As the Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) continue to roll out activities of the connecting Diaspora for Development (CD4D) Programme (CD4D), Abubakarr Bangura who is one of the CD4D participants has on the 26th July 2017 presented a concept paper in order to set up different centers for entrepreneurship incubatorsfor tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone including the Institute of Advanced Management and Technology (IAMTECH) and Milton Margai College Of Education Science and Technology (MMCET).
The event which took place at IAMTECH brought together representatives from the Professional Managers Association from Holland better known as PUM- Netherlands Senior Experts, lecturers of entrepreneurship and ICT, ST Foundation and Office of Diaspora Affairs.
In his presentation, Abubakarr Bangura said the enterpreunership centres will run incubator programmes for start ups, adding that establishing an incubator at tertiary institutions in Sierra Leone was one of the recommendations that was made in the first CD4D entrepreneurship education workshop that was organised for lecturers on the 26th of March 2017.
He said entrepreneurship incubator is a unique platform to practicalise the entrepreneurial mind-set of students. “It will provide a unique opportunity for students to benefit from the talent and resources located in their institution, particularly in development of products that require higher level of technology and sophistication. It will also provide new opportunities for employments, creating entrepreneurial talent and leadership” Mr Bangura explained.
He informed that a delegation of four lecturers from different colleges will visit Holland in October or November this year. The visit he added is a study tour that will allow participants to learn about setting up sustainable centre for entrepreneurship in educational institutions.
Speaking on behalf of the PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, Jan Jongbloed said their organization is a non-profit organization, which has been advising businesses in developing countries and emerging markets. PUM he said links these businesses to Dutch professionals who voluntarily devote their considerable experience to creating a better world. Mr Jongbloed further expressed his commitment to work with Abubakarr Bangura and other partners like ST Foundation to help set up these incubators in the country .
For Sierra Leone, the focus in the CD4D project is on capacity building of institutions in the Health, Education and Agriculture sector. The programme is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Development and International Trade.
The Office of Diaspora Affairs in Sierra Leone is partnering with IOM to implement the CD4D programme in Sierra Leone.
Alfred Fornah, Communication Officer,
Office of Diaspora Affairs Sierra Leone
Training on Knowledge Transfer