By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Nov 16, GNA – The MTN Ghana Foundation has announced the successful onboarding of 150 beneficiaries for the second edition of its Enterprise Support Programme.
They were selected through a rigorous process, which included pitch competitions and interviews conducted in the Central, Eastern, Volta, and Greater Accra regions.
A statement issued by MTN Ghana and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Saturday said the Programme was a transformative initiative aimed at empowering entrepreneurs.
This year it had supported 39 differently abled individuals, 61 women, and 50 young people, all of whom ran small businesses.
The beneficiaries received a package that included comprehensive business training and seed capital ranging from GHc10,000 to GHc20,000, the statement said.
“Participants will also receive training in bookkeeping, costing, pricing, branding, sales and marketing, financial literacy, digital marketing, and customer service, all tailored to meet their specific needs,” it said.
The programme is part of the MTN Ghana Foundation’s commitment to fostering the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which play a vital role in driving Ghana’s economy.”
“It specifically targets youth, women, and differently abled persons, who are entrepreneurs, as part of its diversity and inclusion programme.”
The statement quoted Adwoa Afriyie Wiafe, the Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer of MTN Ghana, during the onboarding ceremony for the Eastern Region beneficiaries, as saying: “Today, we are here to continue our efforts to promote inclusive and sustainable growth for entrepreneurs through the MTN SME Support Programme.”
“This initiative, led by the MTN Ghana Foundation, aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to bring the nation closer to achieving Sustainable Development Goal-9, which focuses on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure.”
The selected beneficiaries expressed gratitude to MTN for believing in them and providing capital for their businesses and pledged their commitment to utilising the funds wisely to expand their ventures.
Lawrence Inkoom, a sandals’ maker, said: “I was struggling to find support to invest in my business, but help was not forthcoming. With the support of the MTN Ghana Foundation, I can now produce more sandals for the market.”
Christine Dekator, a differently abled beneficiary from the Volta Region, expressed gratitude to the Foundation for the support and said: “The funds will help expand her cassava farm and gari processing business.”
Memuna Ahmed, a Palm oil processor from the Eastern Region, was excited to receive the support.
“This support will relieve me of most of the challenges I am currently facing in my business,” she said.
The MTN Ghana Foundation launched the Enterprise Support Programme as part of a commitment made during MTN Ghana’s 25th-anniversary celebration to boost the sector.
The programme aims to support approximately 500 micro, small, and medium enterprises consisting of youth, women, and differently abled entrepreneurs over a five-year period.
Following the launch of this initiative, in partnership with Innohub in 2023, a total of 140 businesses were selected from the Greater Accra, Ashanti, and Western regions as beneficiaries.
GNA