By Lawrence Odoom/Phalonzy
Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman has launched the Students Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Programme, SEED, at the University of Professional Studies, Accra, in a bold intervention to cultivate a new vanguard of student entrepreneurs and confront Ghana’s youth unemployment crisis head-on.
The landmark initiative, unveiled on Wednesday, April 30, at UPSA, crystallizes President John Dramani Mahama’s pledge to “address youth unemployment, one of Ghana’s most pressing challenges,” through structured, high-impact enterprise incubation.
SEED emerges as the natural successor to the Adwumawura Programme, which “attracted numerous applications when it opened, demonstrating the readiness of Ghana’s youth to innovate and take risks.”
The new programme is engineered to be the decisive bridge between ideation and execution. “This programme provides a platform to support students in transforming innovative ideas into sustainable enterprises,” a framework that positions tertiary campuses as crucibles of commerce and innovation.
Spearheaded by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme under Chief Executive Officer Mr. Eric Adjei, SEED is being rolled out in strategic partnership with the National Union of Ghana Students. The alliance “reflects Government’s commitment to empowering young people to take charge of their future” by embedding entrepreneurship into the academic ecosystem.
In her keynote address, Prof. Opoku-Agyeman lauded the constellation of institutions driving the initiative.
“I commend the Ministry of Education, the Minister for Youth Development and Empowerment, the Chief Executive Officer of the NEIP, their dedicated teams, and all stakeholders for their hard work and leadership,” she said.
She extended special recognition to the network of implementation partners, adding, “I also congratulate all the innovation hubs that will drive implementation across tertiary institutions.”
Addressing the inaugural cohort, the Vice President issued a charge to action: “Congratulations to the first cohort of participants. I encourage all to seize this opportunity to contribute meaningfully to national development.”
With SEED, Government is institutionalizing enterprise as a core pillar of tertiary education converting lecture halls into launchpads and student ingenuity into bankable ventures. The programme is expected to deepen practical business acumen, expand access to seed capital and mentorship, and accelerate job creation by empowering graduates to become employers rather than job seekers.
The initiative signals a paradigm shift: Ghana’s demographic dividend will be harnessed not merely through employment, but through enterprise.