FAQ

No, there are no costs involved. If you are selected for the Summer School, your accommodation costs are fully covered during the Summer School. And once you are selected to participate in the Expedition Trips, your travel- and accommodation costs are fully covered during the Expedition Trips.

Please note:

• During the Summer School in Ghana all participants stay over at the same accommodation for the whole period of the Summer School (5 nights)
• During the Expedition Trips all participants stay over at the same accommodation for the whole period of the study trip (9 nights each trip)

The program is designed with the Covid-19 measures in mind. The Summer School consists of a combination of online and in-person activities. The Covid-19 regulations can be guaranteed at the location. The participants can participate in the online program elements from their own home.

The program of the Expedition Trips are completely on location in-person and we will take all the rules and regulations into account at the location, sleeping accommodation and company visits. 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.

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. 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. 6 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 starters 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 sign up 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?’.

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