Former Student Representative Council (SRC) President of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Richard Wiafe, popularly known as Morata, has secured a full scholarship to pursue a Master of Public Policy (MPP) at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.
Wiafe is a recipient of the Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarship and Leadership Programme, which covers his tuition fees and living expenses alongside a leadership development programme. His studies are scheduled to run from September 28, 2026, to September 30, 2027.
A graduate of UENR’s BSc Resource Enterprise and Entrepreneurship programme with First Class Honours, Wiafe served as SRC President during the 2020/2021 academic year. He described the scholarship as the culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and support from people who believed in him, and said the opportunity would prepare him to contribute more meaningfully to Ghana’s development and that of the wider African continent.
Wiafe credited his time in student leadership as instrumental in shaping his interest in public policy. As SRC President, he represented more than 13,000 students, gaining exposure in governance, resource allocation, stakeholder engagement, and accountability. “Serving as SRC President was a defining experience that taught me that leadership is ultimately about solving problems and improving people’s lives,” he said. He also cited the expansion of the Anidaso Nsae scholarship by 50 percent, infrastructure projects, and entrepreneurship initiatives among the work that deepened his understanding of how institutional decisions and policies affect people’s everyday lives.
Since leaving UENR, Wiafe has built a career at the intersection of entrepreneurship and development. He worked as a management consultant at Deloitte, where he contributed to the development of Ghana’s National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, before moving to GrowthAfrica as an Entrepreneurship Development Consultant, managing accelerator programmes supporting early-stage ventures across West Africa.
His decision to pursue public policy draws directly from this professional background. Through his work supporting businesses, he observed how government policies, access to finance, and institutional decisions determine whether enterprises succeed or struggle. “My transition was driven by the realisation that entrepreneurship alone cannot address the structural challenges facing our economies without the right policies and institutions,” he said.
At Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, Wiafe hopes to deepen his understanding of entrepreneurship policy, access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises, job creation, and public financial management, and to strengthen his skills in economic analysis, policy design, and evaluation. His long-term ambition is to work at the intersection of government, the private sector, and development institutions to drive entrepreneurship-led economic transformation across Africa.
Reflecting on the competitive application process, Wiafe identified perseverance, clarity of purpose, and the ability to communicate one’s experiences and aspirations as important lessons for prospective applicants. He encouraged students to begin preparing early and build a strong record through academics, leadership, professional work, and service. “Do not wait until you feel fully qualified before applying,” he said. “Be authentic in your applications and clearly communicate your story, your ambitions, and the impact you hope to make.” He also urged students and recent graduates not to allow rejection to discourage them, noting that persistence and preparation could open doors to opportunities they might not have anticipated.