The Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program has been successfully completed by Hon. Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare (MP), Ghana’s Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry. This is consistent with a recent announcement made by the Ghana Investment Promotion Authority (GIPA) on October 5, 2026.
Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the 52-year-old Ghanaian lawyer and politician, was named Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry by President John Dramani Mahama in early 2025 after serving as Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts since 2013. Ofosu-Adjare has been an MP for Techiman North since January 2021.
The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Graduate School of Education (in partnership with Big Win Philanthropy) jointly created the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program (HMLP) in 2012. Government ministers (mostly from Africa, but some from Southeast Asia and Latin America) are the only ones invited to participate.
Clarifying vision and legacy goals, adapting leadership, engaging stakeholders, and spearheading cross-government transformative efforts are among the practical leadership skills that are the emphasis of this program, which is offered in two cohorts each year.
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Participants receive continuing assistance for implementation in their home countries and attend a four-day interactive forum at Harvard. More than 300 ministers from more than 70 nations have participated in this crucial program since it began.
Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare’s program completion aligns with the sectoral-minister pathway, encompassing trade, industry, agriculture, and associated portfolios. Ministers of youth development and health have recently participated in other cohorts from Ghana.
The curriculum prioritizes practical application above academic study, which is consistent with her portfolio priorities around industrialisation, agribusiness value addition, export growth, and AfCFTA implementation.