Entrepreneurship through Enterprise without Borders innitiative

Enterprise without Borders (EwB) is a secondary school and/or college programme that teaches the value and importance of international trade and the practical skills necessary to do business across borders. This initiative seeks to introduce entrepreneurship and partnerships among young people Africa, Middle East, Europe and the United States of America. Ghana is one of the only two African nations partaking in this initiative made possible by Nokia and the Junior Achievement (JA).

The Enterprise without Borders (EwB) programme started in Ghana in 2009 and has so far reached over 200 students in the country across five regions. Kwabena Kugblenu, the EwB coordinator in Ghana revealed that 14 enterprises were successfully created in the 2009/2010 academic year. The goal for 2010/2011 is to impact more students with the support and mentorship Nokia. A website is created by teachers of the participating schools after which the students can upload their company profiles and enter an entrepreneurial 'dating game'. The aim is for students to share learning and business ideas; have the opportunity to sell each other's products in other markets; possibly reduce costs by sourcing components in other countries and also encouraging visits.

Half and Half Trade is a Norwegian enterprise created by students from the Lambertseter Secondary School in Oslo. They are in Ghana to primarily sign a joint venture agreement with a Ghanaian student enterprise GIANT LINK.

'Nokia is proud to be associated with the EwB initiative, which essentially promotes innovation and creativity among youths. He said the values being promoted among the youths through the Enterprise without Borders are in sync with Nokia values' - Head of Communications for Nokia West Africa, Osagie Ogunbor

With the introduction of such entrepreneurial initiatives, Ghanaian youth will soon be prepared to create businesses locally create jobs for themselves.

About Junior Achievement® (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. Today, 137 individual area operations reach more than four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 123 other countries worldwide. For more information, visit www.ja.org.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia's NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

Photo Credit : http://www.ewb.ja-ye.org/