Diplomatic Symposium

PROJECT PROPOSAL

PROJECT SUMMARY:

This proposal outlines a project aim at fighting poverty and unemployment in Ghana. Based on Unemployed Graduate Association of Ghana 2016 report, there are 600,000 unemployed graduates in Ghana. The universities churn out not less than 70,000 graduates each year who to the greatest frustrations do not get job placement because of the IMF bailout and choked job market. It is on this cause the Community and Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (CEDI Ghana) which is a group of university lecturers and top government officials want to embark on this project to help fight poverty and unemployment in the country. CEDI Ghana which was the 2016 Middle East and Africa Business Award (UK) winner and nominee for Africa Youth Award (Ghana) and Youth Entrepreneurship Award (Berlin – Germany) is committed to promoting national development.

Phase one of the project seeks to have an open symposium among diplomats, government ministers , academicians and business experts under the theme; Youth unemployment: A call for action. Presidency, Diplomats and the Ministers will raise a motion on the topic under the ladyship of the UN Resident Coordinator Madam Christine Evans-Klock who will represent as the chairperson for the symposium. Stakeholders will then present their position paper on the topic after which the speaker will tender the motion for deliberation. We will come up with a resolution which will be sent to the sitting president H.E Addo Danquah Akufo Addo as blueprint for implementation. This symposium will serve as diplomat commitment to the government of Ghana on fighting poverty and unemployment.Dignitaries to be invited to join you and the diplomats include the Minister for Education, Minister for Employment and Minister for Youth and Sports.

Phase two will be an entrepreneurship summit in all universities in Ghana. Students, service personnel’s, unemployed graduates and already existing entrepreneurs will be trained and mentored by top class university lecturers. Among the lecturers who will be given the training includes Prof. Jose Mella; A Professor from Spain Universidad Autonoma De – Madrid, Prof. Dr. Lawrence Lowell, A lecturer at Valley View University, Prof. Bernard Forjwour, A Professor from Mount Holyoke College in the United State of America, Dr. Gabriel Eshun, A Senior lecturer and Coordinator at Geography Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dr. Robert Aidoo, A lecturer of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and many others. This summit will be industry lead where participant will get mentorship and funding from investment and donor organisations if possible.

Title of project: Youth unemployment: A call for action

Theme: Entrepreneurship Skills Development Programme

Geographical scope: National (project implementation in all regions of Ghana)

Implementing Partners: Government of Ghana

Duration of the project: Six months

Start Date: March

Project coordinators: Honourable Abdul Lateef Majdoub

Executive Chairman/District Chief Executive

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Honourable Kingsley Atta – Boafo

Deputy Chairman/Parliamentarian

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Mr. Pinkrah Kwaku Kingsley

Founding President and CEO

CEDI Ghana

Email: [email protected]

[email protected]

Project Facilitators:Prof. Dr. Lawrence Lowell

Mgt /Edu. Consultant/Valley View University Lecturer

Email: [email protected]

Prof. Jose’ Mella Marquez

Universidad Autonoma De – Madrid Lecturer, Spain

Email: [email protected]

Prof. Bernard Forjwuor

Lecturer,Mount Holyoke College, U.S.A

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Gabriel Eshun

Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Science and Technology

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Robert Aidoo

Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah Univ. of Science and Technology

Email: [email protected]

Partner Organisations: CEDI Ghana and BUSAC Fund

Media Partner:All media houses

Budget: The estimated budget is $5,000. $1,250 for Phase 1 and the remaining $3,750 for Phase 2.

INTRODUCTION

Background:

The rate of unemployment in Ghana among graduates from the universities and other tertiary institutions increase each year. The various universities churn out thousands of graduates who are unable to find job placement. By the time these graduates come out, they find to their deepest frustration that the job market is choked. Developed countries government ensure that graduates are well educated, skilled and well equipped to be easily absorbed in the job market while Ghana is otherwise. This unfortunate situation is largely due to the fact that Ghana lacks industries and job places to absorb the thousands of graduates yearly. Report issued by Unemployment Graduates Association of Ghana (UGAG) confirmed that, as at August 2016, the association has registered 600,000 graduates with a potential for more as 70,000 graduates are produced annually by the country’s tertiary institutions. This unemployment problem has also contributed to the rapid influx of many young men and women from other parts of the country to the major cities. It is quite unfortunate that the country is grappling with street hawkers, prostitution, armed robbery and other social vices. The former vice chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), Professor Akwasi Asabre – Ameyaw agreed to this which he said, his institution churn out over 4,000 students each year and out of this, many do not get any form of employment. Professor Asabre suggested government must institute specific admission plans that will benefit the society and instruct the universities about how many students they must admit to avoid spill over. He further suggested that entrepreneurial skills be taught to all students so that they will not remain unemployed but be able to use the skills they have acquired to create their own jobs.

It is on this lacuna the Community and Entrepreneurial Development Initiative want to fill by organising a stakeholder’s symposium to address this issue and to embark on entrepreneurship seminar and investment fair for unemployed graduates as well as the general public to help them create jobs on their own.

Objectives:

• To help those unemployed create jobs on their own
• To provide mentorship opportunity for the unemployed and students
• To provide funding opportunities for start – up entrepreneurs
• To provide networking opportunity for thousands of entrepreneurs

PROCEDURE/SCOPE OF WORK:

Phase 1:

Symposium Objectives

• To discuss ways in which this country can fight poverty and unemployment
• To strengthen international and regional cooperation in this country
• To assist the government with good employment policies and strategies

Keynote presentations

Minister of Employment and Labour Relations: Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah

Minister of Employment:Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah

Minister of Youth and Sports: Hon. Isaac Asiamah

H.E High Commissioners/Ambassador’s

PROPOSED PROGRAMME OUTLINE

8:30-9:00 Breakfast

Welcome and Introduction

9:00-9:15 Mrs. Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator

9:15-9:30 Hon. Alhaji Lateef Majdoub, Executive Chairman for CEDI Ghana

Keynote Address

9:30-9:45 Mr. Nicolas Jørgensen Gebara, Fund Manager, BUSAC Fund

9:45-10:00 Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah , Minister of Employment, Government of Ghana

10:00-10:15 Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, Government of Ghana

Brief Presentation on the Topic, "Youth Unemployment, a Call for Action”.

10:15-10:30 Prof. Dr. Lawrence Lowell, Professor of Management, Lecturer at Valley View University and Executive Director, CEDI Ghana

10:30–10:45Prof. Jose Mella, Professor of Economics, Universidad Autonoma De – Madrid Lecturer, Spain and Executive Member, CEDI Ghana.

10:45-12:30 Diplomats Presentation of Address

12:30-1:00 Lunch

Brief Presentation:

1:00-1:15 Prof. Bernard Forjwuor, Professor of Politics, Mount Holyoke College, U.S.A

1:15 – 1:30 Hon. Atta – Boafo Kingsley, Former Parliamentarian, Government of Ghana

1:30 - 2:00 Roundtable Discussion among Diplomats, Ministers and Academicians

2:00-2:15 Wrap Up Session

Chairperson: Ms. Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator

Closing Remark:

2:15-2:30 Mr. Pinkrah Kwaku Kingsley,Founding President and CEO, CEDI Ghana

2:30-3:00 Departure

Chairperson: Mrs. Christine Evans-Klock, UN Resident Coordinator

Vice Chairman: Hon. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education, Ghana

Vice Chairman: Hon. Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister of Employment, Ghana

Moderator: Dr. Gabriel Eshun, Senior Lecturer, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and

Technology – Kumasi and Executive Member, CEDI Ghana.

Phase 2:

This project aims to inculcate in the unemployed graduates as well as the general public in Ghana entrepreneurship skills for them to create jobs. This project is different from other entrepreneurship programme because of the following;

• Target Group: The segment we have chosen to serve. We chose fresh and unemployment graduates because they are already knowledgeable but lack the entrepreneur spirit. They do not know the road map to become an entrepreneur. This programme will teach them the way.
• Financing: Will invite investment and angel organizations to be present at the programme to debrief the process of acquiring their funding to start – up and already existing entrepreneurs.Organisations to be invited include Venture Capital Trust Fund, Acumen Fund, BUSAC Fund, Global Impact Investment Network (GIIN) and Exim - Guarantee.
• Mentorship: Participant will have the chance to meet great experts from various discipline and field, scholars, distinguished guest to be mentored. The programme accepts one on one discussion with the invested guest to help address individual issues of life. CEDI Ghana also boost of great mentors like Prof. Dr. Lawrence Lowell, Prof. Jose Mella, Prof. Bernard Forjwuor, Dr. Gabriel Eshun, Dr. Robert Aidoo, Hon. Alhaji Lateef Majdoub, Hon. Atta Boafo Kingsley and Mr. Pinkrah Kwaku Kingsley who will be inspiring and mentoring participants.

Methods:

The seminar will be a day in all universities.

The principal project breakdown activities within the scope of this proposal are listed in Table 1:

Project Activity

Activity	Timeline
Entrepreneurship Seminar	Morning
Investment Fair	Afternoon

Plan of Activity

Day	Programme	Timeline
Morning	Entrepreneurship Seminar	Presentation	Interactive session
Afternoon	Investment fair	Interactive Session

Event description

Morning: At the entrepreneurship workshop, academicians and experts will train and mentor participants. Academicians to lead this training include Prof. Dr. Lawrence Lowell, Prof. Jose Mella, Prof. Bernard Forjwour, Dr. Gabriel Eshun, Dr. Robert Aidoo and many others. Personnel’s and the general public will get the opportunity to ask questions. They will be working in groups and receiving feedback following each session.

Afternoon: With the Investment fair, short Presentation will be given by the various investment agencies after which interaction continues. Investment organisations will be provided with stand for participants to interact and present their business proposal for funding.

Target Group:

Target group for the entrepreneurship seminar and the investment fair is the general public particularly the unemployed graduates, service personnel and students. We choose this segment because that is the highest unemployed segment in Ghana. The training will be taken to not less than 50,000 graduates. The following will be utilized to reach out to the general public:

• Announcement on television and radio stations in Ghana and the universities.
• Displaying of flyers, banners and posters at all the universities.
• Websites publication.

EVALUATION

• Upon acceptance will work together.
• Will submit a project report upon the completion of the project.
• Will keep detailed accurate, complete records of expenditures
• Upon request, will provide an audited financial statement of the income and expenditure by an independent certified public accountant as documentation that the money is spent on the purposes for which it was provided.

BUDGET

The budget below is the cost of the project.

Cost of project:

Phase 1

Category	Amount (US$)
Rent of Auditorium	250
Water and Refreshment	750
Travel Expenses	250
Total costs	1,250

NB. The US$750 water and refreshment budget is for 100 people including diplomats, presidency and academicians.

Phase 2

Category	Amount (US$)
Rent of Auditorium	-
Reporting costs (production and dissemination of publications)	1,250
Transportation	250 to each centre
Total costs	3,750

NB: We estimate GH¢250 will be used to fuel our vehicle (in and out) to each centre (regional bases).

Narrative to budget line items:

Personnel cost: Will not incur any personnel cost since we already have the team to give the training.

Rent:Will partner with the University Students Association of Ghana. This will help us get auditorium for free in all the universities.

Travel Cost:The US$250 will be used to incur the coordinator and facilitators transportation to all the centres.

Reporting Cost:US$1,250 will be used for media and website publications.

FACILITATORS AND COORDINATOR PROFILE:

Co-Founder/Executive Chairman: - Hon. Alhaji Abdul Lateef Majdoub

Hon. Alhaji Abdul Lateef Majdoub was the District Chief Executive for Adansi North District from 2008 – 2016. He served the Government of Ghana and his people for many years where he run several projects. He is the Executive Chairman for CEDI Ghana, a great national developer and a human right activist.

Co-Founder/Deputy Chairman : - Hon. Atta Boafo Kingsley

Hon. Atta Boafo Kingsley was a Member of Parliament for Fomena Constituency. He served under the Environment, Science and Technology and Gender, Children and Social Welfare Committee from 2013 – 2017 when in parliament. He is the Deputy Chairman for CEDI Ghana, great public speaker, philanthropist and committed to social development.

Co-Founder/Ex. Director: - Prof. Dr. Lowell (PhD, CertADR, AMC™, MGNAAP, FAAFM)

Lawrence Lowell is Certified ADR Practitioner-(CertADR) and Member of Ghana National Association of ADR Practitioners-MGNAAP, ‘Accredited Management Consultant-AMG™’ with Licensed/Charter Certification, a Fellow-FGAFM™, and Global Academic Advisor in Ghana, Global Board of Academics/Professors Advisory Council for GAFM/AAFM USA. Lowell is also URGC Ambassador on Educational Programs of Displaced/Refugee People for Ghana-Global.

International Professional Memberships

• Member (MICDE)-International Council for Open and Distance Educational
• Member (MICHE)-International Council for Higher Education, Zurich
• Member (MCMI)-Chartered Management Institute (CMI) UK

Academic Work Experience

Current:

• Adjunct Faculty - The University of America,Salt Lake City, UtahandMurrieta California
• International Faculty/Partner -Academician-Universidad Empresarial de Costa Rica (Entrepreneurship University of Costa Rica)
• Adjunct Faculty - Azteca University European programmes, Mexico
• Course Facilitator/Exams Supervisor - Cambridge International College, UK;
• International Coordinator - Indian Management Academy
• Lecturer - Valley View University Kumasi/Takyiman campus School of Business.
• Founding President/CEO of REASON CONSULTING, formally (LOWELL PROFESSIONAL SERVICES); a registered ADR, Recruitment, Management & Educational consulting firm in Kumasi.

Past:

• University College of Management Studies as Lecturer/Administrator
• Global Professional Studies as Administrator/Ag. Principal
• Business Management & Financial Institute as Administrator/Snr. Lecturer

Founding President and CEO: - Mr. Pinkrah Kwaku Kingsley

Mr. Pinkrah Kwaku Kingsley is the Founding President and Chief Executive Officer for CEDI Ghana. He is a graduate of KNUST and a member of Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum (Switzerland), Global Citizen Network (U.S.A) and World Youth Alliance Network (U.S.A) which are all committed to solving the world pressing issues. Kingsley served as UNDP Vice President at Ghana International Model United Nation Conference 2017. Mr. Pinkrah is known for as a public speaker who discusses development issues both on television and radio, a community advocator, a social entrepreneur and researcher.

Executive Member: - Prof. Jose Mella Marquaz (PhD, MBA and BA).

Qualifications

- 1973: B.A. in Economics and Business Administration at UAM

- 1982: PhD (with distinction) in Economic Development at UAM. Thesis title: “An Economic

Strategy for the Development of Underdeveloped Regions. The case of Galician

Region”

- 1987-1992:Associate Professor in Economic Development

- 1993-2015:Full Professor in Economic Development

- 1994-2015: Jean Monnet Professor appointed by the European Union (EU) for teaching Development Policy of the EU

Current posts

- Professor of Economics at Spiritan University College - Ejisu-Kumasi

- Full Professor of Economic Development (African countries)

- Member of the Faculty Council

- Jean Monnet Professor appointed by the EU Commission

- Evaluator of the EU Commission

- Program Director, International Economic Cooperation Program of Tangier-Tetouan University (Morocco) and Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain)

- Program Director, International Economic Cooperation Program of Oruro University (Bolivia) and Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain)

Executive Member: - Prof. Bernard Forjwuor (PhD, M.A and BA).

Appointment:

• Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, USA
• Consortium for Faculty Diversity (CFD) Postdoctoral Fellow in Politics, July 2015
• Ph.D. African American Studies, December 2015
• Graduate Certificate in Critical Theory, June 2013
• M.A. Political Science, June 2009
• M. A. African Studies, March 2008
• M. A. Theatre Studies, June 2005
• B.A. Theatre Studies (Major) and English (Minor) May 2001

Education

Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois USA

Ohio University, Athens, Ohio USA

University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario Canada

University of Ghana, Legon, Accra Ghana

Executive Member: - Dr. Gabriel Eshun (PhD, MBA and BSc).

He holds BSc from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), MBA and PhD from University of Leicester, UK. He is a Senior Lecturer and the Coordinator for Tourism Programme in the Geography Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He specializes in marketing, tourism, entrepreneurship, ecotourism and green issues in hotels. He is also a performing poet and a motivational speaker.

Executive Member: - Dr. Robert Aidoo (PhD, MPhil and BSc).

He holds BSc in Agriculture, MPhil and PhD in Agricultural Economics all from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He lectures Risk management and Strategic Management at KNUST Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Extension at the Faculty of Agriculture. He is a great motivational speaker, entrepreneur and a community developer.