Imagine a Ghana where the biggest question on the mind of every graduate is not “where can I get a job?” but rather “what problem can I learn to solve?”.
This is the mindset shift that the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA), Alexander Kofi-Mensah Mould, believes every student in Ghana should have to transform the country.
This single shift in mindset, he says, could transform not only the fortunes of young people but also the future of Ghana and the African continent.
Speaking at the University of Education, Winneba during a seminar on Conflict and Nation Building, Alex Mould challenged students to stop seeing themselves primarily as job seekers and instead become solution providers capable of creating value wherever they find themselves.
He argued that today’s economy increasingly rewards people who identify problems, develop practical solutions, and execute them effectively.
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He believes that capability creates opportunity. Capability creates enterprises. Capability creates industries. Capability creates prosperity. He therefore urged them to build skills that make them indispensable rather than waiting for employment opportunities to come their way.
The Acting CEO also rejected the long-held belief that young people are merely the leaders of tomorrow, insisting that they are already essential partners in Ghana’s development today.
“The future is not built tomorrow. It is built today in classrooms, laboratories, workshops, businesses, communities and universities,” he said.
According to him, the prosperity of any nation depends less on the natural resources beneath its soil and more on the capabilities of the people above it. Countries such as Singapore, South Korea, Finland and Botswana, he noted, have demonstrated that sustained development comes from investing in human capital, building strong institutions and executing ideas effectively.
He described development as a country’s growing ability to solve its own problems, stressing that innovation, productivity and disciplined execution, not rhetoric, are what ultimately create prosperity.
“Resources create potential. Capability converts potential into prosperity,” he emphasized. The Acting MiDA CEO also challenged universities to rethink their role in national development. Rather than simply producing graduates, he said higher education institutions should nurture nation-builders equipped to tackle real-world challenges.
He proposed that every graduate should leave university with five essential capabilities: critical thinking, the ability to execute ideas, value creation, collaboration and strong character.
Alex Mould observed that while many African countries have ambitious development plans and sound policies, implementation often remains their greatest weakness.
“Ideas alone do not build nations. Execution does,” he said, calling on governments, businesses and universities to deliberately cultivate a culture of effective execution.
He charged students preparing to enter an increasingly competitive labour market to understand that success will belong to those who develop the ability to solve meaningful problems.
Rather than asking where the next job will come from, he urged young people to ask themselves what value they can create for society, because those who consistently solve important problems will always find opportunities.
