Entrepreneurship prime pathway to increase employment opportunities for youth - Dr Letsa

Dr Archibald Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, has emphasised the importance of entrepreneurship and apprenticeship as prime pathways to increase employment opportunities for the youth and women.

He said the government recognised the pivotal role of the youth in national development and was committed to fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing integrated support for young businesses to grow and succeed.

Dr Letsa was speaking at a regional launch of the Business in a Box (BizBox) Project, a collaborative effort by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Foundation.

The Minister said the statistics presented by the International Labour Organization (ILO) underscored the severity of the youth unemployment challenge in Ghana.

He said according to the statistics, 60 percent of the youth were  underemployed, 12 per cent were unemployed, and 28 per cent were not in the labour force.

The Minister said the figures were alarming and highlighted the need for urgent and strategic interventions to equip young people with the skills, technology, and opportunities to thrive in the workforce.

Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer of the GEA, appealed to the social, religious, and civil communities to collaborate with the Agency to ensure the successful execution of the initiative.

She said these organisations had enormous power in the communities, and if they supported the project, it would have a cascading effect that would benefit a large number of individuals as well as the entire society.

The CEO stated that to mobilise resources and establish a supportive atmosphere for the project’s successful execution, they would make every effort to collaborate closely with all of its implementing partners.

She said the project was in line with the Mastercard Foundation’s goal of providing three million young men and women with access to respectable and meaningful employment by 2030.

“It also resonated with the Government of Ghana’s commitment to creating prosperity and equal opportunities for all,” she added.

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said the project would offer a thorough framework that would enable young people to be successful business owners and boost the economy of the Region and the country.

The BizBox Project is a four-year collaborative programme between the GEA and Mastercard Foundation and seeks to equip the youth with the requisite skills and knowledge in entrepreneurship.

It would be executed in all the 16 regions of the country and 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).

The project would be anchored on five pillars - Youth skills development, Access to market, Access to start-up, Youth social network, and Institutional strengthening policy and regulatory support.