FAQ

The New Business Challenge is a unique international Expedition Program where Dutch and Ghanaian students & young professionals explore the business relationship and opportunities between the two countries. This challenge is all about learning, exploring and innovating to improve the international business skills of the participating students & young professionals and to arrive at innovative business solutions for Dutch and Ghanaian companies.

The challenge exists of a Summer School and Expedition Trips to The Netherlands and Ghana.

Summer School
The Summer School takes place simultaneously in each country for 24 selected students & young professionals at the end of August. The Summer School is all about learning in an interactive way about the business relationship between the two countries.

Expedition Trips
6 selected participants from both countries that participated in the Summer School will go on an Expedition Trip to The Netherlands and on an Expedition Trip to Ghana in the fall of 2021. The Expedition Trips are all about exploring and innovating new business opportunities for companies and to experience the business relationship between the two countries in practice.

The idea is that participating students and young professionals will learn about the business relationship and opportunities between The Netherlands and Ghana and improve their international business skills by means of going on an Expedition to several companies that are doing business between Ghana and The Netherlands. Participants will brainstorm in intercultural teams for companies about innovative business solutions for their business challenges.

The NBC is open to Dutch and Ghanaian residents with the following requirements:

• Holding a valid Dutch or Ghanaian passport (which has to be valid at least 6 months before traveling to Ghana or The Netherlands).
• Studying at a university (or HBO) or graduated for the maximum of 3 years;
• A specific study background is not required as long as you are an entrepreneurial and an open minded candidate who can think independently and is motivated to explore business opportunities between The Netherlands and Ghana and might be interested in a career with an international component;
• Not older than 28 years of age.

You can register individually at this website for the NBC. At registration, we ask you to add  your CV, your passport copy and a short motivation to describe why you want to participate in the NBC 2021 and why you are the ideal candidate.

Please be advised:

• You must be in possession of a valid Dutch or Ghanaian passport (which has to be valid at least 6 months before traveling to Ghana or The Netherlands).
• Registration is not a guarantee for participating in the NBC, because we will receive more registrations than we have places available. Therefore, candidates will be selected.
• Candidates will first be selected for the Summer School. After the Summer School, participants that participated in the Summer School can indicate if they want to participate in the Expedition Trips. Read everything on the selection procedure at the section ‘how does the selection procedure work?’
• We can only take your registration into consideration if you are available at all of the 5 days of the Summer School.

Registration for the 2021 edition is possible between May 3th and June 4^th 2021.

The selection procedure is divided in two parts, the selection for the Summer School and the selection for the Expedition Trips.

Selection for Summer School

After the appliaction deadline of June the 4th, a selection will be made of 24 participants in The Netherlands and 24 participants in Ghana. Participants will be selected based on their motivation letter and CV. These 24 selected participants in both countries will be invited by e-mail to participate in the Summer School.

Please be advised: The commissioning party will select all participants in the week between 7 and 11 June 2021. If you are selected you will receive an invitation by email. Make sure that you respond within 24 hours or your invitation becomes invalid. As soon as you accept the invitation you commit to participate in the Summer School.

Selection for Expedition Trips

The students & young professionals that participated in the Summer School can indicate if they want to participate in the Expedition Trips. Participants that wants to participate in the Expedition Trips will be asked to make a video one week after the Summer School. Based on the video’s, 6 participants in the Netherlands and 6 in Ghana will be selected by the commissioning part to participate in the Study Trips.

Please be advised: If you are selected for the Expedition Trips, you will hear this between 6 and 10 September 2021.

The NBC exists of a Summer School and two Expedition Trips. In order for students and young professionals to participate, they have to be available and present at all days. The important dates are:

• 23 – 27 August: Summer School, Ghana and The Netherlands (5 days)
• 8 October : Preparation workshop, Ghana and The Netherlands (1 day)
• 22 – 31 October: Expedition Trip, The Netherlands (9 days)
• 11 – 20 November: Expedition Trip, Ghana (10 days)

If it turns out that it is not feasible to travel in October and November, due to the Covid-19 regulations, the Expedition Trips will be organized at the beginning of 2022.