GOUNI celebrates a historic milestone as Mr. Christopher Uwakwe becomes West Africa’s first STEP-S Master Trainer

In a proud moment for Nigeria and West Africa, Mr. Christopher Chidiebere Uwakwe, Director of Entrepreneurship at Godfrey Okoye University Enugu, has been awarded the Master Trainer certificate for the Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion – Sustainability (STEP-S). He is the first-ever STEP-S Master Trainer in the region, achieved within just a year of launching the SDG-Partnership project funded by DAAD (Germany).

Mr. Uwakwe received the Master Trainer certificate in Kenya, presented by Ms. Janina Peschmann on behalf of Prof. Michael Gielnik of Leuphana University. The Vice Chancellor of Mount Kenya University, Prof. Deogratius Jaganyi, praised GOUNI for its partnership in promoting sustainable entrepreneurship through the STEP-S project.

During the reception at the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Rev. Fr. Prof. Christian Anieke, Vice Chancellor of Godfrey Okoye University, received a symbolic Maasai souvenir from Mount Kenya University and expressed delight over Mr. Uwakwe’s achievement. He commended the dedication and hard work that brought this honour to the university and reaffirmed GOUNI’s commitment to the STEP-S mission.

This milestone follows Mr. Uwakwe’s successful leadership at the Train-the-Trainer (TTT) workshop in Kenya (March 24–28), where 12 faculty members were trained.

Godfrey Okoye University has already:

Empowered 80 student teachers in 2024

Provided €5,000 in student startup capital

Trained 2 staff at PhD research workshops

Shared its expertise in adapting the STEP-S curriculum for secondary schools

Up next? GOUNI will host the second TTT workshop in July, train 600 more undergraduates in October, and continue expanding its impact across Africa, all under the DAAD-funded partnership running till 2027.

Congratulations to Mr. Uwakwe and the entire GOUNI team raising the bar for entrepreneurship education in Africa!