Knowledge transfer partnership benefits Ghana industries

An industry-academia collaborative initiative of the British Council is yielding positive results in the transfer of knowledge and skills for businesses to improve on products and services.

For the past five years, the Council has invested over one million pounds to pilot the African Knowledge Transfer Partnership (AKTP) programme in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Target countries include Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda.

According to Moses Anibaba, British Council Director for Ghana, the Council has been at the forefront of transferring knowledge that is necessary for industrial growth in Ghana.

“In collaboration with AGI, the British Council's African Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme has successful helped five Ghanaian industries acquire skills to solve real business problems and to find lasting solutions to production problems”, he said.

The projects include the outdoor of a sugar-free chocolate 'ASPIRE', developed in collaboration with the Cocoa Processing Company and the Department of Nutrition and Food Science of the University of Ghana.

The latest in Kumasi are the source separation of household waste and organic composting and landfill management project; established in partnership with Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

The British Council invested Gh₵10,400.00 in the research component at the KNUST.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships is among the world's leading initiatives helping businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through better use of knowledge, technology and expertise that reside within universities and research institutions.

The British Council's AKTP provides a networking platform for the private sector and higher education institutions to explore scientific knowledge, technology and skills for wealth creation.

Mr. Anibaba says beneficiary companies acquire the expertise to improve their products and services, while the knowledge-based institutions enhance the business and economic relevance of their research.

The Council is looking forward to working with relevant State institutions and other development partners to scale up the AKTP programme.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh