Social entrepreneur Ousman Umar at Esade: “Success means driving the change you want to happen in the world”

21.10.2025

The 2025-26 academic year has begun with 66% of international students and more than 300 scholarships awarded: confirmation of Esade’s commitment to inclusivity, diversity and transformative education

Tuesday, October 21, 2025. “Success means driving the change you want to happen in the world.” With these words, the social entrepreneur Ousman Umar, founder of the NGO NASCO Feeding Minds, officially opened the 2025-26 academic year at Esade. The event was attended by Esade students reading a Bachelor’s Degree in Law, a Double Degree in Business Administration and Law, or a Double Degree in Law and Global Governance, Economics, and Legal Order (representing all first-year students), faculty, alumni, and academic and institutional authorities, including Anna Xicoy, president of the Esade Foundation Board of Trustees; Josep A. Rom, rector of Ramon Llull University; Ana García-Mina, delegate of the University Sector of the Province of Spain (UNIJES), and Daniel Traça, director general of Esade, who welcomed this new academic year characterized by globalization, equal opportunities and purposeful training. This year, 66% of Esade students come from abroad and more than 300 have been awarded scholarships intended to enable students from different geographical and social backgrounds to pursue higher education, thus bolstering Esade’s commitment to global, inclusive and accessible education.

Umar, who studied the NGO-ONL Management Program at Esade, shared his inspiring journey from his hometown in Fiasu (Ghana) to his arrival in Spain and the creation, in 2012, of NASCO Feeding Minds. This NGO promotes digital education in rural African communities as a way of driving sustainable development. “Fill someone’s stomach and you’ll find their corpse on your coastline; nurture their mind and they’ll drive change in their community,” declared Umar, underlining the power of education and technology to create opportunities and transform lives.

The NGO he founded has already fitted out 17 computer classrooms and more than 50 schools, which has benefited more than 6,000 students in 2024. “Of the 32 programmers who graduated, 23 now work in their home country, Ghana,” added Umar, before encouraging students to live purposefully, “The future is yours. Time is limited so make the most of it, but never lose hope. We’re not going to change the world, but we can change our little bit of it”.

Meaningful leadership and diversity

Esade director general, Daniel Traça, highlighted that “at Esade, diversity isn’t just a value, it’s a source of knowledge. With students of more than 120 nationalities, and more than 300 scholarships awarded this year, we continue to enable more students to have a quality education that prepares global leaders committed to social impact.”

Esade begins the 2025-26 academic year with eight undergraduate programs delivered by its two schools – Esade Business School and Esade Law School – including new programs such as the Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Artificial Intelligence and the Double Degree in Business Administration and Global Governance, Economics, and Legal Order, thereby consolidating its commitment to innovative education tailored to the challenges of the future.

Anna Xicoy, president of the Esade Foundation Board of Trustees, underlined the human dimension of leadership, “We want students to develop a social and ethical awareness. All classrooms should be workshops of humanity where students can discover their vocation for service and learn to be purposeful leaders.” She went on to say, “We begin this new academic year with the enthusiasm of those who believe in education as a driver of transformation and a horizon of opportunity. At Esade, this conviction is fueled by the Jesuit inspiration that has accompanied us since our origins, i.e. to educate competent, conscientious, compassionate, committed people.”

The rector of Ramon Llull University (URL), Josep A. Rom, closed the event by highlighting the educational model shared by Esade and the other institutions of Ramon Llull University, “based on knowledge of others and a humanistic vision of leadership”.

The school year opening ceremony began with a mass, presided over by Pau Vidal, SJ, the Jesuit delegate in Catalonia and patron of Esade, who offered a space for reflection and community based on the values that inspire Esade’s educational mission.