Correspondence from the Eastern Region

The Ghana Enterprises Agency in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has distributed start-up kits to 96 young beneficiaries under the Business in a Box (BizBox) Project at a ceremony in Somanya in the Eastern Region.

The initiative forms part of a nationwide programme aimed at equipping young people with employable and entrepreneurial skills to enable them establish sustainable businesses and secure dignified livelihoods.

The beneficiaries underwent training in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, small business management, customer care, and mindset development.

The start-up kits varied according to beneficiaries’ trade areas and included fruit juice extractors, weighing scales, blenders, sealing machines, aprons, hand sanitizers, PPEs, and starter packaging materials.

Speaking at the graduation and start-up kits presentation ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency, Margaret Ansei, said the project goes beyond skills training by ensuring beneficiaries are supported with the necessary tools to begin their businesses.

According to her, the agency believes training without practical support would make it difficult for beneficiaries to transition into entrepreneurship.

“We do not just train them and leave them without start-up kits. Our focus is to make Ghanaian youth employable and place them in dignified and fulfilling jobs,” she stated.

She explained that beneficiaries were trained in their chosen trade areas by qualified resource persons before being provided with equipment and tools tailored to their respective businesses.

Ansei disclosed that the programme, funded by the Mastercard Foundation through the Ghana Enterprises Agency in collaboration with district assemblies, is being implemented nationwide.

She revealed that the initiative targets the training of about 270,000 young people across the country by the end of 2027.

“For now, we do not give capital. We provide start-up kits to help them commercialize their talents and skills. Assemblies and our district offices will monitor them to ensure they are progressing well,” she said.

She added that the agency has put in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation system to track beneficiaries’ business growth, expansion, sales performance, and ability to employ others.

Ansei further noted that beneficiaries would continue to receive business support services, including bookkeeping and customer relations training, to ensure sustainability.

The Acting Eastern Regional Manager of GEA, Eric Obeng, said the training was designed to prepare the participants to effectively establish and manage their businesses.

“They were taught how to start and manage businesses, save towards expansion, maintain proper customer relations, and sustain their enterprises,” he explained.

Obeng said some beneficiaries had already begun production, with one participant exhibiting products at the event as evidence of readiness to venture into business.

He added that GEA would also support beneficiaries to register their businesses with the Office of the Registrar of Companies as well as assist them to obtain certifications from the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority where necessary.

Delivering an address on behalf of government, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, commended the Ghana Enterprises Agency and Mastercard Foundation for implementing a programme that promotes youth entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

She noted that the broader project seeks to equip approximately 270,000 young people nationwide, with women constituting about 70 percent of beneficiaries.

The Minister said the beneficiaries had undergone intensive training and successfully completed their NVTI examinations before receiving the start-up kits.

She reiterated government’s commitment under President John Dramani Mahama to creating sustainable livelihood opportunities for young people through entrepreneurship and innovation.

“To the graduands, I encourage you to become agents of change within your communities by sharing your knowledge and supporting others who seek opportunities to learn a trade or skill,” she advised.



Some beneficiaries expressed gratitude to the organisers for the support received.

Perpetual Dautey, a resident of Sra in Somanya who was trained in food processing, said the intervention would greatly assist young people who lack the financial means like her, to purchase equipment to begin businesses.

“The donation will help people like us who cannot afford the items needed to start a business. I am very grateful to the donors,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Christiana Teye, also expressed appreciation, saying the items received would help her establish herself in the field she was trained in.