The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) in the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD UBIDS) has inspired students of the university to be innovative and proactive leaders and entrepreneurs in solving the world’s problems.
Hundreds of students of the university were inspired at a Leadership and Entrepreneurship Summit organized by the local NUGS at the UBIDS campus, Wa which brought together entrepreneurs, motivational speakers, and political and academic professionals.
Madam Maria Johana Yuorpor, an Industrial and Organizational psychologist and a Business Development consultant, addressing the scores of students at the summit, urged them to be innovative in thinking and creating solutions to the problems they find in their schools, communities and localities.
She told the students that to be an entrepreneur has to start with the individual identifying what they like and are passionate about, and then consciously developing ideas around what could be done to help the society while making earnings out of it.
Madam Yuorpor, who was also the CEO of Mara Foods and Mara Closet, dovetailing into her entrepreneurial journey, impressed upon the students to be curious in asking questions and seeking networks and healthy relations with colleagues and mentors.
“To network, I usually say you have to DIE. Taking it from the bottom, the ‘E’ stands for Exchanging ideas with people, ‘I’ stands for Interacting with people, and ‘D’ stands Developing yourself once you are networked,” she theorized.
She added that networking and building relations with people was closely linked to volunteering for causes that promote societal wellbeing as she said, volunteerism connects people with like interests and builds valuable life skills and relationships.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale North, Mr Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini also urged the students to do self-introspections and explore their interests and passions as he believed the biggest solutions the world was awaiting lie next to their interests and passions.
“Dare to take calculated risks, be unafraid to fail and remain unrepentantly optimistic. That way, you could be the next entrepreneur or the next leader or the next my own word ‘leaderpreneur’.
“You could just be the one the world is waiting for to revolutionize agriculture, to revolutionize health or education as we know it now. It could be one of you in this room or many of you.
“So do not be afraid to ignite that spirit of leadership and entrepreneurship within you and step up to create a better tomorrow for all,” he encouraged.
Mr Suhuyini, however, admonished that becoming a leader or an entrepreneur does not come easy without dedication and sacrifices, but he further warned it was even more perilous not to strive to become any.
“It will be worse for you if you do not strive in this life to be a leader in whatever field you find yourself or an entrepreneur or both,” he admonished.
He urged the students to keep their hopes alive and be guided by them, as he posited that purposeful pursuit of their ‘hopes and dreams’ would make them equal to those who have ‘ways and means’.
“On the journey of life, you will need people, people will need you but remember, no one owes you anything,” he stressed.
Some students who participated in the summit expressed their happiness about the knowledge and skills they were impacted with, and said they were inspired to venture into leadership and entrepreneurship trajectories.
“I have learnt that you have to know yourself, your capabilities, how you want things to be done in your own way, and what you want to be. You don’t just have to depend on jobs to be able to reach your goals,” Miss Muniratu Osman, a participant said.
“This is a program I have never attended in my life. It has impacted a great deal in my life, it has woken up my feeling, if I may say, to dare to be great,” said Bijobin Laari, another participant.
The summit was on the theme: “Igniting the Spirit of Leadership and Entrepreneurship”.
