Mfantsipim must cultivate more business leaders, entrepreneurs – Nana Awuah

Managing Partner of Parkwood and Mossane and a 2006 year-group student of Mfantsipim School, Nana Akwasi Awuah, has called for a stronger focus on entrepreneurship and business leadership as the school looks beyond its 150-year legacy.

He proposed the establishment of a Mfantsipim Business and Entrepreneurship Club at the school, alongside a corresponding MOBA Business and Entrepreneurship Club to help develop a pipeline of business leaders and entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the 11th MOBA Annual Engagement Series at the Ecobank Ghana Head Office on Wednesday, September 30, Nana Awuah said Mfantsipim had successfully produced leaders across several fields but needed to deliberately expand its contribution to Ghana’s business sector.

“But I believe that we’ve come to a point where we need to train entrepreneurs and business leaders. Mfantsipim needs to cultivate more business leaders.”

The 11th MOBA Annual Engagement Series was held under the theme “Sustaining Mfantsipim’s Legacy Beyond 150 Years.”

He said the proposed school-level club would provide an avenue for students to develop entrepreneurial and leadership skills early, while members could later aspire to join the MOBA Business and Entrepreneurship Club.

“How about having a club or society in the school that actually trains and cultivates business leaders and entrepreneurs? So I propose to you the Mfantsipim Business and Entrepreneurship Club. That will be at the junior level within the school. Then there will be the MOBA Business and Entrepreneurship Club.”

According to him, the initiative would form part of efforts to ensure leadership continuity and equip Mfantsipim students and old boys to create businesses and wealth.

He further proposed the establishment of MOBA Club 1000, a prestigious group of Mfantsipim business leaders and entrepreneurs, with an ambitious target of producing 10,000 millionaires within the next decade.

“This is what I propose that we do, such that we can have, as a collective, within the next 10 years, we should be able to develop 10,000 millionaires. Is that doable or not? 10,000 millionaires in 10 years. Let’s do this together.”

Nana Awuah said Mfantsipim’s 150-year history had created a strong tradition built around discipline, excellence, courage, integrity, service and responsibility.

He noted that these values had contributed to the emergence of notable Mfantsipim old boys as presidents and prime ministers, diplomats, scientists, academics, chief justices, bankers, entrepreneurs and other leaders.

“One thing runs through: leadership. That is what distinguishes them,” he said.

He explained that the school’s emphasis on discipline and responsibility, including routine activities such as cleaning and maintaining order, helped shape students into leaders.

According to him, the values instilled at Mfantsipim had continued to influence old boys long after leaving the school.

He cited his own experience, saying the education and values he acquired at Mfantsipim helped him approach challenges differently when he took over a struggling state-owned enterprise.

“At the time we took over that state-owned enterprise, there were a lot of challenges. But the Mfantsipim that I went to taught me to look at challenges as an opportunity for change.”

He said by the time he handed over in 2025, he had transformed the struggling company into a profitable enterprise.

Nana Awuah identified character, competence, courage, service and accountability as key tests of leadership.

He said Mfantsipim’s tradition was not simply about academic achievement but about applying knowledge, creating solutions and building institutions that could have lasting impact.

“In Mfantsipim, we are trained to memorise and reproduce. We apply what we learn. We also make things real. We turn learning into industry. We build things that scale.”

He therefore urged old boys and the school community to consider how the institution could deliberately prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.