MTN, GMIC & NITA launch ICT business incubation project
MTN Ghana Foundation in partnership with Ghana Multimedia Incubator Center and the National Information Technology Agency has launched an ICT business incubation project for eight students from selected tertiary institutions across the country.
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The GH₵304,500 project is geared towards setting up young final-year students in tertiary institutions who have taken up ICT projects and are interested in developing them into their own businesses.
The eight participants were selected after several months of organising innovation forums and engagements in their selected tertiary institutions across the country.
Speaking at the launch of the programme, the MTN Ghana Corporate Services Executive, Mrs Cynthia Lumor said the MTN Ghana Foundation board was excited about the project because it gave the organisation a meaning to dream of building ICT businesses in the country.
According to her, entrepreneurs in Ghana can help turn the country into a digital economy thus the need to support the youth to venture into digital projects.
“Our overriding objective for this partnership is mainly to provide youth entrepreneurship (incubates) with the necessary skills and resources needed to build successful and financially viable businesses”, Mrs Lumor said.
She said, the move would help improve livelihoods, provide employment and strengthen the economy.
Addressing the media, Mrs Cynthia Lumor said, “technology is a driving progress and MTN believes that when we assist people who are given the gift to develop various applications that will help us in our lives as well as our work lives, it helps us”.
“Because of the opportunity it provides progress to the use of digital applications in this country. Things that will support tourism, shipping, encrypted communication and other developmental projects”.
She congratulated the eight beneficiaries and encouraged them to work hard, remain focused and spend time to refine the ideas they presented.
The Minister for Communication, Dr Edward Omane Boamah commended MTN Ghana Foundation for the immense support to the digital development of the country.
He said the incubator project would go a long way to provide employment for startup graduates who do not have the needed support to start their business plans.
He therefore asked the beneficiaries to take advantage of the support given them to expand their business ideas.
The Director General of NITA, Mr George Attah Boateng said the establishment of the incubator was by the government of Ghana through the support of the United Nations Development Programme to help support tertiary students who had various ideas and projects to set up their own organisations.
According to him, the initiative by the MTN Foundation and GMIC came in at the right time when cost of renting and energy supply for the beneficiaries became a challenge for NITA.
A beneficiary of the project, Jacob Kwaku Gyan in an interview with Graphic Online said the project was a “big relief” for him considering the cost involved in renting, electricity and other expenses.
He therefore said he would invest more into capacity building, project development and be able to grow steadily.