Mr Noah Gyemah[right] interacting with Prof Amevi Acakpovi, Mr Kwesi Agyei Sarfo[second from left]

and Mr jeffery Yeboah Frimpong. Photo Lizzy Okai

The Chief Investment Officer for Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Noah Gyimah has urged students to be innovative and assist in addressing socio-economic challenges in Africa.

He said, innovation plays a crucial role in addressing socio-economic challenges in Africa such as poverty, healthcare accessibility, education, infrastructure development and technology.

He was speaking at the first of Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) lecture series by the Accra Technical University (ATU) as part of activities to mark its 75th anniversary celebrations.

His presentation on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong was under the theme “Impacting Society and Driving Innovation-The Story of the Jospong Group of Companies.”

He said, innovators must think about problems within the country and provide solutions which would essentially help create jobs and boost the economy.

“Young people need to have self-urgency to create jobs and their innovation must be solution-oriented and must align with challenges within the community,” he stressed.

He said, the Jospong Innovation Hub would soon be created to help young people both internally and externally with great ideas to succeed.

“Do not wait for someone to retire before you get a job, create ideas that would get you jobs,” he added.

For his part, the head of Youth and Inclusive Banking (YIB) at Access Bank, Ghana, Mr Jeffrey Agyepong reiterated that, an innovative individual required the identification of challenges and solving them.

He also encouraged the students not to be demoralised by negative comments in their quest to be innovative.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kantanka Group of Companies, Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka who was represented by Deputy General Secretary of Operations, also underscored the need for academia to collaborate and work with industry players in finding cutting edge solutions to the challenges faced by Africans.

He also entreated lecturers and researchers to take advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to disseminate information to the public.

In his welcome address, the Acting Vice Chancellor (Ag VC) of ATU, Professor Amevi Acakpovi, noted that the lecture was an opportunity for the university to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The head of the organising committee of the lecture, Professor Alice Mensah also advised the students to engage and learn from individuals who had excelled in industry.

 By Michael D. Abayateye