My name is Giovanni Rapazzini and I am a Master’s student in Business Management at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan (Italy).
I discovered the opportunity to do an internship with E4Impact through my university, and I saw it as a valuable chance to connect my academic interests with a concrete field experience. I have always been interested in entrepreneurship, international cooperation and socio-economic development, so spending a few months in Ghana represented an important opportunity to observe these topics in a real and dynamic context.
During my internship at the E4Impact Entrepreneurship Center in Accra, I supported activities related to entrepreneurship development, project coordination and interaction with local entrepreneurs. I had the opportunity to observe how entrepreneurship support programs work in practice and how they can contribute to strengthening local business ecosystems.
A relevant part of my experience was the direct interaction with Ghanaian entrepreneurs. Through meetings, conversations and interviews, I was able to better understand their business models, their growth ambitions and the challenges involved in developing sustainable enterprises. This was also useful for my Master’s thesis, which focuses on how small businesses in Ghana balance social impact and economic sustainability.
From a professional perspective, this experience helped me understand that supporting entrepreneurs means far more than just providing training. It also means helping them clarify their value proposition, strengthen their business model, communicate their project more effectively and connect with relevant stakeholders.
This experience also allowed me to strengthen a combination of operational, analytical and interpersonal skills, including stakeholder mapping, qualitative interviewing, field documentation, cross-cultural communication and the ability to translate entrepreneurs’ needs and challenges into structured insights.
One of the most meaningful aspects of the internship was observing the strong connection between entrepreneurship and community. Many entrepreneurs in Ghana do not see their business only as a source of income, but also as a way to create opportunities, support people around them and respond to local needs.
Beyond the professional side, living in Ghana gave me the opportunity to discover a new cultural and social environment. Accra is a city full of energy, initiative and contrasts. What I appreciated most was the openness of the people and the strong sense of community that I often found in daily life and in the entrepreneurs I met. The easiest part was probably connecting with people, as many were welcoming and willing to share their stories, advice and jokes. What required more adaptation was learning how to move within a new cultural and professional environment, with flexibility, patience and curiosity. I also discovered that being open to learning sometimes means accepting that the best lessons do not always come from planned activities, but from unexpected conversations, small daily situations and the people you meet along the way.
Overall, my internship with E4Impact represented an important step in my academic and professional journey. It gave me a more concrete understanding of entrepreneurship, development and social impact, while confirming my interest in working in international and intercultural contexts.
I am grateful to E4Impact, to the Ghana team and to all the entrepreneurs I met during these months for giving me the opportunity to learn from such a valuable experience.
Giovanni Rapazzini