The Ministry of Trade and Industry is to launch an initiative targeted at augmenting the job seeking market, dubbed: “Start-up Ghana.
This initiative is to help identify creativity and innovation among the youth, and to support young entrepreneurs who have no clue on how to commence their businesses.
Mr Carlos Ahenkrah, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry who made this known at “The Young Entrepreneurs Forum” organized by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) in Accra, said the programme would be launched in August 2018 and is expected to take off before December, 2018.
The ministry through the programme wants to identify all start-up businesses in Ghana that are struggling and assist and showcase their creativity to the country.
Challenges of Start-up
The ministry had identified as a contributing factor to start-ups sustainability, how they get off takers.
“If a start-up company manufacture goods and they don’t get off takers or people to pick it up it becomes difficult for them to move into the next cycle of production and they end up folding up.”
SMEs in Ghana
The Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) constitute about 80 per cent of Ghana’s industries and their contribution to the economy cannot be over emphasized and it was important that government does all that it could to safeguard SMEs.
It was for this reason that the Strategic Agenda of Ghana has SME development as part of what the government seeks to do.
The Deputy Minister, revealed that as part of the Industrial Transformation Agenda of the ministry, they have set up the industrial subcontracting exchange where the ministry would profile large companies in Ghana, and SMEs could go identify the raw materials needed by such companies and supply them
“What we intend doing is to strengthen the capacity of SMEs by skill development and technological transfer. We also intend to create a small business development authority which will have more capacity to assist SMEs.”
Way forward for Government
The government was also considering asking GIPC to invest in Impact Hubs for young people with ideas, technology and skills but without offices can go and work from the space.
The Trade Ministry is considering putting up five incubation centers at the public universities, with the aim of bringing the incubation centers to the doorsteps of the youth in order to bring out the creativity in them.
It is important that young entrepreneurs are natured and mentored to help them realize their dream, Mr. Ahenkrah added.
The Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Mr Yofi Grant, indicated that the forum was to create an avenue for captains of industry to interact with young entrepreneurs through building a sustained avenue for mentorship.
Selected businesses would have the opportunity to pitch to investors and advisors to help them accelerate and grow.
He noted that by 2050 Africa would be one quarter of the world population, have the youngest population and have one billion of the world’s work force, this he said coupled with the continental free trade area agreement that had been signed by 44 African countries means there would be a ready market for their products and innovations.
GIPC Boss, encouraged entrepreneurs at the forum to continue to be resilient and poised in making their dream a reality.
The Forum which is the second of its kind organized by the GIPC is focus on promoting dialogue between young entrepreneurs and government at the highest level to influence policy formulation whiles providing leadership and entrepreneurship training for young entrepreneurs.
Highlights of the two-day event included an exhibition by young entrepreneurs such as leading local shoe manufacture, Horseman Shoes, Mensah-Aborampah, and Wear Ghana among others.
There were Master Class sessions for selected 100 participants, topics discussed include; Winning Business and Marketing Plans, Understanding Ghana’s Tax and Incentive Regime, Attracting the Right Finance, Managing the Growth Process, and Developing New Markets in the Advent of Technology.
