Academic City, MakeLab, Israeli Embassy poised to address youth unemployment
Academic City University College, Ghana's premier institution for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics and Entrepreneurship, has announced a partnership with MakeLab and the Israeli Embassy to develop a makerspace to increase youth employment opportunities in the country.
According to reports, Africa's youth population is growing and is expected to reach 2.4 billion by 2050. This demographic trend has significantly exacerbated the continent's unemployment situation.
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In this regard, the "MakeLab ACITY - Accra" makerspace, which will be located on the Academic City campus, is critical to the fight to improve youth employment in Ghana and beyond.
Youth entrepreneurship
When completed, the initiative will make a significant contribution to providing more support for youth entrepreneurship, including business skills and connections with financial and in-kind support.
The centre will be open to the public and offer open-source access to the rapid prototyping, testing and piloting of products and goods, including fabrication labs (fablabs), hackerspaces, hubs co-working spaces.
“We are pleased to collaborate with MakeLab and the Israeli Embassy to bring a world-class makerspace to the doorstep of the Ghanaian youth, which will go a long way towards promoting creativity and innovation and harness the energy of Ghanaian youth and partners to leverage on technology to create sustainable solutions to some of the biggest challenges on the continent of Africa,” the Technology and Entrepreneurship Centre (TEC) Manager,” Makafui Awuku, said.
"This project will go a long way toward achieving Academic City's goal of fostering transformational leaders for the continent's development," he added, saying, "We look forward to utilising the centre once it is completed to address local issues in innovative and cost-effective ways."
The Founder of MakeLab Network, Avi Ostfeld, remarked, "We are delighted to be working with Academic City and the State of Israel to establish this second African MakeLab centre. This is a great start here in Ghana."
Engine of innovation
"MakeLab centres are here to foster creativity, which is the engine of innovation. MakeLab is the platform for everyone to come, use the tools and fabrication means, explore, create, share, and contribute back to the MakeLab Network community and the physical centres — which are being developed by the community itself," he noted further.
For her part, the Ambassador of Israel to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Shlomit Sufa, said: "We are excited to begin this partnership with Academic City University College and MakeLab. This project will enable us to share the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship and demonstrate the technological capabilities of Israel in a manner that will benefit innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in Accra and all over Ghana”.
