President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has given an assurance of his government’s keenness to work towards the creation of a conducive environment for the private sector, especially for entrepreneurial businesses, to thrive.

“I’m confident that our nation is on the cusp of a bold new beginning which will repudiate the recent culture of failure. Go out there and make us proud,” Akufo-Addo said.

The President was speaking on Tuesday at an event to award seed grants to the first batch of 1,350 recipients out of a total 7,000 applicants across all 10 regions.

He urged the beneficiaries to seize the opportunity to demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills to create jobs.

“I congratulate the selected businesses for not giving up, but working hard to meet the established criteria. I ask them to seize the opportunity provided by the programme and demonstrate their entrepreneurial ability. With the unsuccessful applicants, I wish them the very best of luck in their future endeavours,” he added.

The first disbursement, which was awarded to the beneficiaries ranged between GHS10,000 to GHS100,000. It will serve as a loan to be paid within three years while the businesses are expected to create some 30,000 direct and several indirect jobs within a year.

The focus is on key areas including; Tourism, Agro Processing, Fashion and Beauty, Information and Communication Technology, Recreation, Health and Transportation.

The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan (NEIP) Business Support programme forms part of government’s agenda under the Ministry of Business Development to support unemployed Ghanaian youth with training, funding and mentorship to establish their own business.

An amount of GHS10 million was allocated by government in 2017 to enable NEIP support local businesses.

Mr. John Kumah, Chief Executive Officer of the NEIP on his part thanked the president for his support for young entrepreneurs as part of his ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’ commitment.

Kumah noted that all the 7,000 businesses underwent a well-structured training programme to build their managerial capacities, with training programmes conducted in 50 private incubation hubs across the country.

Minister for Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Awal Mohammed assured of his support to provide business advisory services as well as mentorship to enable entrepreneurs thrive.