Sixteen entrepreneurs have graduated from the first cohort of the International Certificate in Impact Entrepreneurship (ICIE) Programme, following the successful completion of an entrepreneurship training initiative designed to equip young business owners with practical skills, mentorship and investor-readiness support.
The graduation ceremony was held on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at the E4Impact Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center at UPSA Amartey Towers in Accra.
The ICIE Programme was delivered under the EU–Ghana Pact for Skills Project: Support Tertiary Education for Sustainability Employability – Entrepreneurship Stream, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in partnership with the E4Impact Foundation.
The programme, launched in February and concluded in May, was run across four universities, namely Cape Coast Technical University (CCTU), Ho Technical University (HTU), Takoradi Technical University (TTU), and the University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS).
Participants received practical entrepreneurship training, business coaching, mentorship and support to prepare their businesses for investment and market opportunities.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the European Union Representative and Team Leader for Economic, Private Sector and Trade, Timothy Dolan, described partnership as the defining feature of the programme.
“If there is one word that captures the success of this programme is partnership. Partnership between universities, and the private sector, because entrepreneurship cannot thrive in isolation from the real economy,” he said.
He also commended the collaboration among development partners, noting that the partnership between UNCDF and E4Impact had created synergies around youth skills and support, while the Italian Cooperation had added value through a coordinated team approach.
“Partnership for young entrepreneurs who need not only training but also mentorship, network, visibility, finance and trust,” Mr Dolan added.
He said the value of the programme extended beyond the certificates awarded to the graduates, stressing that it had also created partnerships and opened new opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Italy, Gabriele Ubaldo Palermo, said he was proud to witness the tangible results of Italian government initiatives such as the programme.
“Entrepreneurship takes innate talents and aptitude but it can be also something that can be honed and refined,” he said.
Country Director of E4Impact Foundation Ghana, Saviour Agortimevor, said the graduation marked another milestone in the foundation’s work with universities and entrepreneurs in Ghana.
“Reflecting on our journey so far, it’s been two years and today we are sitting here not only to celebrate the 16 entrepreneurs that we are bringing together today, but the whole 80 entrepreneurs these universities have developed,” he said.
He said the broader programme had so far supported 80 entrepreneurs across the participating universities, with the latest cohort representing the first group to graduate under the ICIE initiative.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mahmoud Iddrisu, said the agency would support the graduates beyond the training programme through business development services.
“The point we want to come in to hold their hands, and which we describe as hand holding, it’s to support them with BDS services,” he said.
According to him, the support would include assistance with business formalisation, access to markets and product certification.
“We want to help them in business formalization, we want to help them in creating more access to the market, and we also want to support them with product certification, which is key, because before to be able to penetrate to market, your programme must meet standard,” Mr Iddrisu said.
He explained that certification was particularly important because businesses needed to meet required standards before their products could gain access to certain markets.
“At Ghana Enterprises Agency, that is the link we want to provide on this programme so that once they graduate like this, we hand hold them, and take them through the coaching and BDS services and also get them through the business certification process,” he added.
The graduation brought together the entrepreneurs, lecturers, development partners, business coaches and other stakeholders in Ghana’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The event also provided an opportunity to showcase businesses and innovative solutions developed by participants during the programme.
