The
recent global economic crisis has increased the urgency for companies and developing
economies like Ghana to identify and develop new sources of revenue and
sustainable path to ensure economic success, says Prof. William Otoo Ellis,
Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
According
to him, “it is only through innovation and entrepreneurship that companies and
countries can enhance their competitiveness, diversify their profit portfolio and
realize all the benefit of the rapidly expanding digital economy”.
He
was speaking at the “Intelligence for Innovation – in4in” African Network Workshop
in Kumasi. Partner universities in Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and
Germany are attending the workshop which is discussing innovative management to
promote Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
The
in4in concept, implemented by the International SEPT Program at the Leipzig
University, upholds the important role universities play in the creation and
growth of innovative SMEs.
Director
of the Program, Prof. Dr. Utz Dornberger, says the in4in offers a set of
strategies and instruments to be used by SMEs capturing important aspects for
simulating the innovation culture and strengthening the competitiveness of the
enterprise.
Prof.
Otoo Ellis decried Ghana’s continuous export of raw materials “with limited value
addition, observing that attempts to promote science, technology, innovation
and entrepreneurship have had limited successes.
He
is however confident attempts to provide enabling environment in which entrepreneurship
and innovation would be given the needed impetus as a catalyst to facilitate
the activities of the private sector.
The
Vice-Chancellor says the KNUST has been making efforts to link its scientific research
and entrepreneurship efforts with industry for purposes of development and
partnership.
He
however acknowledged that higher institutions of learning “have been deficient
in devising appropriate sustainable strategies to let our research outcome see
the light of day by commercializing our research and innovative outcomes into
products and systems to solve our everyday problems”.
A
few successes have been made but there are a lot to get out there, he noted.
Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh
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