ABS Programme Delegation visits UGBS to Kick-Start Collaboration
Representatives of the Africa, Business and Society (ABS) Programme paid a courtesy call on the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Ernest Tweneboah-Koduah, on 27 January 2026, at the UGBS New Conference Room, as part of efforts to formally introduce the programme and strengthen collaboration with the school. The delegation comprised Prof. Lisa Ann Richey, Mr. Wilbert Van der Meer, and Prof. Thilde Langevang. During the interaction, the team briefed the Dean on the Africa, Business and Society (ABS) project, a multi-year, DANIDA-funded initiative under the Knowledge and Innovation Programme (KIP) 2025, with total funding of DKK 35.9 million.
Representatives of the Africa, Business and Society (ABS) Programme paid a courtesy call on the Dean of the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Prof. Ernest Tweneboah-Koduah, on 27 January 2026, at the UGBS New Conference Room, as part of efforts to formally introduce the programme and strengthen collaboration with the school. The delegation comprised Prof. Lisa Ann Richey, Mr. Wilbert Van der Meer, and Prof. Thilde Langevang. During the interaction, the team briefed the Dean on the Africa, Business and Society (ABS) project, a multi-year, DANIDA-funded initiative under the Knowledge and Innovation Programme (KIP) 2025, with total funding of DKK 35.9 million.
Welcoming the delegation, Prof. Tweneboah-Koduah expressed his appreciation for the partnership, noting that he had no hesitation in signing the collaboration agreement due to UGBS’ long-standing relationship with Denmark. He also highlighted that several UGBS faculty members had received training in Denmark, reinforcing his confidence in the success of the project. The Dean commended the initiative and expressed hope that the collaboration would create further opportunities to train and nurture students for national development.
Prof. Ernest Tweneboah-Koduah welcoming the ABS delegation
As part of the engagement, Prof. Lisa Ann Richey led a presentation on the ABS project, outlining its objectives, partnerships, and key components. She explained that Africa, Business and Society is not a capacity-building project in the traditional sense, as partner institutions already possess strong research and teaching capabilities. Instead, the project seeks to strengthen collaboration, research-based teaching, and student mobility across institutions. She highlighted the student scholarship component, for which Copenhagen Business School is the responsible institution. Under this component, students from partner African universities will graduate from the Business and the Global South master’s degree at CBS, with a total of 47 students across three cohorts from the three African partner universities.
In addition, Prof. Richey outlined the educational partnership component, for which all partner institutions are responsible. This includes the enhancement of study programmes across the four universities, the development of a common pedagogy incorporating qualitative and quantitative methodologies, case-based learning, and Global South knowledge, as well as joint research applications and publications. Prof. Richey noted that Copenhagen Business School ranked 24th globally in the 2025 Financial Times Research Insights Ranking for research shaping business, policy, and society. She further disclosed that 36 CBS scholars were featured on the Stanford/Elsevier list of the world’s top 2% most cited researchers, underscoring CBS’s strong research profile and experience in large-scale international collaborations.
According to her, educating students from both the Global North and Global South in the same classroom strengthens analysis of global challenges such as climate change, artificial intelligence, and geopolitical rivalry. She added that the programme aims to produce critical thinkers, ethical entrepreneurs, and responsible leaders equipped to navigate an increasingly complex global environment. Further conversations focused on key ABS activities, including annual workshops, faculty exchange programmes, curriculum development workshops, podcast production, blog writing, and joint supervision of ABS master’s thesis. The team assured stakeholders that the project framework remains flexible.
On the second day of the visit, the ABS team, together with UGBS faculty, engaged with students to introduce the scholarship component of the programme. It was explained that five students from each partnering African country—Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya—would be selected, bringing the total to 15 students per cohort for capacity development under the two-year MSc in Business, Language and Culture. Applicants are required to have completed their first degree before qualifying for the programme. The delegation further noted that the MSc in Business, Language and Culture – Business and the Global South is a fully funded scholarship programme offered at Copenhagen Business School. The scholarship covers tuition, travel, and living expenses and forms part of the Africa, Business and Society (ABS) project under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Knowledge and Innovation Programme (KIP).
Through the programme, students will acquire strong analytical, ethical, and intercultural business skills, enabling them to analyse complex issues from multiple perspectives. Upon graduation, beneficiaries are expected to contribute meaningfully to business and society in their home countries, particularly in addressing climate, sustainability, and development challenges.
Group picture taken after the engagement with students