To facilitate the transition from university to success in industry or in the public sector, the participants learn essential applied skills, particularly in the field of data analytics. The primary objective of the program is to prepare graduates for their National Service Scheme (NSS) program, a 12-month mandatory work placement that mobilizes Ghanaian citizens with a tertiary diploma or degree for national development. To support the NSS program, and to allow the graduates to focus on learning, the program is entirely free, supported by funding from the Mastercard Foundation.



The academic content for the program is provided pro bono by ESMT faculty, as well as faculty from the University of Victoria in Canada. Local tutors are trained to teach the content through a cooperation agreement with Academics without Borders, a Canadian NGO. The ESMT faculty content includes core subjects of data analytics, organizational behavior, entrepreneurship, and leadership provided by ESMT professors Henry Sauermann, Konstantin Korotov, Catalina Stefanescu-Cuntze, Raji Jayaraman and Matthew S. Bothner. The first 753 graduates completed their academic modules in November 2023.



“Every organization hiring graduates needs people with the expertise to work productively with data and drive the success of the organization, whether in the public or private sector. With the Ghana1000 initiative, we offer participants up-to-date knowledge and an international learning environment to deliver significant value to Ghanaian industry,” says Nick Barniville, Board Member of ESMT’s Circle of Friends, and of iiAfrica.



The Ghana 1000 program builds on a successful pilot Industry Immersive Program (IIP) which has run since 2017 in cooperation with the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and was supported financially by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).



About iiAfrica and the Ghana1000 Program

Industry Immersion Africa (iiAfrica) is a pan-African non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between academia and industry. The mission of iiAfrica is to enhance STEM graduate Employability and Entrepreneurship in Africa by scaling their flagship program, the IIP and similar programs across the African continent. The iiAfrica team has over a decade of experience running Work-Integrated Learning Programs across Africa. For more information about the program, please visit the Ghana1000 website.