Wow! It’s already been 3 weeks.

Over the past week, the interns have been engaged in various activities, including mentorship sessions on Leadership and Mental Fortitude, as well as a group session on Business. 

Let’s highlight some excerpts from the impactful sessions held over the past week.

A session with Mrs. Ohemaa Adjei Andoh 

Focusing on “Leadership”, Mrs. Andoh engaged the interns in a captivating conversation, while she answered insightful questions from the interns, creating a safe space for the interns to learn and share tidbits of their various leadership experiences.

According to Mrs. Andoh, there are two kinds of mindset; a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, and a leader should aspire to have a growth mindset. She mentioned that as a leader, one must be open to listen to opinions, accept other people’s perceptions, identify one’s strengths and weaknesses, and leveraging on them, being optimistic and having a positive mindset. 

Mrs. Ohemaa Adjei Andoh stressed that, as the first batch of the AKAYA Summer Internship Programme, the responsibilities of the interns are far greater because subsequent batches will rely on them to know how to make their moves and fulfil their obligations. Mrs. Andoh then ended her lecture by reminding the interns to develop friendship among themselves and find their light and shine bright for others to see and follow.

Business mentorship session with Ms. Alfanda Titi Canga 

Week 3 was brought to a successful end by a closing session with Ms. Alfanda Titi Canga, a young Angolan woman who is a true believer of Pan-Africanism and passionate about developing and empowering the African continent by promoting sustainable development and inclusive entrepreneurship. 

Ms. Canga’s session was focused on business and she touched on her journey in the start-up industry, how to draw up a lean start-up canvas, and the necessities of a business plan. 

Here are some tips from Ms. Canga, on what to do when drawing the Lean Start-Up Model:

• It is always best to start with the problem than the target market. Be sure to identify the problem so as to come up with a feasible solution.

• Know your existing alternatives or competitors. Identify your competitive advantage and use that to propose your solution.

• Know the benefits you have and propose this to your customers. Know your key metrics and add them to your model.

• Identify your business’ cost structure. Have an idea about who your customers will be, who your partners are and what is the valued product you have to offer them.

• In identifying your key resources, know your key activities as well.

On to Week Four (4)!

In conclusion, the past week has been a busy and productive one for the interns. The Week 3 sessions were a resounding success. The interns gained valuable insights on Leadership and learnt about their roles as the first cohort of the AKAYA Summer Internship Programme. Ms. Tracey Jones’ session provided useful insights on the explanation of mental fortitude, emotional intelligence, identification and development of personal emotional strategy and use of the SMART model to generate goal success.  The group session with Ms. Alfanda Titi Canga helped the interns understand the major factors to consider in coming up with a social impact project, developing a business plan and utilising of the SWOT Analysis as well as the significance of learning from one’s mistakes.

Watch out for more news and tips from Week Four (4) of the AKAYA Summer Internship Programme.

Article Written by Benedicta Owusu (Content Writer Intern)