Contrary to popular thinking, capacity is the lifeblood of businesses and not money, says versatile broadcaster, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.

The former host of the Super Morning Show on Joy FM therefore called for concerted efforts to support the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghana.  

Mr. Oppong Nkrumah was speaking at ServLed Friday, where he addressed the group of enthusiastic young entrepreneurs who have started a revolution to build sustainable world class businesses in Africa.

“Entrepreneurs face too many challenges and the current approach of solving it piece-meal will not work. There are so many challenges that confront entrepreneurs in starting and or growing a business and there’s an urgent need to have more business advocates as part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

A report released last year by the Omidyar Network indicated that only few African entrepreneurs have the capacity to start and manage businesses.

Out of the over 200,000 graduates that pass out each year, the study showed that only 14% believe they have the capacity to run a business in Ghana.

Kojo therefore stressed on the need to have several entrepreneurial educators in the forms of accelerator and incubator programs that will help entrepreneurs understand how to manage their finances, human resource, develop a viable business model, do market analysis and define their value proposition among others.

Entrepreneurship thrives in an ecosystem and no single factor alone will move Ghanaian entrepreneurship forward. We rather have to have a multi sector approach to develop and support entrepreneurs who will solve the problems we have in our country.

Speaking on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Kojo shared his experience being a member of Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) in the United States and likening it to what ServLed intends to build in Africa which essentially can be summarized as:

• identify entrepreneurs
• develop capacity  
• provide mentoring  
• use the  accelerator model to improve chances of sustained business success for the entrepreneurs  
• lobby and advocate for Government to develop public policy programs to aid entrepreneurship
• use marketing platforms to promote, encourage and celebrate entrepreneurs

These fundamental actions are required to build a successful and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem and it is only through this comprehensive approach that true progress can be realized.

For more on Kojo’s talk and other speakers who have graced the platform, visit servled.com. ServLed Friday is a free event held every Friday that brings an accomplished entrepreneur or business leader to speak to up and coming entrepreneurs. It is open to young entrepreneurs who desire to build sustainable African businesses. Email info@servled.com for an invitation.