CEIBS Alumni

By Samuel Ocloo-Dzaba

2018 was definitely an awesome year for CEIBS Accra Campus and our alumni across Africa! There were special executive lectures for our graduates in Accra, Lagos and Abidjan who benefited from the expertise of distinguished guests and a number of CEIBS professors. Among the impressive list of speakers who headlined these events were Chinese Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Shi Ting Wang, CEIBS Vice President & Dean Ding Yuan, Honorary President Pedro Nueno, along with Professors Jeff Sampler and Shameen Prashantham. Topics discussed included China-Africa Cooperation, factors that new ventures should master when going global, the Belt and Road Initiative and design thinking. Here are other highlights from throughout the year:

Members of the Chinese-language EMBA class were welcomed to Accra in March for an overseas module on business opportunities in Africa. They also received insights on CEIBS’ entry into Africa and a visit to a castle whose historical roots are entangled with the slave trade.

In April, the CEIBS Alumni Association Ghana Chapter held an induction ceremony to officially welcome into office newly elected members of the Executive Council. They will be in office until 2021, three years during which they will oversee the Chapter’s affairs. The event also marked the Ghana Chapter’s first Alumni Lecture Series during which four members explored the topic of “Risking it all for a partnership?”

In July, CEIBS Honorary President Pedro Nueno led a visiting group of 25 Spanish business executives who interacted with alumni and explored business opportunities in Ghana. The group also paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of Ghana. And during a well-attended ceremony at the CEIBS Accra Campus, Professor Nueno launched the $100,000,000 CEIBS Africa Entrepreneurship Fund. 

Also in July, CEIBS Africa Alumni embarked on a trip to Harvard University to participate in a five-day executive education programme which focused on the theme of “Innovation and Entrepreneurship”. Participants received insights into how to innovate and continually provide services that satisfy their customers.

CEIBS Africa also forged partnerships with many local companies during the year and provided customised training to executives from large institutions such as Stanbic Bank Ghana, Stanbic IBTC Nigeria, Vodafone Ghana, MTN Ghana, Tullow Oil Ghana Limited, Kasapreko Ghana Limited, Unilever Ghana Limited, Blue Skies Ghana, MOENCO Ethiopia, Chinese Enterprise Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, Sunon-Asogli Power Ghana Limited and Voltic Ghana Limited. 

Also noteworthy, the CEIBS Africa Advanced Management Programme (AMP) and Owner Director Programme (ODP) were successfully launched. The first cohorts of the programmes have successfully completed all their modules.

The alumni chapters also had a busy year, organising and hosting numerous activities such as the Ghana Chapter’s first-ever WELA Day & Exhibition, along with the annual President’s Ball & Awards Night. Meanwhile, the WELA Alumni in Nigeria hosted a Book Club launch. There were also Annual General Meetings of the Ghana, Nigeria and Francophone Chapters throughout the year.

Major events for 2018 ended with the launch of the CEIBS Africa Business Accelerator programme in November with 14 businesses making up the first batch of participants. The initiative is aimed at providing African enterprises with the support needed for growth, increased revenue and profitability.