The founder of the LEC Group, Mr Albert Prempeh Kusi, has challenged university students and young people to create businesses while in school and start thinking of what company to establish.
He said one does not need a university degree to start and run a business; one only needs an idea and the ability to implement it.
Mr Kusi said this at the National Youth Mentorship Summit held over the weekend at the Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD UBIDS), Wa.
He said university students and young people needed to shift their mindsets towards setting up businesses that solve the problems of their immediate environments rather than waiting to acquire a degree.
“All you need is a mindset; all you need is to identify a problem. I walk here, and I see so many problems around me. It is all about solving problems; you don’t need a degree to solve a problem. You may need the resources,” he said.
He urged the students and young people to think beyond acquiring university degrees and leveraging their education to identify and proffering solutions to society’s problems.
“If someone can start a business without a university degree, then you, with the degree, should be doing much more because you are learning a lot. So university and degree must only help you achieve more than those without the degree,” he intimated.
Mr Kusi, who is also a business and investment consultant, told the young people to master the three Ms of money, which he described as making, managing, and multiplying money.
He said one could only be said to be creating wealth if one is able to honestly make money, prudently manage the money, and wisely invest it to enable it to grow and multiply.
“We need to train young people to understand how to make money; we also need to equip them with the skills of managing money, but even more importantly, they must move from managing to multiplying the money,” he said.
Also a conference host and life coach, Mr Kusi encouraged the young people to be strategic in building partnerships and relationships that would last a lifetime, not just a fleeting moment.
He said young people should not be interested in immediate returns when engaging with others but should always look into the future of greater possibilities and benefits and consider what they equally have to offer in the relationship.
“This is just to say that we met today, and if you are interested in 200 Ghana cedis support, you might have missed the opportunity, but maybe this relationship you might have started now may grow to where the person has even become your business partner, the person is giving you a job, recommending you for a scholarship,” he said.
The National Youth Mentorship Summit, according to the LEC Group founder, was aimed at opening and inspiring young people to begin, sustain, and grow their businesses in the face of increasing concerns about graduate unemployment and youth poverty.
Some participants at the summit who spoke to Info Radio indicated that they were motivated to unleash their entrepreneurial potential and begin their own businesses.
“I came purposely for this program because I am an aspiring entrepreneur. So when I came, I was motivated and inspired by the speakers, who taught me how to start a business, run it, and manage your team members, employees, and other people you are working with. If I put it into practice, I believe that with all these things, I will become the entrepreneur I have always dreamt of being,” Bushiran Ibrahim Witol, a participant, said.
“In today’s summit, I learnt about building relationships and that we shouldn’t be interested in the short-term benefits, but we should look ahead and with that, we can prolong the relationships that we make,” Francisca Dassah, another participant, remarked.
The LEC Group led the summit, which was supported by Eco Bank Ghana, Malta Guinness, African Skills Hub, and Bel Aqua. The theme was “Fostering Entrepreneurial Mindset.”
