On 26th January 2026, the Africa Health Collaborative at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, organized the second edition of the Business Management and Regulatory Requirements Training Workshop for student-led and youth-driven start-ups. This training forms a key part of the Collaborative’s commitment to enhancing the management capacity, regulatory readiness, and long-term sustainability of its grant beneficiaries.
Providing an overview of the workshop, Prof. Wilberforce Owusu-Ansah, Pillar Lead for Health Entrepreneurship, explained that the program is intentionally structured as a follow-up to the initial grant award. He noted that beneficiaries often possess strong technical competencies, but require an equally strong grounding in business administration, compliance, and regulatory affairs to successfully operationalize their ventures.
“This training is a three-day program designed to build their capacity to manage the businesses they are setting up legally, effectively, and sustainably,” he said. He emphasized that participants are being guided to understand the full scope of regulatory obligations that apply to their respective sectors. “We have invited regulators from the Medical and Dental Council, Nursing and Midwifery Council, FDA, and GRA so the innovators can appreciate the legal requirements for running a business in the health space,” he added.
Beyond regulatory literacy, Prof. Owusu-Ansah highlighted the need to strengthen management competencies and investment planning: “We really need to work with them to understand how to manage their businesses well and develop robust investment plans that can attract future support.”
A core component of the workshop was a dedicated session delivered by the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Unit of the Office of Grants and Research (OGR). The Unit Head, Mrs. Eunice Adu Boahen provided participants with a practical introduction to Intellectual Property (IP) and its role in shaping the growth trajectory of small and medium-sized enterprises in the health sector.
Mrs. Adu Boahen explained that intellectual property rights allow innovators to control how their creations are used and to seek remedies if their work is exploited without authorization. She highlighted the territorial nature of IP protection and encouraged participants to develop informed and strategic approaches when selecting protection pathways.
She outlined the IP regimes available in Ghana including patents, trademarks, industrial designs, copyrights, trade secrets, plant variety protection and geographical indications, noting that each serves a distinct commercial purpose.
She cautioned start-ups to evaluate the commercial value, costs, and strategic relevance of various IP tools in developing their IP strategy. “You need to assess the commercial value of what you are doing before you consider a patent. But there are a range of options especially trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, that can also help you protect and promote your innovation” she advised.
Importantly, Mrs. Adu Boahen reminded participants that registering a business is not the same as securing intellectual property rights. She encouraged beneficiaries to seek early guidance on IP to ensure their innovations are adequately protected as they progress toward commercialization.
Her presentation also introduced participants to the mandate of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Unit, which plays a central role in building institutional IP capacity across the University. She reaffirmed the Unit’s commitment to supporting student innovators, offering advisory services, training, and technical assistance throughout their innovation journey.