Ghana New Ventures Competition (GNVC) Completes Round One

Contact: Ben Cohen, Chief Operations Officer Ghana New Ventures Competition, Inc. (GNVC) BusyInternet, Suite 217, PMB 232, Accra-North 021-258-795 (office), 0244-975-352 (mobile) http://www.gnvc.org http://www.ghananewventures.com [email protected]

Ghana New Ventures Competition (GNVC) Completes Round One of Judging and Announces Six Finalist Teams for the 3rd National GNVC Business Plan Competition

Accra, Ghana – Thursday, 15 April, 2004 – Ghana New Ventures Competition (GNVC) has successfully completed Round One of judging for the 3rd National GNVC Business Plan Competition. Following determinations by an international panel consisting of more than 20 judges, six Finalist teams have advanced to Round Two of the competition. In Round Two, Finalist teams must present their business ideas to a panel of local judges who will then select the top three winning new ventures.

The six Finalist teams are: Greenfield Agro Ventures, Shin Monitoring Agency, Rejuve Spa & Resort, MetaConsult, Supply Solutions, and LG Café. Greenfield Agro Ventures will process palm fruits into edible and industrial palm oil. Shin Monitoring Agency will objectively monitor and report on development projects supported by donor funds. Rejuve Spa & Resort will start a spa and health resort facility. MetaConsult will publish a magazine focused on human development and entrepreneurship. Supply Solutions will produce and supply aggregates, sand, fill material, and oyster shells from dam reservoirs. And LG Café will launch an internet café.

After Round Two of judging on Saturday, 24 April, 2004, three teams will be selected as winners of the competition. These teams will be formally recognized at the Final Awards Ceremony for this year's business plan competition on Sunday, 2 May, 2004, from 12 PM to 3 PM at BusyInternet. Honorable Kwamena Bartels (Ministry for Private Sector Development), Ken Ofori-Atta (Databank Financial Services), and Patrick Awuah, Jr. (Ashesi University College) will be present as Chairman, Keynote Speaker, and Guest Speaker, respectively.

GNVC is an international not-for-profit organisation incorporated in Ghana and the US. The organisation was founded by a group of Ghanaian students in the USA who were involved with the leadership of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) $50,000 Entrepreneurship Competition in Boston, MA. Since its inception, GNVC has aimed to lay the networking and educational infrastructure necessary for entrepreneurs to pursue their goals, learning the skills to start businesses that will benefit Ghana's people and economy.

GNVC meets these objectives by organising annual business plan competitions centered on training aspiring entrepreneurs to produce effective business plans, empowering them through mentors and role models in the Ghanaian business community, and enabling them to establish their own companies. GNVC also provides the most promising teams of entrepreneurs with start-up grants totaling thousands of dollars.

For information: http://www.gnvc.org Or contact: [email protected] Phone: 0244-975-352 or 021-258-795