LESDEP Has Set Up Over 30,000 Businesses This Year

Mr. George Dake, Business & Development Manager of the Local Enterprises And Skills Development (LESDEP), the Government of Ghana’s social intervention programme, has revealed that in its relatively short span, LESDEP has chalked an 85% success rate with the setting up of 30,993 businesses in the first and second quarters of this year.

According to him, a projected 9007 businesses will be set up in the last quarter of this year to bring the total number of businesses established under LESDEP this year to 40,000.

Mr Dake made this disclosure at LESDEP’s media encounter with online editors in Accra.

With offices in all 170 Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies in the country, LESDEP is a public-private partnership under the auspices of the Ministry For Local Government and Rural Development and a unique model for community development in Ghana.

It was launched by the late President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills. It focuses on training the unemployed in the country to acquire viable technical and entrepreneurial skills that will eventually make them self-employed through a specialized hands-on training, within the shortest possible time in their localities.

Explaining why the modules were not the same nationwide, Mr Dake said, the programme was demand driven; hence, the modules were rolled out based on needs assessments, adding that every Ghanaian, 18years and above was qualified to register with the programme.

“LESDEP has design various skills development modules based on the need assessments of the unemployed throughout the country and it makes room for the design of other modules per the demands of beneficiaries…Prospective beneficiaries register for free, attain the requisite skills and after completion of the training, they are given equipment for their chosen trade at an initial free cost but get to pay for the equipment in installments between a period of six months and one year”, he noted.

Mr. Dake said there is the need for the media to assist LESDEP in broadcasting its success story of because it is gradually solving the unemployment problem in the country, adding, ‘there is gap of unemployment and we must bridge that gap’.

On his part, Ernest Asiedu Caesar, Assistant Communications Manager of LESDEP, indicated that LESDEP makes room for other modules to be designed per demands from participants or the community.

“Simply walk into any of our district offices or MMDAs and pick a form to register. You can also register online or download the registration form from our website and submit the completed form at the district offices. After registration, your form would be processed and then the district coordinator would call for orientation and training. After training, you get to graduate and you are given equipments to help kick-start your trade. The programme is only for Ghanaians above eighteen years…”

Some of the modules under LESDEP which are based on surveys conducted on the need assessment of the unemployed people across the country are: Information Technology (IT) Training, Mobile phone/laptops repairs, local garment and fashion, beauty care, fish farming/fisheries, grass-cutter farming, Agro Processing, Welding/fabrication, agriculture, photography and construction.