Policy on entrepreneurship in the offing – Awal

Government is planning to introduce a policy guideline on entrepreneurship, Minister of Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, has revealed.

This was contained in a release after a press meeting on Tuesday, 13 August 2019, in which the minister stated that: “The overall goal of the policy is to support economic growth through the development of entrepreneurship and innovation programmes that create more jobs, generate more income, and help to reduce poverty”.

He said the policy also aims to create and strengthen an entrepreneurial environment.

Meanwhile, the minister also disclosed that the ministry has spearheaded “about 4750 jobs created under Capacity Building for Young Entrepreneurs and Start-ups”.

Dr Awal said this was achieved through various initiatives and key interventions instituted after the government established the ministry to develop and implement policies and programmes to improve the entrepreneurial capacity of Ghanaians particularly the youth in order to create jobs and wealth.

Dr Awal noted that some of the interventions include the Presidential Business Support Programme (PBSP) which has provided structured entrepreneurship and business development training for young entrepreneurs.

Consequently, 7000 young entrepreneurs were trained under the PBSP with 1350 receiving funding in 2017.

Dr Awal said the under the second phase of the PBSP, 12,000 applicants received training and additional technical support, mentorship and business advisory services.

He added that 3,000 out of the 12,000 trainees will receive seed capital of between GHS10,000 and GHS100,000 per applicant with 10% interest per annum.

He also stated that 2,000 entrepreneurs across the country have also been provided with entrepreneurship training under the Young Entrepreneurs Programme.

Other programmes by the Ministry of Business Development include green businesses, building entrepreneurship culture amongst the youth (SEI), the Presidential Pitch as well as capacity building and funding for women entrepreneurs & women entrepreneurs with disability.

The Minister said the ministry hopes to create micro-enterprises in all 16 regions to support young entrepreneurs and also train 2,000 head porters (kayayei) to improve their business skills.

They also plan to roll out a programme to build the capacity of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) and other stakeholders to support business development activities in their districts.

Also among the list of activities to be undertaken is the encouragement of domestic domes for agriculture throughout the country.