The second edition of the MTN Ghana Mini MBA Programme has been launched with a clear focus on strengthening the capacity of small and medium enterprises to scale, compete, and grow into globally competitive businesses.
The initiative is a partnership between MTN Ghana and Nova Business School Africa, and this year will see 90 entrepreneurs undergo thirteen weeks of intensive capacity building and business development training aimed at improving their managerial, strategic, and operational capabilities.
The participants have been grouped into three cohorts: women-led businesses, youth-led businesses, and general businesses, which comprise larger enterprises, with each cohort made up of 30 participants.
Chief Enterprise Officer at MTN, Angela Mensah-Poku, said the expansion of the programme from 50 to 90 participants reflects a deliberate strategy to widen access and deepen inclusion across the business ecosystem.
According to her, inclusion is central to Ghana’s economic transformation agenda.
“Inclusion is not a footnote in the story of Ghanaian economic growth. It’s the headline. Women in business, youth-led enterprises, and SMEs across every sector deserve access to world-class business education, and this year’s Mini MBA delivers exactly that,” she said.
She urged participants to take full advantage of the opportunity, stressing that the programme is designed to push them beyond their comfort zones in order to unlock their full potential.
However, she cautioned that the journey would be demanding and would require discipline, resilience, and commitment.
“It doesn’t matter if you are a boss in your company, here you will have people whipping you. They will be calling you. You will question yourself and your decision to enrol into the programme. You will want to give up, but I want you to remember that the thirteen weeks of sacrifice will be to your benefit. Do not give up,” Mensah-Poku said.
She added that the ultimate goal is to empower participants to become job creators and key drivers of Ghana’s economic development.
“We remind participants that they are the ones going to build Ghana and create jobs for the teeming masses,” she noted.
The President of Nova Business School Africa, Professor Matthew Tsamenyi, explained that the core objective of the programme is to help businesses scale from micro-level operations into major economic players capable of expanding beyond Ghana.
Speaking to OurHomeLandGhana, he said many SMEs remain too small to fully benefit from opportunities such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), hence the need for structured capacity building.
“How do we help businesses grow from micro level to become major players in the economy, and how do we support them to expand their businesses beyond Ghana? We see an important role for the private sector and SMEs, but our SMEs are just too small, especially when we’re talking about the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). How do we support them to scale into regional organisations? We need to build their capacity,” he said.
He explained that over the thirteen-week period, faculty members will provide training, business advisory support, and investor linkages to help participating businesses grow and scale effectively.
Professor Tsamenyi also disclosed that participants from last year’s cohort are currently performing well, adding that there are plans to integrate them with the new cohort to enhance collaboration and market creation.
“We want to make them investor-ready to create markets,” he said.
He expressed optimism that by the end of the programme, participating businesses will emerge as regionally and continentally competitive enterprises capable of driving sustainable economic growth.
