Ghana is a nation richly blessed. From the golden soils of the Ashanti region to the cocoa fields of the Western corridor, from the oil reserves offshore to the fertile agricultural lands up north, this country is overflowing with natural wealth.

Once celebrated as a beacon of peace, stability, and potential in West Africa, Ghana is now facing a quiet yet devastating crisis, one not marked by war or natural disaster, but by unemployment, disillusionment, and the slow fading of youthful hope.

Every year, thousands of young people graduate from our universities, polytechnics, and training institutions, only to return home jobless. Degrees in hand, dreams in heart, but nothing to anchor them. No jobs. No internships. No practical
transition into adulthood. And so they wait. And while they wait, they struggle.

Many find themselves buried in debt, having borrowed from friends or family to survive. They are surrounded by pressure, pressure to provide, pressure to succeed, pressure to “figure it out”, yet they often have no clear roadmap, no direction, and no support system.

Ghana is a country full of potential, but potential without activation is simply a burden.

Once upon a time, Ghana dreamed big. We built factories, industrial powerhouses meant to boost our economy and provide sustainable jobs. Places like the Abosso Glass Factory, Zuarungu Meat Factory, Pwalugu Tomato Factory, GIHOC Fibre Products, and the Tomacan Factory in Wenchi , just to mention a few stood as symbols of our ambition and self-sufficiency. These facilities, many of which were built during Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s era, held the promise of a Ghana that could feed itself, build for itself, and export to the world.

Today, those same factories are ghost towns. Machines rust in silence. Gates are locked. Youth pass by daily, staring at abandoned potential as they wonder where their next opportunity will come from.

The tragedy is not just that these factories are dormant, it is that they represent what could have been. Mismanagement, political interference, underinvestment, and a lack of strategic vision have all contributed to their decline. And while governments have made attempts here and there to revive them, none has achieved the scale or sustainability needed to match the scale of our unemployment crisis.

But does this mean we stop living? That we stop trying? Absolutely not.
Even as we push for policy reforms and industrial revival, we must also turn our eyes to entrepreneurship, innovation, and self-determination. Ghana’s youth cannot continue to rely solely on government jobs or external aid. We must build a generation that is skilled, resilient, and daring enough to create their own paths, even when the system fails them.

Sadly, not every young person sees this clearly. Many are simply tired, tired of trying, tired of failing, tired of a system that seems rigged against them. And in that fatigue, we are seeing the dangerous rise of hopelessness. Many are desperate to leave the country, chasing “greener pastures” abroad, not because they want to, but because they feel they no longer belong here. Ghana, to them, has become a dead end.

But the truth is, there can be green pastures in Ghana, if we cultivate them.
Not every youth is lazy. In fact, most are deeply hardworking, but they have never been taught to see opportunities beyond the conventional. We have attached pride to certain job titles and looked down on others. We have discouraged trade, craftsmanship, and innovation, while worshipping white-collar dreams that don’t exist.

Social media, one of the greatest tools of our time, is often misused, not because young people do not care, but because they have not been shown how to turn tools into income.

That is why this moment matters. That is why hope must be reignited.
In response to this growing crisis, Kristos Foundation, in partnership with the Wenchi Traditional Council, the Wenchi Municipal Assembly, and the Youth Employment Agency (YEA), is launching the SPARK UP Summit, a bold, youth-centered initiative that will take place on September 12th and 13th, 2025, in Wenchi.

More than just an event, SPARK UP is a movement, a call to young people to rise, to learn, to start, and to believe again. It will provide practical training in entrepreneurship, digital work, business strategy, and funding access. It will also launch the SPARK UP Project, which aims to support at least 200 youth with real tools for real work. This is about lighting a fire in communities long neglected. About saying: you don’t have to wait for the government, you can start something now.

Wenchi has been chosen deliberately. Once home to the Tomacan Factory, it represents both the pain of abandonment and the potential for rebirth. Through SPARK UP, Kristos Foundation seeks to show what is possible when communities, leaders, and young people come together with purpose.

This is not charity. This is nation-building.

If we fail to invest in our youth today, we will lose a generation of talent, energy, and brilliance that could transform Ghana. Helping the next generation is not just a feel-good effort, it is our collective duty. We must believe in them. We must equip them. And we must show them that even if they fall, they can rise again.

Because at the end of the day, the true wealth of Ghana is not in our gold or cocoa.

It is in our people.

And it’s time we start investing like we believe that.