Prof. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, Pillar Lead for Health Entrepreneurship at KNUST Africa Health Collaborative has urged students to pursue innovation-driven businesses that transform health outcomes.
Speaking at the opening of the Sustainable Business Start-Ups (SBS) Training Programme, Prof. Owusu-Ansah said the initiative is designed to help students establish health-focused enterprises that deliver impact.
“One of the key goals of the programme is to train KNUST students to establish their own businesses in health-related areas. But the focus is not just on any health business. We are looking at transformational health businesses. And that is where the idea of a transformational journey comes in,” he said.
Now in its third year, the SBS Training Programme has trained more than 1,200 students, with about 400 enrolled annually. At least 31 funded businesses have already emerged, many of which have expanded beyond the start-up stage.
The programme offers training, mentorship, funding opportunities and incubator services to prepare students for Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Prof. Owusu-Ansah noted the international recognition students are gaining. “Just two weeks ago, we sent some of our students to a hackathon in Kenya, where they performed excellently and attracted interest from seasoned investors,” he said.
The programme’s success has drawn the attention of institutions seeking partnerships to expand funding and support for student-led ventures. Dr. Akua Asare-Ankomah, a past participant, recounted how her curiosity about entrepreneurship among clinicians evolved into an innovation that has progressed to potential patent registration.
“I joined the course because I wanted to understand what entrepreneurship among clinicians and health workers really looks like,” she said. With seed funding and mentorship, she developed a prototype now in trials and has showcased her work at the Africa Health Collaborative Convening in 2024 and the first FIRE Conference in 2025. Her journey has come full circle.
Today, she serves as a facilitator for the SBS Programme at KNUST, mentoring new students to develop their entrepreneurial ideas.