Put society first, and profit will follow – Dolores Dickson tells youth

By Ellen Gyimah [ellengyimah190@gmail.com]

Adabraka, Accra. January 7, 2022: Dolores Dickson, an international development expert, has advised the youth of Ghana to venture into social entrepreneurship to help in the nation’s development. She made this call during a seminar held at the African University College of Communications last Wednesday January 6, 2022 as part of the College’s #IndustryInstitutionInteraction series.

The theme for the encounter with students was “Social entrepreneurship”, a discussion that focused on explaining the concept and stimulating students’ creativity and perspectives to new possible approaches to serving global development that is equitable, empowering and ethical.

Dolores Dickson, who was the regional executive director for a reputable international development agency for over a dozen years, said social entrepreneurship plays a unique role in the modern economy through its ability to create solutions to challenges that other players in society are not able to address.

“Social entrepreneurs pursue value creation over value capture and thus it is a viable pathway for both employment and social change,” the Canada-based development professional explained.

Mrs. Dickson stressed that “a social entrepreneur should always put the interest of the society first before thinking about profit.” According to her, profit is a secondary, but natural result of social entrepreneurship,  citing numerous examples of colleagues and partners that have positively impacted lives and made a healthy living doing so,

“The fact is, becoming a social entrepreneur will help communities in which one lives to develop, and in so doing help you realize your material ambitions also,” she assured.

Students at the seminar expressed their gratitude for the insights Mrs. Dickson shared.

“I am inspired now to become a social entrepreneur,” revealed Ruth Aryeh, a development communication senior at AUCC. “What stayed with me is when she said the cause can be anything you feel passionately about: it doesn’t have to be some giant existential issue like climate change or conservation or a pandemic. It can be about yourself, your family, your community. That spoke to me.”

Dolores Dickson introduced herself as a person driven by a desire to reinvent traditional international development programming by disrupting systems, notions, and biases with thoughtful strategies for social and economic progress. With nearly two decades’ experience conducting social impact and international development programs, she is currently bridging Africa, North America and Europe with her new organization, Densu Associates. Densu Associates is a pioneering, purpose- driven social change and global development management consultancy with registered offices in both Canada and Ghana. Founded and led by Africans, its vision is to contribute to social change and the development of individuals, communities and societies by providing management expertise to create a better, more equitable world. Its mission is to work together with foundations, philanthropists, non-profits, private and public institutions to catalyze social and economic transformation across Africa and North America. Its areas of focus and expertise include gender justice, education, entrepreneurship, social justice and youth engagement.

The #IndustryInstitutionInteraction series is organized by the Ama Ata Aidoo Centre for Creative Writing at AUCC. Speakers have included Dalex Finance CEO Kenneth K. Thompson, media mogul Mike Cooke, and international media practitioner Francis Kokutse.