UGBS Nest Organises Mentoring Session for Hub Teams

A mentoring session for teams within the hub was organised by the University of Ghana Business School Innovation and Incubation Hub (UGBS Nest) on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. The session was to educate them on the process of registering a business. Present at the session were Prof. Justice Bawole, Dean of UGBS; Prof. Felix Ankomah Asante, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Office of Research Innovation and Development (ORID), Professor David Dodoo-Arhin, Director, Institute of Applied Sciences, Dr. George Acheampong, Coordinator of UGBS Nest; and Mr. Emmanuel Adomako, Assistant Lecturer, UGBS.

In a welcome address by Professor Bawole, he mentioned that the world is meant to be a place of experimentation and that playing with ideas is what makes our world a good place to live in. According to him, the ability to make an idea one's own and generate income from it should be treasured. He encouraged the teams to form partnerships and relationships with people and institutions that would assist with their growth. Prof. Bawole also counseled the teams to think about a company's legal requirements from the start. He made known his intentions to put aside a million Ghana cedis to be invested in students' businesses.

In brief remarks by Professor Dodoo-Arhin, he expressed the willingness of his institute to work with the teams. He mentioned a few of the institute's duties, such as facilitating academic endeavours and connecting them with industry, aiding with Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), intellectual property, and many others. He urged the teams to make use of the hub's accessibility and expand their businesses.

The teams were then led through the registration process for a business by Mr. Emmanuel Adomako. The first step after choosing a name is to do a search. The goal of the search, according to him, is to ascertain whether or not one is operating within the bounds of the law, whether the name is already in use, and whether any modifications are necessary to avoid confusing similarities. There is also the need to decide whether the business will be limited by shares, limited by guarantee, or by a sole proprietorship. In a company limited by shares, the directors' liability is limited to the shares they purchase, so in the event of insolvency, it doesn't exceed the shares purchased. A company limited by guarantee is also referred to as a non-profit and, unlike a business limited by shares, the parties involved do not take out profit from the business. A sole proprietorship is a business that is owned and managed by an individual, and all liabilities are borne by that individual, he stated. Mr. Adomako ended by advising teams to opt for either a business limited by shares or a sole proprietorship if they are in it for profit and not for charity.

In the closing remarks by Prof. Asante, he pledged to continue supporting the UGBS Nest to enable them to assist the teams in building and fine-tuning their business ideas and innovations. He further urged the participants to invest time and energy not only in their ideas but also in themselves.