As part of the first edition of the International Certificate in Impact Entrepreneurship (ICIE), 80 entrepreneurs successfully graduated after completing 3-month intensive entrepreneurship training initiative designed to equip them with practical business 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 Program is 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, with support from private-sector and corporate partners including Stanbic Bank Ghana.
The Program, launched in February and concluded in May, was held across four universities including 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 Program.
“If there is one word that captures the success of this Program 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 the EU, 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 Program 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 Program.
“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, we are sitting here today not only to celebrate the 16 entrepreneurs that we are bringing together today, but the entire 80 entrepreneurs these universities have developed,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mr Mahmoud Iddrisu, said the agency would support the graduates beyond the training Program through business development services.
According to him, the support would include assistance with business formalisation, access to markets and product certification.
“We want to help them in business formalisation; 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 being able to penetrate the market, your product must meet standards,” 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 Program 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 ceremony brought together graduating entrepreneurs, university partners and managers, development partners, and ecosystem stakeholders in Ghana’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
The event also provided an opportunity to showcase businesses and innovative solutions developed by participants during the Program.
