GEA, World Bank to provide capacity building for 72,500 Ghanaian entrepreneurs

About seventy-two thousand five hundred (72, 500) Ghanaian entrepreneurs are set to benefit from capacity building program under the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project to enhance their skills and support them to manage their businesses well.

The project is an initiative of the Ghana Enterprise Agency(GEA) in partnership with the World Bank aimed at supporting young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35 years beginning August 2022.

Out of the number, fifty thousand (50,000) beneficiaries, are to gain skills in basic entrepreneurship courses, fifteen thousand (15,000) from intermediate courses and seven thousand five hundred(7, 500), from advanced courses.

These were revealed by the Northern Regional Director of the Ghana Enterprises Agency(GEA) Mr Mathew Azoya on Thursday, June 30, 2022, at an entrepreneurship summit held at the University for Development Studies(UDS).

The summit was organised by the Department of Development Management and Policy Studies (DoDMPS) under the Faculty of Sustainable Development Studies (SDS) at the University.

It was to create opportunities for the final year students who are graduating this year, to present to industry actors by pitching their business ideas and potential firms they intend to establish after graduation.

Mr Mathew noted that as part of the project, a total of five thousand (5,000) entrepreneurs would be supported with a start-up kit in an unspecified sum of money form of a grant, and also be assisted to normalise their businesses.

He added that the GEA in the last few years, scaled up Youth and Women-led entrepreneurship across the country towards strengthening the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to be more resilient and sustainable.

The GEA Director added that as part of efforts to open up more opportunities for young entrepreneurs, the GEA, recently created a department; 'Women Entrepreneurship Development Department' and the Women Entrepreneurs Rise(WERise) aimed at tackling challenges and also providing a suitable environment for constructive peer interaction and knowledge sharing among women entrepreneurs in the country.

"The network had more than 800 Women MSMEs before the celebration of GWES in April this year when the network was formally launched in Accra," he said.

He further indicated that the agency was ever ready to partner with organizations and ecosystem to create jobs for the youth.

"The objectives of our agency among others are to contribute to the creation of an enabling environment for small-scale enterprise development, to contribute to the development of an enterprise culture in Ghana by facilitating access to credit," Mr Azoya said.

On his part, the Dean of the Faculty of Sustainable Development Studies and chairman of the Seminar Dr Adams Sulemana Achanso, in his remarks, urged graduates be job creators and not job seekers.

He also pledged the support of the Faculty to the development of students both academics and entrepreneurship.

Dr Achanso further admonished Ghanaian youths, to venture into entrepreneurship to help in the economic transformation of the country.

The Director of Public Relations at the UDS, Mr Abdul Hayi Moomen in comments, advised students of the university to be good ambassadors of the university everywhere they go.

He urged the students to take both their academic and extracurricular activities serious to be able to excel in their education.

A final year student and founder of Shea Wrestling, one of the participating groups in the Business Ideas Competition, Mr Borejinkpr Mufti, in an interview, thanked the Faculty and the Department for organising such events and called for similar programs to help enrich students with confidence and practical knowledge on how to present their ideas to potential sponsors.