Ghana Delegation Visits Southeast Community College
A group of 20 delegates from Ghana visited the Lincoln Campus of Southeast Community College on Wednesday, Sept. 13. The delegates are members of policy in the agriculture industry in Ghana, and they spent several days in Nebraska to learn more about the agriculture business and discuss possible partnerships.
The trip was arranged by GhaNeb LLC, a company started by former Nebraska State Sen. Ken Schilz from Ogallala, Nebraska, and Kofi Amoabin, an international consultant on political affairs and international trade. The two met when Schilz was in the legislature and was asked to help with the Ghana delegation visiting the state. GhaNeb connects businesses in Africa with businesses in the United States to create partnerships.
“About 12 years ago I met my partner Kofi when I was in the legislature,” Schilz said. “I’ve been to Ghana a couple of times and have met a bunch of folks. Through those contacts, Kofi said the people of Ghana need people like us to help them find opportunities. That’s basically how this all got started, and we have been working together since 2012.”
The Ghana delegation arrived in Nebraska on Sunday, Sept. 10. Their stops in the state included a visit to Husker Harvest Days, tours of a family feed yard and Lincoln Premium Poultry, as well as Sandhills Global and Certified Piedmontese. Their final stop in Nebraska was a tour of SCC’s Lincoln Campus and a visit with Dr. Paul Illich, SCC president. He spoke about the strategic plan for the College as well as his vision for SCC moving forward.
“Affordable access to education drives everything we do at Southeast Community College,” said Illich. “The spaces are not about the buildings themselves. It is about what is happening inside the building. One of my goals when I came here was to make this college a destination. No matter how you get to campus, you should have a place to learn, a place to be.”
The trip was a collaboration between GhaNeb and the Agrihouse Foundation in Ghana. The foundation selected the delegation based on the type of partnerships they wanted. In some instances, it took a trip to Nebraska to connect two people from Ghana.
“The delegation from Ghana came to the United States looking for involvement, investment and expertise and what they found is the expert was already in the room,” Schilz explained. “We’ve created a partnership that wasn’t there. That is what this trip is really about.”
Jennifer Snyder
Communications Specialist
402-323-3393
jsnyder@southeast.edu