Accra, May 27, GNA – Some regional ministers and metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) from the southern sector have been sensitised on the YouStart initiative to support young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital and technical skills to start their own businesses.
Drawn from the Greater Accra, Central and Western regions, the programme is to empower them to ensure full mobilisation of the youth in their respective jurisdictions to benefit from the initiative.
Dr John Kumah, a Deputy Minister of Finance, said at the workshop that the YouStart programme would stimulate economic growth in the local economy and help reduce youth unemployment.
Currently, 92 per cent of enterprises in the country were on micro, small and medium scale and could contribute 83 per cent of employment in Ghana and 70 per cent to National Gross Domestic Product, Dr Kumah said.
“If you want to transform the economy you must pay attention to creating employment opportunities for the youth,” he said.
The YouStart initiative would be funded with revenue from the Electronic Transaction Levy (E-Levy), of which the government has projected the allocation of GHc10 billion towards its implementation.
It targets to support young people and students between the ages of 18-35 years, who have brilliant business ideas and viable businesses, to nurture, grow and expand their businesses and employ others in the economy.
The Government intends to build an entrepreneurial nation by providing some key enablers for entrepreneurship through the programme.
Some of the benefits are access to finance and markets, mentorship, strategic partnership and digital linkages, technical assistance and business advisory support services.
Given the high rate of youth unemployment in Ghana, the Government intends to use the YouStart programme to create more jobs for the economy and to support the expansion and growth of Ghanaian businesses in the next three years.
Present at the event were Mr Dan Botwe, the Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development and Member of Parliament for Okere, Mr Osei Bonsu Amoah, his Deputy, and Member of Parliament for Akwapim South, Mr Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, and Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, CEO of the Ghana Enterprises Agency.
Source: Ghana News Agency
