Kinbu S.H.S. Wins The Fidelity Bank/PTI Enterprise Challenge Pitch Finals Prince’s Trust International (PTI), in partnership with Fidelity Bank Ghana and Environment 360, has held the pitch finals of the Enterprise Challenge, a programme which seeks to introduce Senior High School students to business concepts and entrepreneurship. Described by Forbes as one of the “five leading global programs supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs”, the Enterprise Challenge, works with young people to develop business ideas that positively impact environmental issues in their communications. As well as inspiring an entrepreneurial spirit and equipping young people with the skills and knowledge for enterprise, the overarching aim of the programme is for young people to have a positive impact on their community through an increased sense of social responsibility, developing their confidence and aspirations to make informed decisions about their futures. The inclusion of climate literacy modules provides participants with the principles of sustainable development, and the importance of considering environmental impact alongside profit. Supported by business mentors, young participants explore stages of setting up and running a business through a digital business simulation game. Twenty-five (25) teams participated in the 2022/23 edition of the programme with five teams shortlisted for the finals. The five finalists were then given four sessions with a green business entrepreneur mentor to support each team to develop their business ideas further, including a cost and profit structure, and work on their pitches for the finals event. Speaking at the event, the Founder of Fidelity Bank and a Member of Prince’s Trust International Africa Advisory Board, Mr. Edward Effah expressed his delight with the diligence and business acumen demonstrated by the students. “Looking at the ideas presented by our students today, I can confidently say that Ghana indeed has a bright future. The ability of these young ones to develop environmentally friendly green business ideas and the confidence with which they articulated these ideas is quite impressive. I am particularly impressed with their level of environmental awareness, and I believe such programme will go a long way to help Ghana and Africa achieve the SDGs” The five (5) teams which participated in the finals included Team Mervs from Kinbu S.H.S., Team Doyen from Sacred Heart S.H.S., Teams Texco and Flow from His Majesty’s S.H.S and Team Phoenix from Brainy Brain S.H.S. The winning pitch came from an all-female team from Kinbu SHS. Their innovative green business concept of turning palm kernel waste, generated from making palm oil, into briquettes to replace the use of charcoal and wood cooking fuel saw them awarded the winners of the pitch finals. Their environment friendly alternative to traditional cooking fuel is compact and smokeless, not damaging people’s health or the environment. The judges were impressed that the product is ready for market with a potential broad and immediate customer base, and no additional harmful materials were used to produce the briquettes. For their prize the team received seed money from Fidelity Bank to start the process of registering the business and to build on their business idea and turn it into a viable commercial entity. Presenting the cheque to the team, the Head of Digital & Brand Marketing of Fidelity Bank, Eric Frempong Amponsah stated that, “Fidelity Bank is proud to partner with Prince’s Trust International on this programme. Serving the community is one of our values and education is a key pillar of our social impact initiatives. We look forward to working with PTI on future projects.” About Fidelity Bank In a little over a decade, Fidelity Bank Ghana has grown from a discount house to a Tier-1 Bank and is now the largest privately-owned Ghanaian Bank in Ghana. The bank currently serves its approximately 2 million customers in 75 branches across Ghana and is a leader in the digital banking space. The bank has two subsidiaries, Fidelity Asia Bank Limited, which is a wholly owned subsidiary in Malaysia and Fidelity Securities Limited, an asset management firm. In a short period of time, Fidelity Bank has become a household name in Ghana by adopting a customer-centric culture and delivering consistently on the promise of making a difference in the lives of all stakeholders.
