Ghana Cares Programme to expand Youth Entrepreneurship - Finance Minister

Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta says the government is undertaking deliberate interventions such as the launch of the Capital Market Master Plan, to ensure the availability of long-term investment capital for entrepreneurial ventures and productivity-enhancing investments by young people.

He was speaking in Tamale as the Special Guest Mentor at the maiden edition of the Springboard Youth Dialogues, an initiative of the Springboard Road Show Foundation.

In an intimate speaking session, Mr. Ofori-Atta shared the story of his life with the students and young entrepreneurs aged between the ages of 18-35.

He went on to detail Ghana’s current economic performance and the existing opportunities for entrepreneurship and skills training under the Ghana CARES programme.

He charged the youth “not to despise small beginnings” or be held back by a “poverty of aspiration”, but rather to “take advantage of targeted initiatives under the GHC 100 billion Ghana CARES “Obaatanpa” programme aimed at supporting entrepreneurship”.

The Ministry of Finance is expected to sign compacts with entrepreneurial support agencies such as the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programs (NEIP) and the Ghana Enterprises Agency.

These compacts will outline clear deliverables to expand opportunities available to young entrepreneurs over the next three (3) years.

In her remarks, Mrs Comfort Ocran, Executive Director of the Springboard Road Show Foundation, said that the nationwide Road Show had mentored over 250,000 young people over the past 14 years.

She said the foundation was now actively engaging with agencies that provided opportunities for young people in the form of training, job placement, business financing and other critical need areas.

Young Entrepreneurs at the event were drawn from universities and prominent youth groups in the Northern Region.

Resource persons for the various sessions included officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Enterprises Agency, NEIP, and Northern Development Authority.

Members of the Government delegation are expected to partake in other Springboard Youth Dialogues across Sunyani, Kumasi, and Accra, with follow-ups undertaken by the various youth institutions who are going to be empowered under the Ghana CARES programme.