Ernest Appiah, MD AMB (middle) with some management members of KNUST
THE KWAME Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Kumasi has received huge financial support to embark on developmental projects to help improve academic work.
An alumnus of the top university, Ernest Akwasi Appiah, the MD of Enepa Ventures Limited and Agricultural Manufacturing Group Company (AMG), has presented a cheque of GH¢1 million to the school.
Significantly, the cash donation was made to the School of Public Health (SPH) and the Department of Horticulture of the Faculty of Agriculture of the KNUST at a short ceremony on October 19, 2021.
Akwasi Appiah, a famous entrepreneur, said the donation was made in response to a request from Dr. Eli Gaveh, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Horticulture, to help the university’s ongoing activities.
Also, Kwasi Appiah has assured that each academic year, he intends to grant scholarships to twenty deserving SPH and Faculty of Agriculture students, so that they would be able to climb high the academic ladder.
He said “financial challenges should not be a limiting factor in maintaining children in schools,” stressing that he has passion to support students with financial problems, hence his decision to introduce a scholarship policy.
The AMG, which is known globally due to their good works, is the country’s largest indigenous manufacturer and distributor of high-efficiency and high-performance crop fertilisers, having been established in 2012.
The AMG provides crop nutrition product/strategy to small and large-scale farmers that ensure high yields by implementing less expensive, but highly effective crop nutrition combinations, better crops, raise farmer returns, improve farmer livelihoods and ensure food security and sustainable development.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor KNUST, Professor Ellis Owusu-Dabo, assured that the money would be put to good use and due recognition would be given to the benefactor for his current gesture and any future support to the university.
On behalf of the KNUST, he wholeheartedly thanked the Enepa Ventures boss for his kindness, and urged “other well-meaning Ghanaians and corporate bodies to emulate this example from Mr. Appiah and AMG.”
About the scholarship awards, Prof. Owusu-Dabo said KNUST has stringent criteria in place for identifying outstanding but underprivileged students, so the scholarships would be given to worthy beneficiaries.
Prof. Christian Agyare, Provost of the College of Health Sciences and Prof. Enoch Osekre, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, and the Provost of the College of Agriculture also lauded Mr. Appiah and AMG for the support.
The Dean of the School of Public Health, Prof. Sam Newton, said the fund would help expand infrastructure for public health education at KNUST, increase enrolment and help address current public health challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Eli Gaveh, an Agronomist and Business Strategist who facilitated the funding, suggested that “the dedication of Mr. Appiah to build AMG and Enepa into strong indigenous brands should be hailed to spur entrepreneurial drive among university graduates and other youth.”
Meanwhile, in another meeting, Prof. (Mrs.) Rita Akosua Dickson, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, expressed her delight over the timely support that Mr. Appiah and AMG have provided to the KNUST and urged them to sustain it.
She also gave the firm commitment of the university to support AMG and any other benevolent entity with excellent publicity, brand building, research and product development.
Akwasi Appiah, widely regarded as a visionary entrepreneur, has expanded his operations to aid in the strengthening of Ghana’s economy and empowerment of farmers across the sixteen 16 regions and 256 districts of the country through the Planting for Food and Jobs campaign, among others.
FROM I.F. Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi