Considering that economies are heavily influenced by the usage of their inputs (e.g., labor and produced capital), carefully managing these resources determines the success of nations at increasing their overall wealth. According to estimations of the World Bank, 47% of the wealth of low-income countries in 2018 originated from their natural capital, such as forests, protected areas, agricultural lands, energy, and minerals.
Nevertheless, many of these countries are using their natural resources without ensuring their regeneration nor investing properly in advancing their human capital (e.g., through education or health care) or their produced capital (e.g., machinery and infrastructure). In addition to this, scientists have projected that changes in the current climate due to unsustainable practices will exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in low-income countries. Particularly, food security and health integrity are at risk in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and the resulting issues, such as famines, may lead to migration as the only solution.Â
In a post-pandemic environment where the world economy is struggling to recover, Ghana still profiles itself with a projected annual GDP growth averaging 0.4% in 2020 as one of the fastest-growing countries in the world and as a rising star in Africa. In fact, Ghana is a very attractive country for investors given their political stability, their economic liberalism, and abundant natural resources.
While Ghana still relies heavily on the export of raw materials such as gold, petroleum, and cocoa; the government has focused on transforming the country into an industry- and services-based economy adding a higher importance to the development of the industrial sector in the country which already represents 30% of to the country’s GDP. Â
Ahead of the expected increase in the production capabilities of the Ghanaian industry, partly driven by the high foreign investment, and the related economic activities that may damage environment and society, sustainable processes and approaches must be developed in accordance with the framework conditions of the country.
These solutions must be able to diminish the negative impact on the environment and increase positive effects on the society, such as humane labor conditions and high-quality education, without jeopardizing the economic growth of the country and its international competitiveness, this means that sustainability solutions in Ghana (and comparable countries) must be affordable for local companies for them to be adopted within the organizations.
In this context, logistics, as a cross-sectional discipline, can help overcome many of the challenges faced by companies and governments in the implementation of sustainable practices. Through the development and management of global networks and the inclusion of every supply chain actor involved in the different industries, logistics also has the task of ensuring an overall reduction of the negative environmental effects, while protecting social working and living standards.  Â
To contribute to the above-mentioned issues, the young generation of Ghana is requested to develop solutions, adapted to the needs of their country. Therefore, students need to be enabled to develop practice-oriented solution and thereby develop a practice- and problem-oriented mindset that prepares them for the requirements of the job-market. To ensure that students are equipped with skills they need for future employments, and to consequently reduce unemployment, more practice-oriented teaching approaches are necessary.
Through the creation and strengthening of competences in sustainable logistics – more specifically within the automotive, pharmaceutical and food industry – Ghana’s upcoming young professionals can be enabled to develop innovative and affordable logistics solutions that cater to the environmental, social, and financial needs of the region. Â
Contributing to the goals of the Special Initiative on Training and Job Creation and the Marshall Plan with Africa, the project ASONG focuses on developing capabilities to create innovative and affordable sustainability solutions for logistics networks through the integration of practice-oriented education on the logistics sector at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
This contributes directly to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), more specifically SDG 4 / 4.4 to enable high quality professional university education. Thus, this project jointly implemented by of the Technische Universität Berlin (TUB) and KNUST aims to better prepare students for upcoming requirements of the job market (i.e., by integrating practical real-life case studies into teaching and developing a brand-new certificate course) and providing them with opportunities to get in touch with potential employers earlier (i.e., by internships, field trips, conferences, guest lectures). Â