The government has extended a GH¢30 million funding package to enterprises owned by young persons under the Presidential Business Support Programme.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who made this known, said under the package, 3,000 young entrepreneurs would be supported to expand their businesses and employ more people.
They are part of 19,000 entrepreneurs who had received training under the second window of the programme, which the President launched in Accra yesterday.
The beneficiaries are expected to pay 10 percent interest annually on the amount received.
In 2018, 7,000 young entrepreneurs were trained, out of which 1,350 received funding under the first window.
President Akufo-Addo said Ghana had a youthful population with about 60 per cent of the population being below 30 years.
He said it was, therefore, imperative that the country focused on building the capacity of young people to become competitive.
“I believe in the tenacity and entrepreneurial acumen of the Ghanaian and I am convinced that through the Presidential Business Support Programme, you the beneficiaries will not only expand your businesses but will also generate new businesses and create the needed jobs for the youth,” he stated.
Private sector
The President said it was his vision and objective to build the most entrepreneurial, business-friendly and people-friendly economy in Africa, which would create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians as articulated in the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Policies (2017-2024).
He said the government strongly believed that the private sector was a key partner and the main driver of Ghana’s economic development agenda and, therefore, committed to the development of a thriving private sector in the country.
“We are working on the fundamentals of the economy, to stimulate the needed investments for significant expansion and growth of the national economy and the generation of wealth and jobs,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo said in line with efforts to create a conducive environment for the private sector to function effectively and also to formalise the economy, the government had introduced the e-business registration, paperless port clearance, digital address system, mobile interoperability and the national identification system among other business-friendly initiatives.
While congratulating the beneficiaries, he urged them to make the best of the opportunity provided by the programme to demonstrate their entrepreneurial ability.
“Entrepreneurship is not an easy journey, but be courageous, take the bold steps to build your businesses and be competitive both locally and globally,” he stated.
Impactful initiatives
The Minister for Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, stated that over the last 10 months, the ministry had implemented seven impactful initiatives aimed at strengthening the country’s entrepreneurial eco-system.
Those initiatives, he said, were the Presidential Business Support Programme , the Presidential Pitch, the Campus Business Pitch, Student Entrepreneurship Initiative, the Presidential Empowerment for Women with Disability, World Business Angels Investment Forum and Green Business.
Dr Awal,therefore, encouraged the youth to take advantage of the ministry’s entrepreneurship initiatives to establish their own businesses in order to help create jobs and improve livelihoods.
Touching on the Presidential Business Support Programme, he entreated the beneficiaries to endeavour to repay the loans on schedule, adding that the recovery rate from last year’s beneficiaries was over 70 per cent.
