
“Students should not limit themselves to the classroom but should build relationships that could help turn their ideas into practical ventures.
“The club would also help students understand the AfCFTA protocol and the opportunities available to them as graduates and entrepreneurs,” she stated.
She also encouraged students from different academic disciplines to participate in the club, saying the development of successful businesses under the AfCFTA would require expertise beyond business and economics.
Capacity-building
For his part, the President of the GITFiC-AfCFTA Club, Felix Adu-Boahen, said the club would use the week to help students develop their ideas and understand how to translate them into businesses serving African markets.
He said the scheduled business pitch competition during the week would give students an opportunity to present their ideas to experienced professionals and receive guidance on developing them.
“A student who stands before a panel and defends a business idea learns more in 20 minutes than a term of lecture will teach them,” he said.
He urged students to participate actively in the competition and other activities, saying the African market was already available to them through the AfCFTA.
