The USAID ghana country development and cooperation strategy (cdcs) identifies key barriers to inclusive economic growth, including low agricultural productivity, limited access to sustainable energy,…

The USAID ghana country development and cooperation strategy (cdcs) identifies key barriers to inclusive economic growth, including low agricultural productivity, limited access to sustainable energy, high burden of disease and poor health, and difficulties of small enterprises in accessing credit. Ashesi graduates are well poised to scale social ventures advancing integrated solutions to effectively address these development challenges. Educational institutions like ashesi are well poised to instill the knowledge, attitudes, and skills that the next generation of entrepreneurs will need to propel this ecosystem to maturity. However, social entrepreneurship can be seen as an unproven career choice by young graduates and their families. Early alumni programs DE-risk these impactful career paths, providing structured program offerings and funding to support budding entrepreneurs to change these cultural perceptions over time. As an academic and entrepreneurial leader, ashesi university is well positioned to work closely with MIT d-lab, building institutional capacity in: 1) supporting recent alumni to successfully navigate growth of sustainable social ventures, 2) teaching ethical user research to effectively engage community partners, and 3) convening the ghanaian entrepreneurship ecosystem to achieve development outcomes. 1. Accelerating sustainable social ventures 2. Lean research for social entrepreneurs 3. Ecosystems building and convening