GOVERNMENT, IN partnership with the World Bank, has launched and opened the portal for the YouStart Ghana Jobs and Skills programme at the Accra Technical University, as part of its agenda to strengthen entrepreneurship.
The event, spearheaded by the Ghana Enterprise Agency with support from the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), and other implementing partners, forms part of government’s ambitious GH¢10 billion YouStart programme announced in the 2022 Budget by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, who made this known, revealed that “Unemployment among Ghanaian youth has increased significantly post the COVID-19 pandemic thus, posing a threat to national security and economic stability.”
“In such times, we know that Government cannot recruit into the public sector, therefore, we must support the private sector to create the needed jobs for our Ghanaian youth. Through the YouStart programme, we can achieve this objective,” he said.
He noted that micro, small-scale and medium enterprises were the backbone of the economy of the country, and the YouStart programme would contribute to government’s import substitution agenda by prioritising support for businesses that focused on products imported.
Speaking on the overview of the programme, CEO of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, stated that the YouStart programme would be rolled out in phases with the YouStart Ghana Jobs and Skills Project being the phase one which would focus on giving grants to businesses which would complete the required training programme. The other phases of the programme, she said, would be executed as and when it became necessary.
According to the CEO, target beneficiaries could apply via https://gea.gov.gh/youstartgjsp.
Background
YouStart is a programme that seeks to support young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training and technical skills that would enable them start, build and grow their own businesses. The initiative targets young people and students between the ages of 18-40 years who have brilliant business ideas and viable businesses, and supports these individuals to nurture, grow and expand their businesses and job creation in the economy.
Government, through the YouStart programme, intends to build an entrepreneurial nation by providing some of the key enablers that make entrepreneurship a success. These include training and capacity, access to market, technology and procurement opportunities, business development support services, access to finance (up to GH¢500,000) and compliance and quality assurance support.
Given the high rate of youth unemployment in the country, government intends to use the YouStart programme to create more jobs for the economy and to support the expansion and growth of Ghanaian businesses within the next three years.
Components
YouStart is grouped into three sub-programmes namely Youstart District Entrepreneurship Programme targeted at group businesses, start-ups with founders under the age of 40, university graduates, high school leavers, TVET – vocational/diploma certificate holders. Under this component, beneficiaries are entitled to loans at reduced interest rate and grants. The grant component is called the Youstart Ghana Jobs and Skills Project. This will be implemented by the Ghana Enterprise Agency and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme with support from the National Youth Authority, Ghana TVET Service and NABCO.
The Youstart Commercial Programme by participating Financial Institutions. Under this programme, financial institutions will give out loans at reduced interest rates without collateral. Targets include medium and small-scale enterprises with founders under the age of 40 or founders above the age of 40 but with at least 50% of their staff aged between 18 – 40 years.
YouStart Grace will be targeted at faith-based organisations across the country.