Home » News » Europe, Middle East & Africa » Forum on Africa

2nd Stakeholder Seminar in the University of Ghana Business School

Following the kick off seminar in March, Thomas Winter who launched the partnerships4competitiveness initiative and TCI Commissioner for West Africa invites to the 2nd stakeholder meeting in the University of Ghana Business School in Legon.

Dr. AQQ Aboagye of the Danida Centre for International Business at the University of Ghana Business School will open the meeting together with Thomas Winther, Innogate Inc and The Competitiveness Institute. Following a report from the p4c Committee some experiences from on-going cluster-like initiatives in Ghana will be presented. Thomas Winther will then explain the new cluster pilot action "Promoting competitiveness through cluster initiatives".
As a result of this meeting the organizers plan to have developed an action plan partnerships4competitiveness 2006-2007.

"partnerships4competitiveness" is an initiative to improve competitiveness and thereby living conditions in West Africa. The launch of the initiative is developed by The Danida Centre at University of Ghana Business School in cooperation with global non-for-profit organization The Competitiveness Institute (www.competitiveness.org) and Innogate (www.innogate.net).

The Danida Centre at University of Ghana Business School and The University of Ibadan/Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research will provide the anchoring and physical platform for dialogue in Ghana and Nigeria respectively.

Background
The tool box provided by innovation systems and cluster initiatives to promote competitiveness and economic development remains largely unexploited in developing economies and also in West Africa. For the last 10+ years innovation (and cluster development) has been recognised as the drivers for competitiveness, economic growth and prosperity, however, this mostly in advanced economies. In the global economy market drivers are universal. Hence these drivers also apply to individuals, companies, knowledge institutions, organisations and governments in West Africa.

Objective
partnerships4competitiveness aims to bring on board these "new" instruments for development of private sector competitiveness in West Africa. Through stakeholder collaboration the initiative aims to facilitate innovation by initiation cluster and partnership activities at local, national and West African level. The stakeholders are those of what is often referred to as "the triple helix", namely companies, knowledge institutions and governments (national or regional/districts).

The initiative is intended "not to bea talk shop" but a platform for development and initiation of innovative and tangible collaborations with productive outcomes.

The organizers would like to stress that partnerships4competitiveness is a neutral platform for collaboration. The platform has no "own agenda" except to facilitate the development of joint initiatives to increase competitiveness for the benefit companies and people in the West African region.

The Competitiveness Institute is involved with facilitation of similar activities world wide - and since 2004 also in East Africa. The East African initiative resembles to some extent the ambition of the partnerships4competitiveness initiative.

For a full program and more information on the initiative, download the .