Students in second-cycle schools in Afram Plains to boost their competence through youth enabling clubs

Four (4) schools – Donkorkrom Agriculture Senior High School, St Mary’s Vocational and Technical Institute, ⁠Mem-Chemfre Community Day Senior High School, and ⁠Amankwakrom Fisheries and Technical Institute – located within the Kwahu Afram Plains North District (KAPND) are earmarked to benefit from the establishment of an interdisciplinary Youth Enabling Clubs on their campuses.

The clubs, which is being spearheaded by Africa Street MBA, is intended to whip up the enthusiasm of the youth in second cycle schools in underprivilege communities to take up entrepreneurship as a tool to uplift their communities from poverty, deepen their knowledge and sharpen their skills in digital economy and avoid the traps of financial fraud which the youth are susceptible to these days.

The clubs will become operational this year and will focus on three thematic areas, namely: Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy and Digital Literacy, and will be open to all students from first year through to final year.

Announcing the initiative during a 2-day (8th to 9th May 2025) capacity building engagement in the schools, Mr. King A. Wellington, Project Lead of Africa Street MBA, noted that “over the years, Africa Street MBA has been on the forefront of empowering the youth who resides in the Kwahu Afram Plains North District at the grassroot level by training, coaching and mentoring youth in the informal sector on how to become micro-entrepreneurs and build life from there.”

He further stated that “we, however, realised the need to integrate the youth in Second Cycle Schools because firstly, they fall within the project’s target audience and secondly, they fall prey to fraudulent investment schemes, and we see an increase in betting which can lead to life-long addiction.”

“Finally due to the high unemployment rate and the fact that most of the youth in deprived areas do not get opportunities, Africa Street MBA is empowering the youth to imbibe the culture of starting, running and growing their own business” he added.

The 2-day capacity building engagements with the youths in all four schools witnessed the participation of over 500 students been empowered to turn their hobbies, passions and skills into micro-businesses. Students were also encouraged to have a positive mindset and a can-do attitude towards life to achieve greatness.

The management of all schools engaged showed their appreciation to Africa Street MBA for the hands-on training delivered. Mr. Emmanuel Adablah, Assistant Headmaster Administration of Donkorkrom Agriculture Senior High School, stated that “Africa Street MBA’s commitment to empowering young minds with these essential skills is truly commendable.” “We are already seeing a positive shift in students’ understanding of business principles and financial management,” he added.

The Africa Street MBA team prior to engaging the schools paid a courtesy visit to Mrs. Victoria Atsufui Yawa Barko, the District Education Director of Ghana Education Service in Kwahu Afram Plain North District. In welcoming the team, Mrs. Barko commended the effort and dedication by Africa Street MBA and encouraged the team to continue empowering the youth in the district.

Recognising the significant unemployment rate among Ghana’s youth and the lack of proper business knowledge, Africa Street MBA, a project being implemented by DONE BY US with support from the KGL Foundation seeks to address these challenges by offering capacity building initiatives such as training, coaching, mentorship, business development services, and funding opportunities.

The project targets marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities (PWDs), women, and young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds as well as those with low education, with a focus on the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. Through Africa Street MBA, over 7,000 young people have been trained, coached and mentored in 7 regions since 2022.

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