The inaugural edition of the Kickoff, an Ashesi Centre for Entrepreneurship festival, brought the university community together to explore the resources and opportunities that support innovation and venture-building on campus. Attendees included student and alumni entrepreneurs, student clubs, faculty, staff, centre partners and stakeholders.

Organised in collaboration with the Foundations of Design & Entrepreneurship (FDE) class, the event also featured an FDE problem festival, with first-year student teams presenting on challenges they intended to design solutions for over the next few months. These included:

The day also featured a panel discussion with industry experts who shared insights on how they identify and interrogate problems within their own ventures. This provided students with some practical guidance on approaching complex issues and innovative thinking.

At the heart of the Kickoff was a shared commitment to advancing entrepreneurship, and students left the event inspired and energised. As one attendee shared, “This event opened my eyes to the incredible opportunities available to us as student entrepreneurs. I feel more prepared and motivated to turn my ideas into reality.