New Business Challenge off to a Great Start

03-09-2021

New Business Challenge off to a Great Start

It’s here again! 48 Ghanaian and Dutch talents were selected to participate in the 2021 Edition of the New Business Challenge. Like 2020, the New Business Challenge took a different spin this year, with a Summer School in each country and the Expedition trips.

The 5-Day Summer School started in both countries on Monday the 23th of August. The program elements in both countries were exactly the same with all activities happening simultaneously in each country. The first official NBC day began with the famous NBC Anthem ‘Get Lucky’. There was a quick session to get to know the group by playing the game ‘Two Truths and a Lie’. This game already gave insights into how things may not always be as they seem at first glance. It taught two valuable lessons of not judging a book by it cover but also that the way people carry themselves usually forms the perceptions of onlookers. It was a great opening to an exciting week.

After that, there were speakers to inform the participants on the partnership between the Netherlands and Ghana, and the various policy programs offered by the Netherlands Embassy in Accra (EKN) and the (RVO) in The Netherlands. The speaker in Ghana was Gladys Ofei, Senior Trade and Information Officer at the EKN, and in The Netherlands, Anne-Katrien Denissen, PSD coach to Ghana at the RvO.  

After this, the participants were introduced into the history of the longstanding Economic relationship between Ghana and the Netherlands. In Ghana, there was an enlightening session by Dr. Samuel Aniegye Ntewusu, Senior research fellow at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana. And in The Netherlands, the session was given by Dr. Maya Turolla.

After lunch, it was time for the participants to meet each other online via Zoom! But not before they received a very informative session about the basics of intercultural cooperation. This session was cordincated in Ghana by Jemila Abdulai and Ileen Wilke, and also by Diwy Tomassen in The Netherlands. After this session, all the participants were prepared to meet each other online for the first time, they were divided into teams, and every team consisted of 2 Ghanaian and 2 Dutch participants. By means of doing an online assignment, the team members got to know each other in a fast way. There was a lot of excitement and enthusiasm in meeting each other.

And this was only the beginning, the week continued with lectures; brainstorming on ideas, working online in intercultural teams and a company visit to Blue Skies in Ghana and to NETICS in The Netherlands.

 

Read more about the new NBC format here.

Do you want to stay up to date about the exciting events during the Summer School? Keep an eye on our Facebook Page.

GNBCC | News