“Dream, but execute,” MTN Ghana CEO tells students

November 19, 2015
As part of helping students gain real-world perspectives in the classroom, MTN Ghana CEO Ebenezer Asante visited campus to speak to students in Ashesi’s Competitive Strategy class. The Competitive Strategy class at Ashesi focuses on the critical tasks of the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a business unit’s strategy. Speaking to the students, the MTN Ghana CEO shared insight into his company’s growth and impact in-country, and how they worked to maintain success.

“CEOs tend to dream a lot,” he told the class. “However, when you are the leader you can’t only dream, you also have to put the execution powerhouse in place to ensure that your company implements well.”

Ebenezer Asante also shared key lessons with the class on building effective teams to support business strategy, and how MTN Ghana worked as an organization to set and achieve goals. Later that same day, MTN Ghana sponsored a debate on Competitive Strategy on campus, in partnership with the Business Administration department and the Ashesi Student Council. The debate, held between the two cohorts for the 2014/2015 Competitive Strategy class, was on the subject, “strategic development in an era of rapid technological growth is a waste of time.”

Vanessa Amoako ’16, Richard Dorgbe ’16, and Emmanuel Nii Tackie ’16 represented cohort A, and argued for the motion; cohort B stood against the motion and was represented by Emmanuel Ampadu ’16, Kuukua Bartels-Kodwo ’16 and Benedicta Amo Bempa ’16. Both debate teams presented strong arguments for their positions, highlighting key topics on strategy and technology in the corporate world. Cohort B was adjudged winner of the debate and all members of the class received souvenirs from MTN, Ghana.

“The arguments made by both teams were hard fast facts, which were convincing and interesting to listen to,” said Adwoa Aaba Arthur, Regulatory Compliance Manager at MTN Ghana, who served as a judge for the debate. “At the end of it all, the better team won. I enjoyed the debate and MTN is appreciative of being a sponsor of this dignified event.”

“The annual Great Debate is something we always look forward to because it gives students the opportunity to exhibit their creative thinking skills,” said Anthony Ebow Spio, Head of the Business Administration Department at Ashesi. “This year has been particularly interesting because it has given students the chance to reflect on why they are studying strategy.”