The Academy for Creating Enterprise (ACE), an organisation supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, on Saturday celebrated its 1,000th chapter at Tesano, Accra.
The ACE was established to help members grow their businesses through training and mentorship.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times in an interview, the Executive Director, ACE, Mr Robert Heyn, urged members and business owners to learn basic business principles to be successful.
He said the first step to a prosperous enterprise or business was the ability to start a business with even little resources.
In the next 10 years, Mr Heyn stated that he envisions ACE establishing strong presence in Africa with more chapters and successful entrepreneurs.
Mr Charles Adebayo, Manager, Nigeria Region, Welfare and Self-Reliance Area, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, said entrepreneurship was crucial to Africa’s economic emancipation.
For his part, Mr Flint Mensah, Director of Temporal Affairs, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, encouraged members to register their businesses and take advantage of funding opportunities from GIZ, embassies and high commissions in Ghana, and donor support organisations.
He advised the members to persevere in times of difficulty and seek the face of God in order to be successful entrepreneurs.
In addition to perseverance, Mr Mensah said the entrepreneur needs mental toughness and emotional fortitude to overcome challenges.
He reminded them that challenges such as funding, marketing, team building and competition may be discourage but it took a “growth mindset to turn the challenges into possibilities, learn and improve.”
Mr Mensah further indicated that setbacks were inevitable in entrepreneurship but when they come, the entrepreneur should seek support of others in similar situations.
“The difference between success and failure is that the one who fails never give up,” Mr Mensah indicated.
Mrs Marian Esiape – Welfare and Self-Reliance Area Manager, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also said ACE offers the expertise and experience needed to transform ideas into reality, ensuring that entrepreneurial journey is well-founded and sustainable.
She said through ACE programmes, members gain the tools to not only succeed in business but to also become a beacon of hope and opportunity for those around them.
Mrs Esiape asked them to be the innovators who recognise needs in the marketplace and fill them with products, services, and solutions that uplift others.
She said when organisations like ACE support entrepreneurship, they are supporting creativity and innovation that directly fuel economic growth.
Frank Ekwam Anno, Regional Coordinator, ACE said the organisation, since its inception in Ghana two years ago had empowered more people to own businesses.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA