Hundreds of youth, women, and the differently able are expected to benefit from this year’s “21 Days of Y’ello Care” programme. This is a social investment policy intervention by MTN Ghana that seeks to upskill local communities with digital skills training and development, to make positive impacts on society.
The beneficiaries will undergo training programmes in Youth Entrepreneurship Training-YET; an initiative that seeks to promote youth-led businesses in the digital space. Women-In-Action campaign; a focus on indigenous local businesses in the shea butter space, smock weaving, fish mongering among others, and the Differently Able persons which provide seed money and training to scale up the businesses of people who are differently able.
Speaking at the launch of the 21 Days Y’ello Care programme, under the theme: “Empowering entrepreneurs to unlock growth and job creation for communities”, Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability Officer, Adwoa Wiafe, in her speech, indicated that the 21 days Y’ello Care programme will leverage on digital and financial tools, and professional skills to assist the beneficiaries to unlock their entrepreneurial potentials.
“MTN is championing the digitalisation agenda so we are leveraging on this to train the beneficiaries in digital skills marketing. This will help them upscale in whatever business or venture they do in society. We hope to target as many people as we can across all the 16 regions in Ghana,” she said.
Madam Adwoa Wiafe added that the 21 Days Y’ello Care programme since 2007 has supported vulnerable and underserved communities with much-needed resources and skills to improve their circumstances.
“We have done everything from constructing, refurbishing, painting, and remodeling dilapidated school blocks, building ICT centres and libraries in selected communities, to donating school bags and learning materials to children in deprived schools across the country, and we are committed in doing more to transform our deprived communities,” she added.
Engage Now Africa’s Country Director, Cecilia Amankwah, expressed gratitude to MTN Y’ello Care programme for partnering with the organisation to reach out to the less fortunate.
“Engage Now Africa is the main partner for this initiative; we have the same goals of providing the less privileged with resources that will improve their lives through vocational training programmes,” she explained.
Queen mother for Youth and Children, Ga State, Naa Ayele Nɔbaatsɛ I, on her part, urged companies and organisations operating within the Greater Accra metropolis to emulate the 21 Days Y’ello Care programme by MTN to transform the teeming youth in the capital.
BY Prince Fiifi Yorke