June 30, 2018. Accra – President (European) of the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Professor Pedro Nueno, today called on H.E. Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor, Former President of Ghana, at his residence in Accra’s Airport Residential area. Professor Nueno, who is on a three-day visit to Ghana from June 29 to July 1 is leading a delegation of 25 business executives from Spain. Referred to as the “Harvard Group”, they are in Accra to gauge the progress CEIBS has made since its establishment in Africa some 10 years ago, and also to meet with alumni and explore business opportunities.

In 2008, then President of Ghana Kuffuor received the same delegation and gave them his blessings for the establishment of CEIBS in the country. It was therefore very important for the group to meet and update him on the progress the school has made over the years.

In his welcome, Mr. Kuffuor expressed profound gratitude to Professor Nueno and the team for remembering him and recounted their first meeting, a decade ago, at Osu Castle. Mr. Kufuor said he was excited to see that the school had lived up to his expectations of success.

“Right from the onset I was convinced that you have a great deal to offer Ghana and Africa. I believed, particularly, that you would contribute to the human capital of Ghana through the various executive education programmes you offer,” he said. “I am particularly pleased with Professor Nueno’s vision for Africa in seeing entrepreneurship at the forefront of the continent’s growth agenda. We would encourage you to further take advantage of the government’s emphasis on private sector development through entrepreneurship, which is basically the focus of your school, and partner with it for desired results.”

Professor Nueno, on his part, updated the Former President on the school’s activities over the past 10 years and also thanked him for his support in the establishment of its operations in Ghana. “It is indeed a pleasure to see you, once again, after these many years,” he said. “The school has been doing a lot and we have run programmes for many large organisations in many countries across the continent. Currently, we have about 500 alumni across Africa and this has been possible because you believed in us. Thank you.”

On behalf of CEIBS Africa, Professor Nueno made a donation of GHS 10, 000 to the John Agyekum Kufuor Foundation, an endowment fund aimed at sustaining the vision of the Former President. Also present at the meeting was Honourable Osei Kyei-Mensah Bonsu, Majority Leader of Ghana’s parliament, who encouraged the group to take advantage of the conducive business climate in Ghana and invest in the country.

Earlier in the day, Professor Nueno launched the CEIBS Africa Entrepreneurship Fund in a well-attended ceremony at the CEIBS Accra Campus. Addressing staff, alumni, potential students and senior corporate and business executives from the general public, he expressed appreciation to all who have stood by the school and supported it this far. He paid tribute particularly to the alumni for their strategic role in ensuring the school’s growth and explained that the launch of the $100,000,000 fund was an effort to support alumni from Africa who need financial support to grow their businesses.  

“This is to give back to you,” he said. “The challenge that many businesses face is finance and it is our desire to be there for you in such times of need.”  

CEIBS is a not-for-profit joint venture established in Shanghai in 1994 under an agreement between the Chinese Government and the European Union. Its flagship programmes, the MBA and Global EMBA are currently ranked No.8 and 14 respectively worldwide by the Financial Times. CEIBS has been instrumental in nurturing the kind of leaders that have navigated China's economic transformation with distinction and the conditions in Africa have made the school’s contributions similarly impactful there.

CEIBS began laying the groundwork for its operations in Africa in 2008. Today CEIBS Africa Campus offers a Global Executive MBA where students take core modules in Accra, Zurich and Shanghai, with global electives in New York, Silicon Valley, Sao Paolo, New Delhi and Munich. CEIBS also provides its acclaimed Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership for Africa (WELA) programme that is offered in 4 locations across Africa. Other offerings include the Owner Director Programme (ODP), the Advanced Management Programme (AMP), and Company Specific Programmes (CSP) that are tailor-made for organisations across the continent including those in Nigeria, Cameroun, Ivory Coast, Zambia, South Africa, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya and Morocco.