Take advantage of digital tools to win in the age of the entrepreneur – UMB CEO urges graduates

A leading Ghanaian banker, Nana Dwemoh Benneh, the Chief Executive Officer of the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), has urged graduates of the University of Ghana to take advantage of the benefits of digital tools to establish themselves as entrepreneurs.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh made these comments at the 75^th congregation ceremony of the College of Education where he was the guest speaker. The ceremony saw the graduation of 11,711 students drawn from the constituent schools of the college namely School of Continuing and Distance Education, School of Information and Communication Studies and the School of Education and Leadership.

The Provost of the College of Education Prof. Samuel Nii Ardey Codjoe in his opening remarks noted that the graduating class had students from over 50 other countries amongst the cohort, once more cementing the University of Ghana’s place as the premiere University in Ghana.

In her remarks read for her by the Pro Vice–Chancellor Prof. Felix A. Asante, the Vice – Chancellor of the University noted some key successes chalked by the University for the year under review. Key highlights here included the Vice–Chancellor’s Student Digitization Initiative to allow for synchronous and asynchronous virtual learning.  She also noted that the University of Ghana had taken pride of place in Ghana as the top ranked school in the Webometrics/ Alper Doger school rankings. 

In her speech prior to confirming the conferment of degrees on the presented candidates, the chancellor of the University Mrs. Mary Chinery–Hesse, represented by Ms. Doris Kisiwa Ansah and Mrs. Yvette Adounvo Atekpe, members of the University Council congratulated management for continuing efforts to ensure that the university returns to full and normal operations post the Covid pandemic.

She also commended management for innovative efforts to resource the university and also to ensure best management practices including being the first university in Ghana to institute a gender policy statement.

Nana Dwemoh Benneh, the CEO of the Universal Merchant Bank in his speech reiterated his pride in being an alumnus  of the University, graduating some 23 years ago. He painted a vivid picture of a contrast between the world he graduated into and the world of today. He noted that the key differentiator was how much digital tools had transformed the world, especially the world of work.

He noted for instance that unlike in 1996, his year of graduation, new music albums could top the chart without a CD or a cassette being produced. He used this example to establish the point that the world we find ourselves in the age of the digital entrepreneur and admonished graduating students to follow the examples of other successful entrepreneurs in and out of Ghana and seek to establish their own enterprises. “Opportunities exist for the diligent who apply themselves to exploiting the digital world and creating different kinds of work relevant to the emerging society.”

The College of Education is made up of the following schools: School of Information and  Communication Studies, School of Education and Leadership and the School of Continuing and Distance Education and is one of the colleges of the University of Ghana. The university of Ghana was founded in 1948 as a university college of the Gold Coast. This year’s congregation marks the 75^th congregation of the university.