The Ghana Hubs Network (GHN), an umbrella body for all business, technology, and innovation hubs in Ghana, has held capacity-strengthening training for innovation hubs in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The training formed part of the GHN’s Capacity Strengthening Project to help hub managers and staff to acquire knowledge, skills, and connections to better support the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The training was participated by the staff of three member hubs in the region, including Noni Hub, which recently won the MTN Ayoba MoMo Accelerator Award; Yison Tech Hub, the earliest tech hub in Wa; and Techneg Hub, which is located at Kaleo in the Upper West Region.
Chairperson of the GHN, Mr Josiah Kwesi Eyison said the training was to support the staff of the member hubs in the region to strengthen their capacity to efficiently carry out their operations.
“Currently for us in the northern region particularly, Wa, we are working with three of the hubs to support their staff in strengthening their capacity.
“And by that I mean, training the staff on operational management, financial management and how to run programs, so that is why we are here to work with the major hubs to ensure that they support entrepreneurs in the right way,” he said.
He intimated that strengthening the capacities of the personnel of the hubs would translate into enhanced performance and improved quality of services ultimately, increased productivity.
Mr Eyison added that strengthening the hubs would provide a good ecosystem for technology and innovation to thrive and the same time, raise functional and productive entrepreneurs.
He said it was especially so “because the same system that hubs have is exactly the same system that entrepreneurs need to have.
“When it comes to how do you employ people, how do you support women, how do you support people with disability, and how do you even look at financial management, and all these things, are things that entrepreneurs should know.”
Thus, he expressed conviction that when the hubs strengthened to become proficient, they would pass on the same expertise in supporting entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
Mr Salihu Mohammed Awal, the Programmes and Business Development Manager for Noni Hub, a participant in the training, said the training was appropriate as it would help strengthen their financial resilience and management, and overall operations.
“It is good because our operations mostly rely on our finances. The effectiveness of our operations has to liaise with the effectiveness of how we manage our finances and how we report our finances,” he said.
He added that the knowledge and skill set from the training would help the hubs to bridge the gaps that hitherto, might have existed within operations.
Another participant, Mr Samuel Wilson who was also the Director of Techneg Hub, said “I think it is good to participate in this training because the core activity of the hub basically runs on the finance” and that the hub cannot function without finance.
He intimated that hubs mostly operate with grants and donor funding and that without sound financial management practices by the hubs, donors were unlikely to partner with the hubs.
“This capacity strengthening program is very important for innovation hubs and mostly our operations revolve around finances and it is good to learn how to manage our hubs well so we keep growing in business,” said Winifred Zoyaar, Lead for Ladies in Tech who doubled as the Research and Development Officer for Noni Hub.