By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, Feb. 03, GNA – The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Foundation have kicked-off a regional sensitisation drive to educate the youth on a Business in a Box (BizBox) Project designed to empower young entrepreneurs to thrive in the Western Region.
The regional sensitisation workshop, held in Takoradi, was attended by young people in the Region to introduce them to the objectives and strategies of the BizBox Project, and its registration and selection processes.
The Project, which was launched earlier this year, is a four-year collaborative programme between the GEA and Mastercard Foundation, beginning this year to 2027, and sought to equip the Ghanaian youth with the requisite knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship to setup competitive enterprises.
The initiative sought to target about 250,000 young people between 15 to 35 years, with 70 per cent being women and 10 per cent Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) across the country.
It would be anchored on five pillars, namely; Youth skills development, Access to market, Access to start-up, Youth social network, and Institutional strengthening policy and regulatory support.
Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, speaking at the opening of the sensitisation workshop, said the BizBox Project was carefully designed to augment government’s efforts to solve the problem of youth unemployment in the country.
She noted that the project offered renewed hope to the Ghanaian youth towards empowering them through a holistic entrepreneurial skills development for a better and brighter future where they could help to develop the nation.
Madam Rica Rwigamba, Mastercard Foundation Country Director, said the BizBox Project was an expansion of the Young Africa Works Strategy, which was implemented in 2020, and achieved significant successes by empowering about 94,000 young people to start-up their own businesses.
She said building on the success chalked on the Strategy, the BizBox programme sought to empower more young people, especially women and PWDs to have dignified jobs and own their businesses to enhance their living standards.
She indicated the Foundation was committed to building partnerships with the GEA and other institutions to address the challenges young people faced in establishing their businesses.
Madam Rwigamba stated that the project would target about 16,000 of the total number of expected beneficiaries from the Western Region.
Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minister, lauded the GEA and Mastercard Foundation for designing the BizBox Project, and said it would help to unearth the entrepreneurial potentials of youth for sustainable growth.
He said the Project was in line with government’s commitment to fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem by providing integrated support for young businesses to grow and succeed.
He, therefore, urged the youth to take advantage of the initiative saying; “To the youth present today, know that you are valuable assets to the development of our country and the architects of our future; if you (the youth) are willing to embrace this opportunity, together, we can transform Ghana.”
GNA