EXPLORING BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN COMMUNITIES AND UNIVERSITIES: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON ASHESI AND THE BEREKUSO COMMUNITY

ABSTRACT University-Community relationships is one an avenue of development that is yet to be explored in Ghana although there exist some form of unofficial partnerships. Intentional efforts are required to explore meaningful university-community partnerships. The establishment of institutions of higher learning at particular location affects the physical, social and economic landscape of this sites. In 2011, Ashesi University College opened its doors to students and the general public at its Berekuso campus. This exploratory study involving respondents from the Berekuso community, students, and staff and faculty members from the Ashesi University sought to answer the question: “what can a partnership between Ashesi and Berekuso do to improve the way of doing business in Berekuso?” Data were obtained through questionnaires that were administered to respondents. The study revealed that people doing business in the community have inadequate business knowledge and thus stand a chance of benefiting from business support services like book keeping offered by students as part of their semester’s projects. Also the absence of a financial institution in the community came out as one major bottleneck to doing business in the community. However, to harness a meaningful relationship between the university and the community a more structured partnership is required. Also there is a need to be set up a committee to plan for short and long term partnership objectives. Improving communication and a feedback collection system are also recommended for improving the partnership between Ashesi and the Berekuso community.