African Freelancers College graduates 115 students in Accra

The first graduation ceremony of The African Freelancers (TAF) College, which is a tuition-free applied business school of creativity and entrepreneurship, has taken place in Accra. During this ceremony, 115 students graduated.

This graduation is a major milestone in the college's aim of transforming unemployed youth and school drop-outs into creative entrepreneurs. The college equips students with innovative enterprise development

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The graduating students, many of whom are from Cameroun, Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria, have been trained in different areas such as graphic designing, cinematography, music production, digital marketing, cosmetology, fashion design, real estate management, and event management.

In his speech, the Founder and President of TAF College, Rev. Johnnie Oquaye, called the graduation a result of hard work over the past year. He said that the college's objective is to "forge a path where creative talents across Africa could flourish, unhindered by financial obstacles and social barriers."

Thanks to the financial and logistical support of donors, including the HACSA Foundation, the college has trained over 100 students in various fields. Additionally, through its partnership with the HACSA Foundation under their Tech4Girls Programme, the college has empowered ten aspiring female coders to pursue their aspirations in the technology sector.

Rev. Oquaye announced that the college would soon open an Artificial Intelligence Department to provide quality training in that area in its second year of expansion.

Rev. Oquaye expressed his appreciation to all donors for their continuous support, and he praised the lecturers for their sacrifices, which included taking only 40 per cent of their salaries to support the vision.

In his keynote address, Togbi Goba Tenge, an industrialist and International Peace Ambassador, urged the graduates to be dedicated to duty and to avoid all forms of dishonesty and laziness.

He encouraged them to get into job creation with honesty and focus while setting new standards, and to work hard in any environment they find themselves.

Togbi Goba Tenge urged the graduates to form cooperatives and not to be in a hurry to amass wealth. Instead, they should be patient and show tolerance in their work.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Charles Abani, urged young people to explore key elements of development, including job creation, food security, digitisation, energy, climate change, and education to impact positively on the country.

He urged the graduates to "engage in partnerships to build their enterprises and remember to give back to sustain the college to benefit future generations."

Ambassador Johanna Svanikier, Founder and President of The HACSA Foundation, praised the management of the college for the quality skills training and the continuous expansion of the training programmes. She also assured the school of enhanced collaboration, especially in equipping girls with ICT skills.

The Executive Director of the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling, Nana Gyamfi Adwabour, charged the graduates to enhance their digital skills in addition to the other skills they acquired at TAF. He encouraged them to have a growth mindset and keep improving to impact the world. He assured the college of the government's collaboration.

Dignitaries who graced the event included Professor Mike Oquaye, a former Speaker of Parliament.